If you’re a Skype or Windows Live Messenger user, Philips has released two new phones you might be interested in. Both are regular cordless phones that plug into your existing phone line – but both can also plug into your PC via a USB connection.

 WLM Phone

Then, once connected, the Skype version of the Philips phone automatically shows your Skype contacts on the phone itself, if they’re online, or offline, or have set themselves to a different status (except invisible, of course). You can then call them through the phone, and have a conversation that way! You can also use SkypeOut credits to make calls, through Skype, to regular phones and mobiles anywhere in the world.

The Windows Live Messenger version works in the same way, but you can’t make outgoing calls to regular phones through the Messenger service in Australia as yet (although you can do so overseas).

Both phones essentially perform exactly the same task, they just work with different IM/VoIP clients. The other major difference between the two is the that Windows phone has a colour screen, while the Skype version has a monochrome screen – but it doesn’t really make that much difference. I chose the Skype version because I use it more often to actually ‘talk’ to people than MSN, which I use more to text chat to people… funny that.

The Skype phone is $129.95 for a version with a single handset, while a dual handset model is $199.95. The Windows version is $159.95 for the single version and $249.95 for the dual phone version, mainly because it has a colour screen. Oh yes, both also come with a handsfree speakerphone and can be plugged into a handsfree heatset if you so desire.

Skype Phone

Before I go, Time Magazine has launched a very cool website with the top 50 sites of the year. Check it out at:

http://www.time.com/time/2006/50coolest/index.html

Alex Zaharov-Reutt

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Entry was posted on Wednesday, August 16th, 2006 at 12:40 am under Uncategorized.

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