Tech
Keyspan wireless Skype phone - nearly perfect
For the past week, I've been using a new Keyspan Cordless VoIP Phone for all of my Skype voice calls. This is a nearly perfect device for those who don't care for wearing a headset when talking on Skype. It's free from the encumbrance of wires (except when charging of course), is small enough to drop into a pocket in my gear bag, has excellent range, and impressive battery life.
For the past week, I've been using a new Keyspan Cordless VoIP Phone for all of my Skype voice calls. This is a nearly perfect device for those who don't care for wearing a headset when talking on Skype. It's free from the encumbrance of wires (except when charging of course), is small enough to drop into a pocket in my gear bag, has excellent range, and impressive battery life. The sound quality is very good on both ends of the call with a near total absence of the duplex echo I've encountered on other devices.
- While the handset correctly shows whether a contact is online or not, it does not show when a contact is online but in Not Available, Away, or Do Note Disturb mode. Since the phone has icons for these modes for my status, I'd like to know at a glance what my contaacts' status is too.
- There's no headset jack or speakerphone option on this device. It would be nice to be able to use this hands-free when I need both hands for something like typing or making a sandwich.
- There's no belt clip (there is a tethering loop at the top of the handset although a wrist strap was not supplied with my test unit. The device is small enough that most cell phone cases can easily accomodate it but that's a less desirable solution than being able to simply clip it to my pocket or belt when I'm wandering around the house or office
I'll be traveling this week to attend The Future of Web Apps conference in San Francisco and will be bringing the Keyspan phone with me to give it a true road test. I'll report back on that experience at the end of the week. As the Albuquerque airport offers free WiFi for my laptop (along with work desks, task chairs, and an ample supply of power strips), I should be able to make a few calls while I'm waiting to board my flight. I expect that I'll be demoing this for quite a few of the conference attendees as well - the organizers have promised a well-provisioned WiFi cloud at the event.