Review: USRobotics Cordless Skype Dual Phone

USRobotics Cordless Skype phone is an ergonomic handset with a base station that also connects to your landline, allowing you to make both free internet and traditional calls.

It was extremely easy to set up, with instructions that even an idiot couldn’t get wrong. It took little effort to get used to the menus, and call clarity was good.

Although your network will play a part in the quality of the call, USRobotics badges this phone as echo-free and that was certainly the case during calls I made in my tests of the phone for Personal Computer World.

On the downside, the base station connects to your PC via USB, so if your computer isn’t on, the Skype element of the phone won’t work. Also, the base station and charger are separate, rather than wrapped into the same unit.

And, the biggy of course – it doesn’t (at the time of writing) work with Microsoft Vista, which has now been out for three months. This is a poor oversight by the company and although it said a driver was in development, it gave no release date.

At £80, this is not an expensive option for regular Skype users, particularly those that make or receive a lot of SkypeIn and SkypeOut calls. But it is a shame that the Cordless Skype Dual Phone doesn’t work with Vista, although it is fine on XP and Windows 2000 machines.

PCW rating: 4/5
Gadget Chic rating: 7/10

Full review: This is a summary of my review of the USRobotics Cordless Skype Dual Phone, written first for Personal Computer World.

First Look: Samsung S1050 digital camera

I've just taken delivery of Samsung's latest digital compact camera, its £200, 10.1megapixel S1050, which I'm reviewing for Personal Computer World.

It's got a huge 3in screen, which dominates the rear of the camera. This is used as the viewfinder as well as to review images, and in bright afternoon sunlight, it was easy to see. It's intuitive as well - you get used to the controls very quickly.

On the downside, it may be too bulky for some people; it will fit into jeans worn by a man but not a woman - although it is handbag friendly.

Obviously, I'll have a more in-depth opinion once I have used it extensively, but first impressions are pretty good. I'll link to the full review once it's done and they have posted it.