Philips VOIP841 PC-Free DECT 6.0 Wireless IP Phone
by Philips Accessories
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Our Price: $499.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $115.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Philips VOIP841 PC-Free DECT 6.0 Wireless IP Phone
Customer Review: Ok. When it works.
Summary: 2 Stars
I've been using the product for about a year, but it's in need of constant attention. I got this phone to call the next town over, because it's considered long distance. The in state long distance charges are crazy here, so I turned to skype out for a cheaper option.
Positives: The phone is easy to set up, and pretty much usable out of the box. I like how the batteries are just rechargeable AAAs, and are easily obtained from your local box store. I've saved a lot of money calling in state... When it works that is. The phone does have an attractive look and feel to it.
Negativities: This phone is always losing it's connection, and has to be reset. It always seems when I don't really need to make a call I have no issues, but when I have to make an important call it's gone down. If I don't have time to fiddle with it I end up using my home land-line, and eating the crazy in state charges. The call quality is always low. My iPod Touch 2G has better call quality then this phone does. It's not to uncommon for you to drop a call using this phone. Lastly, this phone is very susceptible to area noise. It picks up all background sound, and can make some conversations hard to understand. Rarely, does the touch tone work. I mean when you're asked to press 1. You can press 1 all day long, and it will not work. I can not do business on the phone that will require me to use the number pad during the call. This goes for land-line, or skype out.
I give this product only two stars out of five, because when it has done it's job. It's just not done it very well. I don't recommend this product for purchase.
Customer Review: A Very good product
Summary: 4 Stars
Before this VOIP phone I was using the DataLink Hub. It has just recently had a new bit of software upgrade placed on their website. But, of course you have to know where to look and when to look so not exactly the easiest upgrade to come across/use. I just happen to feel like it was time for them to update it. Anyways I have both phones setup on the computer/router, now mind you that my computer has many upon many peripherals hanging off of it, not just your normal printer and such but external ATI TV Tuner etc.
The HUB rarely ever stays connected even with the new updated application/driver. But, the Philips VOIP841 is almost always on unless there's been a brown/black out in the system then it happens to lose connection and never gets it back. So you have to go and disconnect the power to the cool looking box that you proudly showcase because its that nice looking, and plug it back in so you have people call you. The calls are clear with some mild echoing at times. The speaker phone is loud and clear with no more echoing than previously mentioned, and not nearly as much as I would expect! The interface is very basic and considering that my cell phone is a PPC(pocket pc) the interface is a bore in comparison, but it wasn't made to run the latest version of WM(Windows Mobile)either. All in all, the best VOIP that SKYPE has at this time. Now I just need the extended remote 2nd phone for the upstairs.
Well worth the money and with the SKYPE price plan you can't lose.
OBTW, SKYPE now has outgoing caller ID a huge improvement!!!!
Customer Review: Great skype phone
Summary: 4 Stars
We use the North America Skype plan ($30 unlimited US/Canada calls for 1 year) and Skypeout so my wife can call her family in Europe. We initially used USB skype phones (we had a logitech and a linksys phone...identical design, different branding) and they worked fine but it was annoying to have to keep a computer running to access skype. With the addition of this phone which connects directly to the router as well as the landline, we no longer need to hassle with the computer. We added a second handset and one star gets deducted because it was not immediately obvious how to connect it to the base station (you need to hold the page button until the lights start flashing on the base station); we had to search the net to find out how. The phone works amazingly well and is super clear. I can even be running P2P downloads and the connection still works great. Also, the DECT technology is excellent, there is no interference with the multitude of radio frequencies blanketing my home, so the calls are very clear. Speakerphone works great and my wife, the uber luddite, is happy with the ease of use of this phone. Finally, it is less expensive than competing solutions and also more attractive in the home. Aside from the hassle hooking up the second handset (and hence the single star deduction), I think this is a real winner. Honestly, the combination with skype works great, the autodeduct from paypal just works, and I have no idea why anybody would waste the money associated with a Vonage or competing voip plan when this combo is so much cheaper and super effectiveCustomer Review: Great phone, just hate having to refresh.
Summary: 4 Stars
This phone works great. It is very easy to setup (no manual needed) and use. You can set it to either ask you if you wish to use Skype or your landline before placing each call, or you can set one or the other as the default. As soon as you sign in it updates your contact list from your computer, and you only have to sign in once if you like.
The phone feels very comfortable in my hand - my wife has said the same thing, and the backlight is bright enough to see in pitch black. The battery lasts for a long time and charges in a fairly short time.
I think the only complaint that I have is that the phone gets stuck in the "waiting for system to start up" mode, and you have to unplug the base from the outlet and also unplug the ethernet cable for about 1 second. This happens about once a week.
The phone comes with a ton of ringtones (you can even choose a different one for Skype and for the landline), however, they all were pretty cheesy with the exception of one. It also comes with a belt clip that gets in the way if you try to hold the phone up to your ear - and it falls off rather easily. I would not trust it to hold up the phone if I move at all.
Overall, I think that it is a great phone that does the job well, and is well worth the money (we paid about $150 for it). This is definitely the best option for using Skype along with an existing landline - be wary of the cordless Skype phones which plug directly into your computer (they disable your speakers whenever they are plugged in!!!).
Customer Review: can't beat this deal
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using Skype on my pc for several years now, and thought I would try it with a VOIP phone, possibly as a replacement for my cable provider's phone service. Most of the posts I've read about this phone stated the voice quality was between a landline and a cell phone.
I received the phone today, and had it connected within 5 minutes. I made a couple calls this evening, one to a cell phone, and another to a landline. The voice quality for both of these calls was much better than from my cell phone. My friends were very impressed; During the calls, I experienced no static or echoing. I was pleasantly surprised, and impressed.
Just some minor issues - For calls to landlines and cell phones in the US, a Skypeout call will show up a "Unknown Number". According to the forums on the Skype website, caller identification for SkypeOut calls is not available in the US (yet). Another minor issue; I don't believe there is a way to adjust the volume on the phone, and finally, each time I log into Skype on the phone, I'm prompted to enter my password, even after choosing option to save password.
Aside from these minor issues, I really like the phone, and the call quality seems very good. I'm looking forward to saving money on my monthly phone service!
Update - Been using the phone for a few days now. The volume can be adjusted during the call by pressing on the up/down navigation keys. Call quality is very good, if not better than my previous VOIP vendor, SunRocket.