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Pros
* Easy to use (with very
logical menu structure) - so much so that we predict fights about
who'll have most use of it!
* Everything you need is supplied in-pack
* Easy to set up - in terms of cabling, power and gaining access to Skype
* Does exactly what it says on the tin (even though this is first-generation product)
* Lets you make make/take conventional landline calls and Skype calls wirelessly using DECT technology from a single phone
* No PC required (though having a Skype account set up on your computer lets you input contact details there more speedily than with the phone - and there is two-way synching of contacts)
* Even if you don't use a PC to input contact details, doing this with the Philips handset is easier than with any other phone we've used - DECT or mobile
* A single base-station is used for DECT and connection (via an Ethernet cable) to a router - and it takes up little desk space
* Phone, charger and base-station all smart-looking
* Sound quality excellent with conventional calls and Skype
* Speaker phone option works well - both parties can hear what the other is saying without problems
* Undoubtedly the best and most appealing Skype hardware we've tried so far, though we've not yet gone hands-on with RTX's direct competitor
* Everything you need is supplied in-pack
* Easy to set up - in terms of cabling, power and gaining access to Skype
* Does exactly what it says on the tin (even though this is first-generation product)
* Lets you make make/take conventional landline calls and Skype calls wirelessly using DECT technology from a single phone
* No PC required (though having a Skype account set up on your computer lets you input contact details there more speedily than with the phone - and there is two-way synching of contacts)
* Even if you don't use a PC to input contact details, doing this with the Philips handset is easier than with any other phone we've used - DECT or mobile
* A single base-station is used for DECT and connection (via an Ethernet cable) to a router - and it takes up little desk space
* Phone, charger and base-station all smart-looking
* Sound quality excellent with conventional calls and Skype
* Speaker phone option works well - both parties can hear what the other is saying without problems
* Undoubtedly the best and most appealing Skype hardware we've tried so far, though we've not yet gone hands-on with RTX's direct competitor
Cons
* Skype only works with
this phone if
you have a broadband router. A USB modem is no good. But that's a
consequence of the phone's ability to make/take Skype calls without
using a PC and not an issue from our viewpoint
* It's first-generation, so comes in at a highish price (but works far better than too many first-generation products we've tested)
* No printed manual (only PDF versions on supplied CD) but set-up is ultra easy and doesn't require you to read the manual (but, Philips, please do think about including a printed manual - there's a lot of good stuff in there that users ought to be able to read straight away)
* If you like using Skype, don't try out this product round a mate's house - you absolutely will have to buy one yourself!
* It's first-generation, so comes in at a highish price (but works far better than too many first-generation products we've tested)
* No printed manual (only PDF versions on supplied CD) but set-up is ultra easy and doesn't require you to read the manual (but, Philips, please do think about including a printed manual - there's a lot of good stuff in there that users ought to be able to read straight away)
* If you like using Skype, don't try out this product round a mate's house - you absolutely will have to buy one yourself!
Our take on the Philips phone is hugely positive - almost worryingly so because we're thinking we must have missed some flaw or other.
We'd thought that, perhaps, the fact that the VOIP841 can't be used out and about for making WiFi Skype calls through secured or open-access network should be seen as a limitation but the more we've thought about the consequences of adding that feature, the less practical the idea seemed - even ignoring the price increase that would be necessary.
After all, who apart from a bloke living on his own would want the household DECT phone to be taken out of the home - and, even then, have the attendant risk of it being lost and not being able to make landline calls at home?
So anyone who does want WiFi Skype capability away from home is just going to have to buy a phone dedicated to that task, such as SMC's model, which should go out for under £100, or Belkin's £110 offering.
What is a bit of a let down currently, though, is that there is no option to buy a Philips bundle that includes two or more combi phones. We say that because the VOIP841 is so convenient that we can see there being arguments in lots of households about who gets to use it and where it lives in the home.
Presumably, Philips's thinking is that the price is quite high enough as it is without being pushed up further by the inclusion of additional phones. This is, after all, a relatively expensive piece of first-generation kit.
But we are hoping that multi-phone kits will come along when the price falls - as it's bound to do over time or when a second-generation model is launched.
What's worth knowing, though, is that we connected the Philips into the same line as an existing trio of DECT phones - NTL VS2000 models - without seeing any problems; the Philips and NTL phone all just worked.
If the VOIP841 takes your fancy, it's also worth knowing that you can buy it at a discount from Skype. There's £20 off if you pay out £9.20 for a five-month subscription to the new Skype Pro service - see this recent HEXUS.lifestyle news story. Skype currently has no stock, though that's coming soon, the company says.
We're now starting to think that our news piece about Skype Pro was rather more negative than it should have been. And you might think the same once you know that we signed up for Skype Pro only a few hours after we started testing the Philips phone - it really does make Skype massively more practical and attractive.
The Skype Pro fee buys you local-rate UK calls free (free that is apart from the not-inconsequential matter of a 3.3p connection charge for each) plus other discounts.
There's £7 off an SMC WiFi phone and £16 off SkypeIn numbers - landline numbers in a choice of different countries. These act just like any phone number, it's just that the calls routed to your VOIP841 (or PC) via Skype.
They're great if, for instance, you're based in the UK and want friends or business contacts in the USA to be able to call you free.
You also get a £4 Skype credit, along with free Skype Voicemail and some other goodies.
But if you do go the Skype Pro route to get a Philips VOIP or a SkypeIn number or anything else at a discount, make sure not to buy the discounted item until you get an email providing you with the voucher numbers that lets you make the relevant savings. We made that mistake and are still chasing Skype for a refund for a new SkypeIn number we signed up for and which we thought would be free.
Getting back to the Philips - the bottom line is that the VOIP841 is a genuinely excellent product. It's exceeded our hopes for it and we can whole-heartedly recommend the phone to you.
If you like Skype, want to take full advantage of it at home (or in the office) and don't want to have yet another phone cluttering up the place in addition to a DECT handset, then we'd be deeply shocked if you splashed out on a Philips VOIP841 and then ended up being any less delighted than we are with the phone.
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Philips VOIP841
HEXUS Awards
Philips VOIP841
Well, it's not because of the price - this is simply a reflection of it being a first-generation product without the benefits of large-scale production and sales.
The reason is that this is the first DECT/Skype phone we've tested and we'd normally give that high accolade to a product we thought was best-of-breed.
We may revise things once we've tried out RTX's competing DECT/Skype phone but, of course, it's possible that the RTX itself might end up deserving the prize, so watch this space.
Thoughts, questions, comments? Share them with us in this thread in the HEXUS.lifestyle.community.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community :: discussion thread about this articleHEXUS.lifestyle - news :: RTX first to ship PC-free Skype/DECT wireless phone in Europe
HEXUS.lifestyle@IFA 2006 :: Philips VOIP841 - PC-free DECT/Skype WiFi phone
HEXUS.lifestyle - news :: Skype Pro promises 'disruptive pricing' but how disruptive is it?
HEXUS.lifestyle - news :: Netgear unveils world's first Skype WiFi phone at London showcase event
HEXUS.lifestyle - news :: Belkin set to heavily undercut Netgear's Skype WiFi phone
HEXUS.lifestyle - reviews :: USRobotics Skype USB Telephone Adapter 9620
HEXUS.lifestyle - reviews :: D-Link Skype USB Phone Adapter DPH-50U
All HEXUS IFA coverage :: IFA - Internationale Funkausstellung - Berlin 2006
External.links
Philips VOIP841 - home pagePhilips VOIP841 - specs page
Skype Shop - Philips VOIP841 ("coming soon")
Skype Shop - RTX DUALphone 3088
Skype Shop - SMC WiFi phone for Skype
Skype Shop - Belkin WiFi Phone for Skype
Belkin - Wi-Fi Phone for Skype (F1PP000GN-SK) home page
Netgear - Skype WiFi Phone (SPH101) home page
Amazon USA - page about Netgear Skype WiFi Phone
Amazon UK - page about Netgear Skype WiFi Phone
