MAC address<\/a>\u00a0filtering (if the network owner adds your Belkin phone’s MAC address to his list of allowed devices).<\/p>\nThe phone’s “Networks in range” function will show you all viable network signals, marking with a padlock icon those that require an encryption key for access. Networks with no encryption are not necessarily open and available, however, as I discovered when trying to use the phone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas recently.<\/p>\n
Unencrypted networks may have Mac filtering in place (and your phone probably isn’t on the list of allowed devices), or may require Web authentication. The operators of some free networks force you to fill in a name (and sometimes password) and\/or an e-mail address. The Belkin phone can’t use those networks because it doesn’t have a Web browser with which to send authentication information.<\/p>\n
My phone found many unencrypted networks at CES. It could connect to some but could not access network resources or services on any, presumably because they required Web authentication or had MAC filtering in place. I did find some completely open networks while war driving in my neighborhood and was able to make calls. (Hint: if you’re not in a business district, look for an apartment building.)<\/p>\n
On my own home network, once I’d added the phone’s MAC address to the MAC filtering table in my router’s Web management tool, the phone automatically connected. After the first time I entered my Skype name and password (laboriously on the numeric keypad), it also automatically logged me on to Skype when the phone was turned on and connected to a network.<\/p>\n
As for Boingo, 60,000 may sound like a lot of hotspots, but if there isn’t one where you are \u2014 and there are none in my city (population: 350,000) \u2014 it’s not much use. The first time you log in, you have to input your user name and password. After that, the phone will automatically log you in as soon as you come in range of a Boingo site. It also automatically downloads updated lists of sites in the region.<\/p>\n
In tests calls with the Belkin phone, I noticed more clipping \u2014 due to packet loss \u2014 and more echo. It’s almost impossible to pinpoint the cause of flaws in Skype calls. In some cases, these symptoms were caused by degraded Wi-Fi connections. Certainly the phone’s range was somewhat shorter than the DECT phones I’ve tried, which worked well at over 250 feet from the base station, through outside walls. Call quality with the Belkin phone began to noticeably degrade (clipping, echo) at not much over 100 feet, though calls were still sustainable.<\/p>\n
However, I did also notice clipping on some calls made from the same room as the Wi-Fi router. These could have just been sub-standard Skype connections. And even when making calls from an unsecured network in the field with a weak connection (two bars on a six-bar connection strength gage), I was able to have reasonable conversations.<\/p>\n
One small quibble. Since this phone would be very useful for traveling to Europe and Asia (both for calling home and calling local contacts, who are more apt to be on Skype), it’s too bad the product ships with only a North American plug on the power adapter. Other mobile devices such as the BlackBerry come with interchangeable plugs.<\/p>\n
That said, it is at least a dual-voltage power adapter, and the phone, which is also available in Europe, is certified for use in Belgium (outdoors only, on one channel), in France (outdoors only, on seven channels), and in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, and Iceland.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: The Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype works, albeit not perfectly. It can deliver real benefits for mobile users, especially if you’re willing to buy a Boingo contract. It’s probably too expensive for what you get, but prices will likely come down over the next year.<\/p>\n
Article courtesy of VoIP Planet.com<\/i><\/p>\n
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\u00a0Author: Gerry Blackwell Review Date: 2\/8\/2007 Portable Wi-Fi\/Skype phones have enormous appeal for Skype enthusiasts. Unlike the cordless DECT phones we’ve been reviewing here recently (see Related Articles) \u2014 which are really practical only for use around a home or office \u2014 a Wi-Fi phone also lets you make wireless low-cost or cost-free Skype calls at hotspots or other open wireless networks you find around and about. Or that’s the theory. The\u00a0Belkin\u00a0Wi-Fi Phone for Skype ($199 list, about $170 online), was released in the U.S. in December. It’s one of a few such units on the market. The other notable <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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