Now this phone is sexy. And its tiny candy-bar formfactor, shiny, white fascia, and knobby plastic buttons make it not only attractive, but easy to use—plus its sound quality was noticeably better than the SMC phone’s. Battery life is roughly the same as a good cell phone—about three hours of talk time; 15-20 hours of standby.

The SPH101 uses the same interface as the SMC phone, which should be familiar to Skype users. After the initial configuration, you’re presented with an easily navigable interface, which mimics the Skype software interface.

The only problem we had with the SPH101 was in compatibility with certain post-802.11g Wi-Fi hardware. Despite our best efforts, we just couldn’t get the phone to connect to a Linksys WRT54GX4—a router that was eventually deemed incompatible by Netgear. That said, we were able to connect the SPH101 using a wide variety of other hardware without a problem, so it’s possible this is an isolated problem.

For Skype-aholics who need a Wi-Fi fix today, this is the phone to buy. But we’re going to wait for second-generation hardware before spending our cash

Month Reviewed: December 2006
+ GUGLIELMO MARCONI: Everything works and sounds great! Call anyone in the world (who has Skype) for free!
- DAVID ALTER: Pretty expensive; compatibility problems.
Verdict: 8
URL: www.netgear.com

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netgear, Netgear SPH101, Skype Phone, WiFi, smartphones, reviews

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