Skype Or Similar Phones

[torrenova]

As I'm travelling quite a lot at present I'd like to get the missus a Skype phone or similar. Now ideally this would be a mobile as well but even something wireless in the house would be ok. Any ideas ?

Now with a house one would I need to have the PC on all the time ar is there some better easier way to use broadband for the calls without having the PC on ?

All suggestions most welcome.

[Guest Reimar]

There is an Wireless Skype Phone from SMC available in Bangkok (Thailand) which cost about THB 4,000.00

You can find that in most of the IT-Malls.

For to use them you need to have a PC running with Skype installed.

Cheers.

[Pushit]

As I'm travelling quite a lot at present I'd like to get the missus a Skype phone or similar. Now ideally this would be a mobile as well but even something wireless in the house would be ok. Any ideas ?

Now with a house one would I need to have the PC on all the time ar is there some better easier way to use broadband for the calls without having the PC on ?

All suggestions most welcome.

Try

http://www.deedial.com

PC not required for this VOIP service

[dave_boo]

Simplest thing to do (although probably not the cheapest!) is to get a PDA phone running Windows Mobile. You can install Skype on it, surf the web, et al. Espeically if it has Wi-Fi, you're good to go since your 'tilak' can call you from any hot-spot around the world.

All you'd need at home then was a ADSL modem that offers Wi-Fi.

[torrenova]

Was in the UK last week and they had phones on the "3" 3G network which could use skype for free to another skype account. Only caveat I saw was a requirement to top up £10 per month for regular calls which would easily go.

Whilst we have roaming on the current technology and we can swap SIM cards to local ones, does anyone know what the situation is with 3G ? How about another operator's SIM or one from another country ?

[phazey]

Most newish Nokia phones (pretty much anything running S60V3) can use SIP natively, and as a bonus via wifi, can run "Fring" which can quite happy make/receive skype calls.

What the post said about the SMC phones that are specific for skype is also true - saw them yesterday, damm tempted also. 4th floor of Pantip, opposite the escalator to It city (the big place at the top). just look to your right and watch for an SMC sign as you ride up from floor 3.

[torrenova]

Most newish Nokia phones (pretty much anything running S60V3) can use SIP natively, and as a bonus via wifi, can run "Fring" which can quite happy make/receive skype calls.

What the post said about the SMC phones that are specific for skype is also true - saw them yesterday, damm tempted also. 4th floor of Pantip, opposite the escalator to It city (the big place at the top). just look to your right and watch for an SMC sign as you ride up from floor 3.

I'd love to understand what you said but it is way over my head with all the codes, SIP etc. Can I bother you for a layman's version. Thanks.

[Veazer]

Most newish Nokia phones (pretty much anything running S60V3) can use SIP natively, and as a bonus via wifi, can run "Fring" which can quite happy make/receive skype calls.

What the post said about the SMC phones that are specific for skype is also true - saw them yesterday, damm tempted also. 4th floor of Pantip, opposite the escalator to It city (the big place at the top). just look to your right and watch for an SMC sign as you ride up from floor 3.

I'd love to understand what you said but it is way over my head with all the codes, SIP etc. Can I bother you for a layman's version. Thanks.

SIP is a standard voice over internet protocol used by the majority of providers. SIP clients can be "softphones" than run on your PC similar to skype, or a piece of dedicated hardware that you connect a standard phone into. As phazey mentioned, many new nokia phones also have a SIP client that let you use voip when you're in range of wireless network.

Skype uses their own propietary system that is not compatible with other providers, so buying a skype phone will require you to use their service. They do tend to be easier to setup initially though.

I bought a cheap hardware adapter for $20 off ebay, a linksys spa-1001 like this, that plugs into the router directly. I then connected a nice 5.8 GHz panasonic cordless phone into the adapter. It works well for me, but it did require a little tinkering with the settings to get everything working. I'd be happy to assist if you go this route.

For a provider, i use TOT NetCall. Their rates are as low as 17 satong per minute for thailand, and about 1 baht per minute for many international calls.

[sjaak327]

As Veazer pointed out, skype is a proprietary protocol. I would go for a SIP phone, or as suggested by Veazer a linksys, which can then be used to hook up ordinairy phones. Both have their advantages, The sip phone (grandstream for instance make pretty good phones) doesn't need any other device, and can be hooked up directly to the router. Of course you could aslo get wireless SIP phones that hook up to a wireless network, or as suggested Mobile phones with either Windows mobile or Symbian and run a sip client using a wireless connection.

The advantage of Linksys (Sipura) adapters is that you can make sip calls, using any existing device, like your current cordless phone which is now hooked to the PSTN.

[Veazer]

...The advantage of Linksys (Sipura) adapters is that you can make sip calls, using any existing device, like your current cordless phone which is now hooked to the PSTN.

Yeah, good point. Also. some VoIP hardware adapter allow you to connect your standard phone line as well, so if your internet connection craps out it will fall back to the standard phone lines.

I chose the spa-1001 because it was cheap but also because it allows you to use two different providers on a single line. I have one line configured to use a US VoIP service (callcentric) and the second line configured for TOTNetCall. This allows me to receive incoming calls from the US on the same phone. You could theoretically have a thai incoming number on the same line as well (totnetcall is outgoing only), but I have yet to find anyone providing incoming thai numbes for a reasonable price. It's far simpler and cheaper to just direct incoming thai calls to my mobile.

One advantage of skype is that skype-to-skype calls are very clear. Skype uses 16KHz sampling for voice which sounds much clearer and lively because you can hear high frequencies not possible on a normal phone line. Any skype connection that connects to a standard phone will not have this advantage however, it will be downsampled to the standard 8Khz. Only a fraction of your calls will be skype to skype, and I prefer to buy hardware that works with a large range of providers instead of just one.

[joncl]

Simplest thing to do (although probably not the cheapest!) is to get a PDA phone running Windows Mobile. You can install Skype on it, surf the web, et al.

Agreed and if you use the Asus P535 PDA/GPS/Phone it will also do Skype over GPRS/Edge as well when you have no wifi ...

Edited August 21, 2008 by joncl

[phazey]

I just want to point out, fring supports both Skype and SIP on mobile devices, and at any time i am in wifi range, my mobile has it's BKK Simcard number, it's skype-in/out number, and a UK inbound number...tres handy.

i won't go into the joys of running Asterisk... just yet

[sjaak327]

^ do so, it's fabulous

You could just logon to your asterisk box located anywhere in the world using the sip client on your phone.

I will do the same when in Thailand, just use a sip client on my Nokia N82 that connects to the asterisk box back in the Netherlands, so I can call my friends there for next to nothing whilst in Thailand.

[CarlBkk]

There is an Wireless Skype Phone from SMC available in Bangkok (Thailand) which cost about THB 4,000.00

You can find that in most of the IT-Malls.

For to use them you need to have a PC running with Skype installed.

Cheers.

I'd love to know if the Skype phone can connect to Hotspots as you walk around Bangkok, on the BTS etc. Would save a fortune on Skype's Call Forwarding to a Mobile feature.

[Veazer]

I just want to point out, fring supports both Skype and SIP on mobile devices, and at any time i am in wifi range, my mobile has it's BKK Simcard number, it's skype-in/out number, and a UK inbound number...tres handy.

i won't go into the joys of running Asterisk... just yet

Fring looks fantastic. Looks like it's time for me to upgrade my phone. btw, if you want to add yet another point of contact to your phone you can get a free incoming US number at ipkall.com. They support SIP and IAX, just be sure to receive a call once a month or they take your number away. By freak coincidence, i ended up with a number that was a local call for my parents.

I'd love to know if the Skype phone can connect to Hotspots as you walk around Bangkok, on the BTS etc. Would save a fortune on Skype's Call Forwarding to a Mobile feature.

Yep, that's the beauty of it all. I think the software solution Phazey mentioned (Fring) beats the potentially pants off skype phones though. Why lock yourself to a phone that only supports a single provider?

[Gary A]

The E51 Nokia has Wi-Fi, VoIP over WLAN

I have never tried it so can't say if or how it works.

I can tell you that the E51 is a great phone.

[phazey]

Just want to add - i picked up a linksys SPA-3102 the other day, not only is it a SIP adapter, but also a voice gateway (FXS & FXO!)

Pretty much means (with asterisk) if you dot these guys about (home, office, parents place, wifes place, girlfriends place) you can potentially use all these phone lines as gateways for your softclient when you're on the road.

Talking of which - if you've a chance to use IAX over SIP do so - it's way lighter (70% slimmer) than SIP

Google for Voix - it's damm sexy.

And another poke for Asterisk - absolutely the way for small businesses/hotels to go - i'm getting great use out of the "Follow me" function (input your numbers if you're on the road, and it hunts you down) and i've just cracked SMS to PSTN voicemail - sounds pretty weird getting a vm from Stephen Hawkins saying "i love you, good night"......

[CarlBkk]

I just downloaded Fring to my Nokia N73 (using AID pre-pay service). I set it to AIS GPRS internet and didn't realise it was permanently on, so my 300b disappeared pretty quickly. How would I set it to connect to any wi-fi hot spot within reach? There doesn't seem to be any option for that.

[Richard-BKK]

I bough a few weeks back a USB Skype phone from Chinese make, costs 450 Bht. Two shops later I saw them for 390 Bht. Anyway it works great, it is a complete audio device with a USB interface.

It is a great solution, the skype phone works as secondary audio device and not needs you to change audio settings or remove cables.