Philips, Netgear Unveil 1st PC-Free Skype Phones

Skype, a provider of voice-over-IP (VoIP) services, on Friday announced that Philips and Netgear will release the first cordless phones for use with the Skype service that don’t require a PC connection, enabling users to place calls and receive them via the Web or traditional landlines without their computers, according to an Aug. 31 press release.

The Skype Certified Philips VoIP841 will be available before the upcoming holiday season, according to the release, but no release date for Netgear’s cordless phone was mentioned. No pricing details were included.

Both phones come with Skype software preinstalled, and users need only log in to their accounts to download all their saved contact lists, as well as search the Skype contacts directory and add numbers as wanted, according to the release.

The phones support both SkypeOut (calls to traditional landlines or mobiles) and SkypeIn (calls from outside lines to the Skype phone) services. Skype Voicemail is also easily accessible via the phones.

The Philips and Netgear offerings come with a Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) base station that connects to users’ broadband and landline connections to manage calls from other Skype users as well as calls from traditional phone lines, according to the release. Both of them feature full color displays and high-quality speaker phone functions.

“We are broadening our reach to mass consumers by offering them the opportunity to communicate via Skype without having to be tied to the computer,” said Stefan Oberg, Skype’s general manager of desktop and hardware, in the release. “The cordless phones for Skype launched today give Skype users the flexibility to enjoy free Skype-to-Skype calls and inexpensive calls to ordinary and mobile phones anywhere in the house, at any time, without running a computer.”

In related news, Keyspan earlier this week announced that it will soon ship its new Skype-compatible, cordless VoIP phone with a price tag of $79.

Related Link:

• Keyspan Unveils Skype-Compatible, Cordless VoIP Phone

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