Cisco-Linksys CIT400 Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit with Integrated Skype

by Cisco

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 4 x 4 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000JI75GU
• Item model number: CIT400
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (256 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #79 in Electronics > Office Electronics > Telephones & Accessories > VoIP > Phones
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 21, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Linksys CIT400 Dual-Mode Cordless Phone with Skype is part of the iPhone family of products that use the Internet to enhance the way you communicate. The CIT400 is a full-featured cordless phone that provides an easy way to take advantage of Skype Internet calling as well as place calls over your normal phone line (PSTN) from a single device. No PC required! Just sign into your Skype account from the handset, and your contacts and their availability are displayed on your color screen. Advanced DECT cordless technology won’t interfere with 802.11 wireless networks.

A user-friendly interface makes Skype-ing easy.

The base station plugs into your internet and landline connections. View larger.

Get total wireless freedom with the Skype handset. View larger.

Dual-Mode capability lets you choose whether to make calls over a standard telephone line or with Skype. Just select who you want to talk to from your contact list on your handset and get ready to talk.

Of course, the handset supports SkypeOut dialing as well as your Skype contact list display. It rings when you have a Skype or SkypeIn or standard telephone call coming in, and shows the caller's ID on the screen. The handset also supports call waiting and Skype's optional voicemail service. When you're on a call, you can hit the mute button for privacy, or use the speakerphone function to let everyone join in. Other features include polyphonic MIDI ringer melodies on the handset and voice encryption for maximum security. You'll also enjoy 120 hours of standby time and six hours talk time on the handset's rechargeable battery.

The Linksys CIT400 also allows you to choose to make calls to other Skype users or over your existing standard telephone line. You'll get the convenience of a cordless phone and all its features, plus the high-quality voice reception integrated right into your Skype handset--no computer is required.

Long Range, Clear Sound, and Minimal Interference
Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication (DECT) technology enables long range, great security, and incredible call clarity. Operating at 1900MHz, the CIT400 uses a different wavelength than the crowded 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz frequencies used by most cordless phones. So it won’t interfere with wireless networks such as 802.11b or 802.11g Wi-Fi.

Easy Setup
The included Quick Start Guide walks you through the easy steps to setup your new dual-mode phone. Skype is already installed on the base station. Plug in the cables and sign into your account.

What is Skype?
Skype is a little piece of software that lets you make free calls to your friends all over the world. With an Internet connection and Skype in use at both ends, you can call anyone, anywhere in the world, for free! And with the optional SkypeOut service, you can make low cost calls to traditional landline or mobile phones worldwide at local rates.

The CIT400 has Skype software embedded in its cordless base station. Plug the integrated Ethernet port into your home network and use Skype without needing to ever turn on your computer.

What's in the Box
Handset, 2 AA NiMH batteries, charger, base station, 2 power adapters, RJ-11 cable, RJ-45 cable, quick installation, and user guide on CD.

Product Description

Get cordless handset convenience when you use Skype Now when you want to talk to your friends you dont need your computer because the Skype application is pre-loaded on the phone. The Linksys iPhone Dual-Mode Cordless Internet Telephony Kit with Skype comes with the handset, charger, and a Base Station that plugs into your broadband network and to the standard telephone line plug. Dual-Mode capability lets you choose whether to make calls over a standard telephone line or with Skype. Just select who you want to talk to from your contact list on your handset and get ready to talk. Of course, the Handset supports SkypeOut dialing as well as your Skype contact list display. It rings when you have a Skype or SkypeIn or standard telephone call coming in, and shows the callers ID on the screen. The Handset also supports call waiting and Skypes optional Voicemail service. When youre on a call, you can hit the Mute button for privacy, or use the speakerphone function to let everyone join in.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Close, January 29, 2007

By 

Matt (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys CIT400 Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit with Integrated Skype (Personal Computers)

With the CIT400 Linksys comes very close to having a 5 star gadget. I'll break my review into several parts.

Setup: 5 stars - it couldn't have been easier. I plugged the base station into my home network and turned the power on. It was that simple within a few minutes I was making calls. I already had a Skype account so I'm not sure how simple it is the sign-up via the phone.

Design: 3 stars - the phone feels like it was designed by a router company. Nothing really stands out in the design of the phone or the software interface. It's pretty functional but pales in comparison to the UI on most cell phones. Several things that could be better with the UI (and are probably fixable with a firmware upgrade): CallerID doesn't reference your contacts (like most cell phones). When phone numbers in the call log don't fit on the screen they go into a scroll mode, making them impossible to read. The phone doesn't register when another phone in the house has answered a call thus placing them under 'missed calls', my 15 year old at&t cordless phone somehow manages to do this. There is no browser interface to the phone - it would be nice to configure it this way since it is a network device. It's difficult to change Skype accounts quickly. Don't get me wrong the phone is quite functional, but many aspects of it could have been executed better.

Quality: 4 stars - overall I've been quite pleased with the quality of the Skype calls. They sometimes suffer from a delay (thus not 5star) but are good enough to replace my long distance company.

Service: 1 star - I'm probably being harsh but in today's connected world I consider it very bad form for high tech companies to not have employees that care enough to read and respond to their own online forums. I own other gadgets, like a Tivo and Roku Soundbridge, where I can find pretty much the answer to anything by reading the product forum hosted on the company web site. This is mainly because those companies have employees who seem to want to connect with their customers. It makes sense - it's an inexpensive way to support a product. In the case of the CIT400 (and other Linksys phones) the forum stinks. I have yet to see a knowledgable representative of Linksys post there. It wouldn't take a lot of effort and to me shows a lack of pride in the product.

Skype service isn't any better. When I tried to see if anything could be done to improve the delay issues I was having on some calls, I exchanged a frustrating set of emails with Skype service asking me to replace the drivers on my sound card and making sure the microphone on my PC wasn't as fault. In other words they kept sending me pre-formulated canned repsonses.

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Mac Owners!, January 7, 2007

By 

foosball78 (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys CIT400 Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit with Integrated Skype (Personal Computers)

I have a mac and am trying to supplement my & my wife's cell phone usage with the computer. We have a family plan through cingular and pay about $100 a month, and we don't have a land line at home. I tried getting a uConnect adapter to hook up a normal cordless phone and realized that calls would not ring through the phone and I had to dial out on the computer to make calls.... very annoying. As far as I know there is no way to hook up a mac to a normal cordless phone and have it be usefull. People I spoke to using the uConnect adapter also reported a bad echo on their end. The only way skype would sound decent was using a usb headset... and I hated being tethered to the computer. And either way, you have to keep your computer on all the time if you have a skype-in number and want to recieve calls.

So when I read about the linksys cit400 with skype already built in I jumped on it. We've been using it for about a week and so far it's really good. The best part is that with skype built in, it just plugs into my wireless router and I don't have to have the computer on all the time. We keep the handset on it's charger most of the time so I can't comment on battery life. The sound is great; so far no complaints from us or from anyone we're talking to (I've had a few people say it sounds better than when I call on my cell phone!). The user interface is simple and the phone looks nice too. You can add people to your contact list on the phone and it will update your skype contact list online as well, and vice-versa, if you update your contact list on your computer the handset will update too (I think it updates at night, but was able to have it update when I wanted by logging the handset off and back on. I have a skype-in phone number which came with voicemail and that works seamlessly with the phone. You can easily change your coicemail greeting on the phone. When someone calls and leaves a message a red light blinks on the top of the phone notifying you and checking messages is a cinch too. Now that we are using the phone I don't ever use skype on the computer so don't know what would happen if they were both on and someone called in and tried to leave a message.

I gave it four stars because of one major flaw. No caller ID. I know it would probably be difficult to have it have a normal caller ID feature, but I just want it to recognize incoming calls from numbers already in my contact list and list the name of the contact! I don't think that's too much to ask. Right now it just displays the phone number calling, so unless you've memorized all the people in your contact list then you're out of luck. Another (minor) quip is that (as far as I can tell) they do not sell handsets by themselves. According to the manual, one base can sync with more than one handset, which would be nice to have one phone upstairs and one downstairs in the future.

So now with the Linksys phone set up we reduced our cingular cell phone plan to a $70 plan, saving us $30 a month. The phone was $150, buying skype-out for the year was $15 (soon going up to $30 for the year) and getting a skype in number (which comes with voicemail) was $40 for the year, adding up to a startup cost of $205. So this set up will pay for itself in about 7 months and then after that there will just be a $70 yearly cost which will be worth it if it keeps us off a more expensive cell phone plan. Of course, Skype says that January 18th, 2007 they're announcing a new pricing plan so who knows how that will affect things.

PROS:
- Could save you money in the long run. My wife calls to Italy a lot and Skype makes that affordable too.
- Reception/Audio quality is good/great. No echo, no dropout.
- Voicemail with skype-in works great.
- Don't have to have your computer on! Actually, the product doesn't even need a computer to work, making this the best skype solution for mac owners out now.
- not tethered to the computer by a cord. It really feels like we have a normal cordless phone now.
- We don't use it but for those that have a landline as well this hooks up to both the internet connection and the landline. So when you make a phone call you select the contact or dial the number and then select if you want to call them on the landline or via skype (we have it set to just automatically dial with skype everytime instead of having to choose for every call).
- phone looks very nice, and seems to be well made.

Cons:
- no caller id: even though the phone number calling in is displayed, even if that number is on your contact list it won't show the name of the contact.
- expensive startup cost.
- for those not familiar with skype: it can't dial 911, so it's not an adequate replacement for a phone.
-can't expand by buying a second handset right now without buying the handset with base station.

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars UPDATE: Long-term usage results are negative, January 9, 2007

By 

Chewie (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cisco-Linksys CIT400 Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit with Integrated Skype (Personal Computers)

UPDATE 3/27/2011: So it's been over a year since I've had this. It now rarely works well, doesn't seem to be supported by Linksys any longer, has had absolutely no firmware upgrades or changes that would make it work better, and you STILL can't get additional handsets for it. Even after putting fresh rechargeable batteries in it, the handset stops working within an hour or two. I've cleaned the contacts, checked the power supply to make sure it's working, and still have a tough time getting the handset to work. I cannot recommend anyone purchase these, either new or used.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Got this thing a week ago and had it hooked up in about 10 minutes. Base station plugs into your network and your POTS line. The handset gets charged for a few hours and when you bring it up it asks for your Skype username and passwords. Having been a Skype user for months, it figured out who I was and pulled down my address book. Very easy setup (not sure how more difficult it would be for a non-previous Skype user), and it doesn't need the computer to work.

So far, call quality is superb using this unit (I'm also running it over Verizon's FIOS fiber optic service). Nobody on the other side who I call knows I'm using Skype. And when you dial, you can choose to make the call via Skype or POTS (you can pick a default in the Options so that it doesn't ask you every time). Incoming calls to either Skype or your POTS line can be answered with the handset. Caller ID is working fine on either incoming Skype or POTS calls, showing the name of the caller (not just phone number, unlike a previous poster). Reception seems pretty good; I have the base in our basement (no pun intended) and I've walked outside about 30 feet down the driveway and the handset still worked fine.

The handset is pretty slick. Navigating the screen and the menus is very easy with the thumb rocker thingy. The keypad (and actually all buttons) light up when you pick up the handset, making it easier to see the buttons in the dark. However, since the buttons only are lit in profile but not in the middle (showing the symbols), you sorta have to have memorized what each button does. I still find myself straining to see the symbols on the pick up and hang up buttons, since they're the same size and on opposite sides of the rocker button thingy.

The base supposedly can handle 4 handsets but, so far, I haven't been able to find out how I can buy just the extra handsets.