Keyspan VP-24A Cordless Voip Phone Skype Compatible for Mac Or Pc

by Keyspan

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 2.5 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000I2T5CY
• Item model number: VP-24A
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,959 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Tripp Lite’s VP-24A Wireless VoIP Phone lets you make and receive calls from almost anywhere via the Internet using Skype! And unlike most VoIP phones, Keyspan by Tripp Lite’s VP-24A lets you roam as you talk! The VP-24A employs a wireless signal that eliminates the need for a physical USB connection between the phone and your computer. Simply install the appropriate driver on your computer, plug the cordless receiver into a USB port on your computer and you’re ready to talk! A single button on the phone opens and closes Skype. And there’s no need to stay in the vicinity of the computer—the VP-24A communicates with the computer over a 2.4 Ghz radio signal that works even through walls and furniture. An easy-to-read LCD display shows you Skype status, battery level, signal quality and who’s on line. The included AAA rechargeable batteries provide up to 15 hours talk time and 1200 hours standby time. When it’s time to recharge the phone, just plug it into any USB port of your computer using the included cable.

Applications The VP-24A lets you stay in touch with family and friends around the world—and save money at the same time! Calls in Skype-to-Skype configuration are free—and you’ll be able to make international calls for as low as 2¢ per minute. The VP-24A is also ideal for office use in any venue where Skype and an Internet connection are available. Key Features Save When You Call The VP-24A is exceptionally economical to use! You’ll enjoy free calls in Skype-to-Skype configuration—and you’ll be able to make international calls for as low as 2¢ per minute. Wireless Convenience Unlike most VoIP phones, Keyspan by Tripp Lite’s VP-24A lets you roam as you talk! The VP-24A employs a wireless signal that eliminates the need for a physical USB connection between the phone and your computer. This connection operates over outdoor distances of up to 300 feet and indoor distances of up to 100 feet—even through walls and furniture. Full Functionality The VP-24A delivers everything you want in a VoIP phone! It’s loaded with convenient features including caller ID, speed dial, call history, Skype contacts list, full volume control and more. LCD Display The VP-24A features an easy-to-read LCD screen that shows Skype status, battery level, signal quality, who’s on line, your contacts, call history and much more. Simple Battery Recharge The VP-24A comes with rechargeable AAA batteries that are good for 15 hours of talk time or 1200 hours of standby time. And recharging the batteries couldn’t be simpler. Simply connect the phone to your computer using the included USB cable—that’s it! See a Short Video on the VP-24A What’s in the Box Package Contents Wireless receiver Wireless VoIP phone 3 rechargeable AAA batteries USB cable (for recharging phone) CD with driver software and user guide Quick Start Guide 1-year warranty Technical Specifications Signal Range: 300 ft. (outdoors); 100 ft. (indoors) Model Frequency: 2.4 Ghz Batteries: AAA Ni-MH Rechargeable System Requirements (Windows®) Available USB port Windows 2000 or XP Internet connection Skype account (Macintosh®) Available USB port Mac OS X (10.3 or higher) Internet connection Skype account

 

Product Description

Skype brought the world a way to make free calls over the internet. It is now used by millions of consumers. This Cordless VoIP Phone makes Skype even better by allowing you to use Skype to make and receive calls without being at your computer. While many Skype phones require you to be connected to your PC via a USB cable, the Cordless VoIP Phone uses a wireless signal that allows you to roam within your house or office while using the phone. The phone is designed with mobility in mind. The phone and the small USB receiver are easy to carry anywhere you go. There is no need to carry a bulky charging base station (commonly used by other manufacturers of cordless VoIP phones). How It Works... * Cordless phone receiver plugs into the USB port on a PC or Mac * Phone communicates with the computer over a 2.4 Ghz radio signal that works through walls and furniture * Calls are made over the PC's internet connection using Skype * Open and close Skype with a single button on the phone * The LCD display on the phone shows you who is online, as well as Skype status, battery level and signal quality Features... * Make and receive PC-to-PC and PC-to-Phone calls with Skype * Outdoor range up to 300 ft; Indoor range up to 100 ft * Standby time up to 1200 hours; Talk time up to 15 hours * Recharge batteries by plugging the phone into a USB port on your PC (or with use of optional USB power adapter) * Real time volume control * Supports caller ID and speed dial Requirements: * Windows: PC with an internet connection and available USB port; Windows 2000/XP; Skype account * Mac OS: Mac with an internet connection and available USB port; Mac OS X (10.3 or later); Skype account

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use, great value - but it's not a VoIP phone!, September 15, 2006

By 

esanta "esanta" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Keyspan VP-24A Cordless Voip Phone Skype Compatible for Mac Or Pc (Personal Computers)

With the explosion of voice over IP applications, new devices appear everyday to supposedly ease our digital life, but the abundance of "standards" and protocols makes it difficult for the end user to figure out exactly what each product can accomplish.

My biggest gripe with this specific product is that despite its name, it's NOT a VoIP phone. A real VoIP phone contains everything that's needed to hook up to a TCP/IP network (wired and/or wireless) and implements a telephony protocol such as the open standard SIP or the proprietary Skype. For instance, the Zyxel W2000 can connect to a SIP server though an ordinary WiFi access point without the help of a computer, because it has an 802.11b wireless interface and implements the SIP protocol.

Instead, this Keyspan phone is just a wireless USB handset, which requires the use of a computer to function. Many similar products have been available for over a year, but they only work on Windows. This one supports both Windows and OSX.

The small box contains the phone, a USB dongle smaller than an iPod Shuffle, an installation CD, a USB to mini-USB cord and three AAA rechargeable Ni-MH batteries. To recharge the phone, you plug it into a powered USB port. Keyspan does not provide a separate charger, but this is a minor issue since this mini-USB connector is becoming increasingly common.

The Macintosh installation adds a small application named WirelessUSBPhone, and a USB driver. The application bridges the Keyspan phone with the Skype application through the use of the Skype API.

To start using the phone, you need to pair it by pressing a tiny button on the USB transmitter while the phone is in close proximity. Once this is done, you can scroll through the contact list on your phone and call them, or you can also dial numbers directly. When calls come into Skype, the screen lights up and displays the caller name.

The sound quality is excellent. The range is also particularly good, considering the tiny size of the components and the lack of external antennas. In my informal tests it is equivalent to that of a recent good quality cordless phone. Finally, the battery life is also very good: I would estimate it to be at least 4 days of stand-by and several hours of talk time, and since it uses standard AAA batteries it's easy to keep a backup set around just in case.

If you're looking for the Skype equivalent of a SIP phone, i.e. a standalone phone that works without relying on a computer, don't buy this product. Otherwise, if you use Skype a lot and wish you could use it without being tethered to your computer, this phone is the perfect answer. Unlike competing products it comes with very high quality software and offers a Macintosh version (Keyspan is well known for the quality of its products and software). Installation could not be easier and the software functions flawlessly and transparently. After a few days with the phone I'm very pleased with my purchase.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ALMOST there..., December 24, 2006

By 

E. Tapanes (Dumont, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keyspan VP-24A Cordless Voip Phone Skype Compatible for Mac Or Pc (Personal Computers)

I like this phone, despite a couple of issues, but only gave it three stars because of a serious problem - it doesn't ring for an incoming call on the Mac. Makes it almost useless except to make outgoing calls. Another reviewer stated that they've spoken with Skype and this bug will be addressed in a future update, but I've been promised that before by software manufacturers...

The phone itself works pretty well and the sound quality is actually very good with no echo, fading or dropouts experienced even two floors away from the transmitter on the computer. The phone itself is a bit on the smallish side. Especially given its purpose (a house phone), it really sacrifices ergonomics needlessly to make it more pocket-size. But overall, it appears well made (as well made as most modern consumer electronics that is) but the phone interface is not exactly intuitive.

Another gripe is that in installing it on the Mac, it requires your Administrator password. There's absolutely no reason for it to require root access. Unfortunately, that is a shortcut that many companies porting applications over to the Mac are taking. So while I'd rather not give it root access, I'll begrudgingly allow it as it's better than having to install it on a PC.

So overall, it's not bad at all for the price (assuming that Keyspan fixes the incoming call ring issue), but if you don't need one right now, I'd wait and see what else comes along.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Mac compatible!, May 13, 2007

By 

Rascal - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keyspan VP-24A Cordless Voip Phone Skype Compatible for Mac Or Pc (Personal Computers)

I had the misfortune to buy one of these phones last week, believing it to be compatible with Mac OS X, as advertised. It is not in any meaningful way. The driver that comes with the phone does not work with the latest version of the Mac operating system (10.4.9), and has not worked with any version since at least the end of 2006. The help section of Keyspan's website acknowledges this - though only after you've submitted a complaint. The advice given online is that a new driver will be released 'January 2007'... Since this is now May, we can only assume Keyspan has been selling this product knowing it did not work as advertised, and that the company is in no particular rush to sort it out! After 4 days, I have, as yet, received no answer from two submissions to their email support service either - so, to be charitable, they seem to have their heads in the sand on this one. I am not given to writing bad reviews online, and am generally sympathetic to companies pioneering technologies in newer areas, such as VOIP. But Keyspan has already demonstrated to me that it is out of its depth here, and the customer service has been appalling. A simple acknowledgment of the issue up front would have been far more helpful; instead they have just wasted my time. Very poor... The actual problems experienced with the phone are:

1. Although it is possible to get the Mac to recognize the phone as a sound input source, I could not get it to work as such. I know the sound side of Macs well and am confident the issue is with the phone.

2. The ringer is inaudible, which is a big disadvantage on a cordless phone! The help site acknowledges this problem and offers a workaround which blames Skype (!) and offers a Keyspan driver-based solution that cannot be implemented on a Mac using the latest OS.

3. Skype Out numbers in the Skype address book are only displayed as numbers on the phone's screen - not with the relevant contact names. This means you have to know everyone's number by heart to dial using the cordless phone! Worse, the numbers are displayed in numerical order, not in the order Skype has them! Again, the help pages say this will be fixed in January 2007 as part of the mythical new driver...