Netgear SPH101 Wi-Fi Skype phone

VoIP without a PC

By Lars-Göran Nilsson • Get more from this author

Posted in VoIP, 13th October 2006 16:59 GMT

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In use, the call quality of the SPH101 is very good, even on a 2Mbps broadband connection. The quality will depend on how much incoming and outgoing bandwidt is available as well as on how good the wireless connection is. Call quality was equally good to other Skype users as it was to landlines and mobile phones.

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Netgear claims the SPH101's battery delivers two hours' talk time and up to 20 hours of standby. I have to say that these are fairly close to what I experienced and the battery goes down quite quickly when in use.

The only odd thing I noticed over the days I used the SPH101 was that it sometimes would randomly reboot for no apparent reason. Slightly inconvenient, but it never happened during a call.

At seven pence over £156 the SPH101 is not a cheap device, but it beats every other VoIP phone I've used hands down in terms of both call quality and ease of use.

Verdict

The SPH101 is an excellent device. You're limited to using Skype and Skype only as your VoIP service, but as long as you're happy with this and can afford the cost, then this is a top-notch VoIP phone, despite its limitations. ®