• Pros No PC needed. Can make both VoIP and analog calls. Supports multiple Skype features. Color screen. Attractive design. • Cons Expensive.

Router required for sharing Internet connection between device and PCs. • Bottom Line The Linksys CIT400's more physically attractive sibling, this impressive dual-mode PC-free phone system lets you make both traditional analog calls and VoIP phone calls, via Skype. Netgear's first foray into dual-mode cordless phones has a lot in common with linksys's recent offering, the. The ports, prongs, and buttons on both models line up so closely that it seems safe to suggest that they share the same original equipment manufacturer. But although both phones are impressive hardware offerings, the netgear dual-mode cordless phone with skype (sph200d) has a slight edge on its seeming fraternal twin, thanks to a far more attractive outer casing. Physical installation is easy, too. X1nject Crossfire here. The most time-consuming step is charging the batteries (two rechargeable nimh size aaas), which takes 14 hours.

The remainder of the process is a simple matter of connecting ethernet and analog phone-line cables and then powering the device up. Once the base station discovers your handset, you sign into skype to complete the process. Although it's possible to register for a skype account from the handset itself, i'd recommend doing so on a pc. It's much easier to input all the data via a computer keyboard than with a phone keypad. Like the linksys iphone, the sph200d is capable of simultaneously connecting to a user's home network router and phone line, letting users place and receive both traditional analog phone calls and skype internet calls from a single cordless handset, without being tethered to a computer. The sph200d makes it easy to manage your options, too—you can set the phone to skypeout, landline, or always ask. The sph200d's intuitive interface (also nearly identical to that of the linksys iphone) is a model of simplicity.