I won't argue that there are some great VoIP and chat services better than Skype. For better or worse though, I keep coming back to my first love and have stuck with Skype as my primary voice and chat service. Last year, I caught news of Skype handsets from several manufacturers: Linksys, Belkin and Netgear. Each and every time the idea of a WiFi Skype handseat appealed to me in every way except for the price. I simply thought the cost was too high for a single-function device when I could use the same service on several devices I already had.
Maybe a hands-on review will change my mind. Perhaps the experience is well worth the three-figure priced tag. As a prior Netgear Blogger-in-Residence, Dave Zatz hooked me up with a review unit. Let's put the Netgear SPH-101 through the grind, shall we?
So what do you get in the box? The SPH-101 handset of course, an 840 mAh battery, the A/C charger which has a mini-USB plug on the end, a CD and manual. The unit itself is nice; not flashy, but not terrible to look at either. The SPH-101 is has a candybar form factor and measures in at 4.33 x 1.81 x .76 inches. It's not too big by any means as it fits in my smaller-than-average hands. Here are some comparison pics of the Skype phone next to my XV6700 and T-Mobile Dash:
The front face has a small color display and a basic backlit keypad for alpha-numeric input. You also have both a green and red phone button, used for call pickup and hangup, respectively. Above those buttons are left and right softkeys, similar in function to the Windows Mobile softkeys: as you move through various menus, these key functions change as needed. Between those keys you have a small up/down joystick pointer. I found it to be usable, but might be improved by some better travel: it sits flush with the front face and I sometimes found myself struggling with it. You can push the joystick in as a selection tool, which is nice
The intent of the SPH-101 is to provide the Skype experience without a computer connection. You never have to dock or attach the unit to a PC, which is definitely a great feature. The Skype software is built right in to the unit as is an 802.11g wireless radio. If you have an older 802.11b network, the device is of course backwards compatible to the slower WiFi standard. You can use the SPH-101 to connect to protected WiFi networks if they use WEP or WPA-PSK security; once you set these up with the passkey, the phone will remember it in the "Preferred Networks" settings, so you don't need to enter it in the future. Overall, setup is a breeze and I was happy to see that. Although these phones likely appeal more to savvy computer users, ease of setup for mainstream consumers will go a long way towards adoption.
Call quality will vary based on the Skype P2P network and the WiFi network you use. For some of my test calls, I went as far from my routers as I could while still staying inside and I noticed little to no degradation in the call. Your experience will differ as in various situations and environments, but overall, I was impressed by the internal radio; you can always see the wireless signal strength in the top left of the screen.
The Skype experience is nearly identical to what you'd find when using the service on a computer; you have the same contacts, voicemail access, conference calls, presence status, and search features. About the only function that's missing is the Skype chat feature. The hardware isn't really equipped for chat unless Netgear and Skype decides to enable T9 chat on these types of phones. That's not a deal-breaker, but something I'd like to see in future versions.
One feature I'm happy to see is the headphone jack on the left side, just above the volume control rocker. When using Skype on a Windows Mobile client, the sound always comes from the external speaker; there's simply no way to use Skype like you would with a standard cell call. The headphone jack on the Netgear offering gives you the chance to hear your caller without everyone else hearing it too: a big plus.
Battery life is something we always look for in mobile devices and the 840 mAh battery is just good enough in my opinion. Compared to most cellular phones, it lags behind at 2 hours of talk time and 20 hours of standby. My testing shows those numbers to be generally accurate, but what that means is you'll likely be charging this device every night.
If you crave a dedicated Skype phone that works at home as well as WiFi hotspots, the SPH-101 is a good candidate. Although I found that works very well for its intended purpose, I personally prefer to use Skype on a notebook computer or a Windows Mobile smartphone that I'm already carrying. For folks that might not have a handheld that can run a Skype client, this is a solid alternative.
译文:
Skype手机测评报告
我从来没有质疑过有很多很棒的VoIP和聊天服务比Skype好得多。不过不论是比它好还是比它差，我都会坚持使用我第一个语音聊天工具Skype。去年，我从制造商Linksys、 Belkin 和Netgear那里得知Skype电话的新闻。Skype电话一切的一切都吸引着我，除了价格。我认为价格过高的原因在于它用途单一，而且我原有的设备也附带此功能。
可能接下去的点评会改变我的想法。也可能这个体验值它3位数的标价。在之前Netgear Blogger-in-Residence比赛中， Dave Zatz让我对此点评。我们要彻彻底底的研究一下Netgear SPH-101吗？
你的盒子里装的是什么呀？当然是SPH-101电话啦，一块840mAh锂电池、有一个小型USB接口的交流/直流充电适配器、一张光盘和一本用户手册。包装还不错，虽然不是很豪华，但是看上去还行。SPH-101是独立包装的，大概4.33×1.81×0.76英尺。它不大，因为我那个比一般人还小一点的手都可以握住它。下面是Skype电话和我的XV6700和T-Mobile Dash的比较图：
手机正面有一个小型彩色显示屏，键盘有背光方便文字和数字输入，还有红色和绿色的按键，分别用于挂机和接听。在这些按键上面是控制左右方向的软键，功能和Windows Mobile的软键差不多：当你查看不同菜单时，这些按键的功能可以根据你的需要进行转换。在这些按键的中间有一个控制上下方向的操纵杆式光标指示器。我发觉它满有用的，但是可能可以变得更好：它是嵌入手机中的，有时我会觉得不太容易掌控。不过你可以移动操纵杆来选择选项，真的很棒。
SPH-101旨在提供无需电脑连接即可体验Skype。你再也不必连接到PC上了，这个功能不错吧。WiFi的规格是802.11g。如果你的WiFi规格为802.11b，该手机当然也会去适应它。如果他们使用WEP或WPA-PSK加密功能，那你可以使用SPH-101来连接WiFi网络；一旦你设置了passkey，手机会将其视作“优先网络”，所以以后你就不必再次输入了。总的来说，我觉得设置起来不麻烦。虽然这款手机更吸引精通电脑的用户，但是要让设置带来的方便要让主流用户接受，还有一段路要走呢。
呼叫质量是根据你使用的Skype P2P网络和WiFi网络来定的。根据我的测试，我到在信号覆盖范围内但离路由器很远的地方，我发现通话质量并没有什么太大影响。你体验到的会因为地点和环境的不同而不同，但是总体来说，内置无线电通讯给我留下深刻印象；你可以在屏幕左上角看到无线信号强度。
在你使用Skype电话时，你会发现这种感觉和在电脑上使用几乎是一样的；你有相同的联系人、语音信箱接入、电话会议、用户状态和搜索功能。唯一没有的是Skype聊天功能。除非Netgear和Skype决定将T9聊天功能安装在这款手机上，否则该手机并不配备聊天功能。虽然这不太会影响销售，但是我还是希望在以后的版本中看到这个功能。
我最喜欢的功能就是机身左侧的耳机插孔，就在音量控制键上面。在Windows Mobile Client下使用Skype，声音好象是从外部的扬声器中出来的；这样好像就不能在一个普通的手机上使用Skype了哦。在Netgear上的耳机插孔让你能独自接听对方来电，而不让其他人听到——很棒的新功能。
在移动设备上，我们一直很关注电池的寿命，840mAh的电池对我来讲刚刚好。与大多数手机相比，它只有2小时通话时间和20小时待机时间。我的测试结果和这个差不多，不过这就意味着你每天晚上都要为它充电。
如果你希望有一个专门的Skype电话，在家里和WiFi Hotspots都好用，SPH-101是个不错的选择。虽然我发现使用它本来的用途很明显，但是我个人更喜欢在我已有的笔记本电脑或是Windows Mobile智能手机上使用Skype。其他人可能没有可运行Skype client的移动设备，那就看着办，自己选喽。