Skype Phone

My family got me a 24 dollar USB Skype phone at wal-mart. A mac specific one is coming in for me later this week and I'll get to that in a minute..

A USB Phone that is compatible with skype is a phone, numbers and all that hooks up to the USB port on your computer and allows you to make phonecalls. Most USB Phones right now are mainly PC compatible meaning they need a driver\application to be loaded in addition to the skype program for their buttons to work like the numbers and the back\forward buttons the cancel button, and the ok button. Otherwise it just works as a mic\seperate speaker on your computer.

So on my mac with that particular handset the buttons don't work because there is no app to make it work with so I used it and it worked but you have to just use the skype contact list to do everything. On the PC laptop I hooked it up to the numbers on the phone work with the drivers and the ok\cancel buttons work so you can just use it like a regular phone if you want. Also the back\forward buttons cycled through the contacts on my contact list. So in order to have a phone that works like that on the mac I have to get one that specifically has mac support like a few I have seen on the internet. I have a corded one coming but later I'd like to get a cordless one especially so I can use my headset but those are at least 70 bucks. Or I could get a phone adaptor and use my current cordless phones with skype.

How's the quality you ask? Well.. it partly depends on the quality of device you have hooked up and I bet also your connection but on my internet connection (cable) it seemed to for the most part be on par with a regular phone. With this handset I had at least on the mac seemed to have a slight echo sometimes but nothing unbearable. Some phones come with cancelation for that as well.

The only question is what will it cost at the end of the year when it's no longer free to make skype to phone calls. Skype to Skype calls will always be free but you have to know people who also have skype for that and most people just have regular phones or cell phones.

Skype Phone

My family got me a 24 dollar USB Skype phone at wal-mart. A mac specific one is coming in for me later this week and I'll get to that in a minute..

A USB Phone that is compatible with skype is a phone, numbers and all that hooks up to the USB port on your computer and allows you to make phonecalls. Most USB Phones right now are mainly PC compatible meaning they need a driver\application to be loaded in addition to the skype program for their buttons to work like the numbers and the back\forward buttons the cancel button, and the ok button. Otherwise it just works as a mic\seperate speaker on your computer.

So on my mac with that particular handset the buttons don't work because there is no app to make it work with so I used it and it worked but you have to just use the skype contact list to do everything. On the PC laptop I hooked it up to the numbers on the phone work with the drivers and the ok\cancel buttons work so you can just use it like a regular phone if you want. Also the back\forward buttons cycled through the contacts on my contact list. So in order to have a phone that works like that on the mac I have to get one that specifically has mac support like a few I have seen on the internet. I have a corded one coming but later I'd like to get a cordless one especially so I can use my headset but those are at least 70 bucks. Or I could get a phone adaptor and use my current cordless phones with skype.

How's the quality you ask? Well.. it partly depends on the quality of device you have hooked up and I bet also your connection but on my internet connection (cable) it seemed to for the most part be on par with a regular phone. With this handset I had at least on the mac seemed to have a slight echo sometimes but nothing unbearable. Some phones come with cancelation for that as well.

The only question is what will it cost at the end of the year when it's no longer free to make skype to phone calls. Skype to Skype calls will always be free but you have to know people who also have skype for that and most people just have regular phones or cell phones.