Customer Reviews

Philips VOIP 321 Skype Dual Phone Single Handset ( VOIP3211G/37 )

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Great sound quality and even better range this phone works much better than I imagined. The phone has a feel of quality. I agree with the comments made by grn4jd and I should add that grn4jd's comments made me realize how to dial directly from the handset. The fault that people are making about dialing directly is because of the bad documentation, also Philips tech support is not great about how to configure the phone not to disable the computer speakers. I actually found the fix to this at Philips online Knowledge base. I won't go in the details but it has something to do with going into Control Panel>Sounds and also you need to go into Skype>tools>options>sound devices and choose "Audio in, Audio out & Windows default device" then reboot. As far as dialing out directly from the phone, it's simple, dial the prefix 001 then the 10 digit number then press the red Skype button. The only thing wrong with this phone is that the computer needs to be on for it to run Skype and there are phones out there than run independent of the computer but their not for me because they make Skype the default connection over the landline phone.
EDIT: I am editing my review to add a comment. The reviews of this phone are interesting, this phone seems to get either 5 stars or 1 star and I chalk that up to people figuring out how to dial directly out and also to those that didn't figure out how to fix any conflict with the phone and sound cards. Definitely this phone easily dials out using Skype directly. I posted my solution to dial the prefix 001 and the reviewer Matt B. posted another solution that looks even easier than my solution. Also with some aggravation, I believe the sound card conflict can always be solved. The solution lies within ControlPanel>Sounds and the Skype Toolbar.

Bought this phone to work with my laptop at the office, and so far it is working really well. I can call from anywhere in the office (which is about 20,000 sq ft), and reception is great. Interface with Skype 2.5 works great, and it is pretty easy to browse thru your Skype contacts list on the phone. There are only a few minor issues so far:

. Skype 2.5 allows you to view you MS Outlook contacts within the Skype application, but these contacts are not displayed on the phone.

. I have to turn off the phone software when undocking my laptop, because Windows XP doesn't like to let you undock or hibernate with an active USB connection.

. The instructions don't tell you how to make an outbound SkypeOut call instead of the landline. I finally figured out that you have to hold down the 0 key (which is +) -- always prefacing the phone number with the + will initiate an outbound SkypeOut call.

UPDATED: A few of the subsequent reviewers have said that the information on SkypeOut calls is not true. You have to push the red Skype button on the phone to initiate the SkypeOut call. Pushing the green Talk button will dial the number (even with the + prefix) using the landline.

If you are in the Skype Contacts list, you can also push the red Skype button to call the selected contact.

I already had the Philips 3211 Cordless, which actually plugs directly in to my computer, the great bonus with the Linksy CIT400 is it plugs directly into your wirless router, so your computer does not need to be on to use Skype, unlike the Philips.
The other bonus with the CIT400 is once you have programmed the phone (a child could do it), when you dial a landline you don't have to even dial an area code, providing you are calling a number with the same local area code as yours - so it's back to 7 digit dialing - what a treat. However, this is exclusive to the types of phones you plug into the router , all of the phones you connect to your computer (including the Philips 3211) have the big drawback that when calling a regular landline, even in the USA, you have to prefix it with the Country code (ie 001).
I have both types, in two different locations, if you're on a budget and don't mind dialing some extra numbers prior to making landline calls and your computer is on all the time - the Philips 3211 will work OK for you.
If you don't mind investing a few extra bucks, the CIT400 makes life much easier and will work regardless of whether your computer is on or not.

You most certainly can make out bound calls using Skype even when they are not in your contact list!

1. Press and hold "0" till a "+" shows up.
2. Dial the number including country and area code.
3. Hit the Skype button, not the green talk button.

Skype then dials your number even if you do not have it in your contacts. This is a great phone!

I have been an Amazon customer for many many years, but I have not written a review until now largely because there are some misconceptions from other reviewers about this device's compatibility with Vista that I think are negatively affecting the reviews.

I purchased this phone primarily for use with Skype because I was tired of having to sit at my desk with a headset. I don't have a traditional phone line, so I cannot comment on any issues the phone might have with dual modes. I don't know how it compares with other VOIP phones and I purchased it used at a very attractive price and I use it strictly for making calls through Skype. Also, I work with computers so I am comfortable installing components and drivers.

I was aware before buying the phone that it uses a USB connection and requires the computer to turned on always and for Skype to be running. I was also aware of some compatibility issues with Vista but after reading through the forums on Skype and saw that many users were running it on Vista without problems, I felt sure I could get it to work.


Misconception 1 - Does not work with Vista
The phone in fact DOES work with Vista and I have mine running on Vista Business right now using the V3.8.3 drivers from Philips and Skype V.4.0.0.206. In all fairness, it is not a simple plug-n-play installation for most users.

After downloading the latest Vista drivers from the Philips website (V3.8.3 released September 2007) and installing it, like most people I noticed that in my Device Manager the phone showed up with a yellow exclamation point and an error message "Device Cannot Start (Code 10)". If you google that error you will soon find that it is a generic error that affects many different products running in Vista. After many hours of research, I found on the Skype forum that the best way to get the phone to work is to use a USB port with a VIA chipset. In short the USB ports on most motherboards are not VIA chipset so you need to install a new PCI USB controller with a VIA chipset VT6212L for the phone. I puchased one off eBay and installed it in a few minutes. Here is the same one I got - VIA VT6212L 4+1 Port USB 2.0 PCI Controller Card. Once Vista recognized the device and installed the drivers, I plugged the Philips phone into it and voila, the error was gone and the phone is now working problem free.


Misconception 2 - Disables Sound
When Vista installs the new phone, it recognizes that it has a mic and speakers and changes the DEFAULT sound options to the phone. This is why sound begins to play through the phone instead of through the computer speakers for some users. This has nothing to do with the phone at all. All you have to do is open your sound options in Windows and change it back to your computer speakers and mic and the problem is fixed. In Skype, make sure it is set to use the phone and not the computer speakers and mic.


Misconception 3 - Need Skype Contacts to make a Skype call
I had a problem with this myself until I read D. Cascketta's review from June 14, 2008 and San Kool's review from August 1, 2007 and Matt B.'s review from December 31, 2006 (thank you!). This misconception is probably due to poor documentation. You simply need to dial the number you wish to call and hit the "S" Skype button instead of "Talk" to call that number. I usually prefix the numbers with a "+"


I have had no problems with interference or sound quality since I've been using it. I particularly like that I can also listen to my Skype voicemail from the phone. I purchased it used and I've used it for a month now without any problems so I don't expect to see any other hardware issues. I has met all my expectations and I don't regret buying it.

I hope this information is helpful.

I've had this phone for about 2 months and use it daily as my substitute for a phone. I only have a pay-as-you-go phone for a 'real phone' so I spend about 15-120 minutes daily on this VOIP phone using Skype. It has been spectacular. After the brief installation, it was set to go. I simply activate the software each time I boot up my computer (double-click on the icon I placed on the desktop), let the software and Skype start up for about 15-30 seconds, and then I'm off to call whomever I want with SkypeOut. [For reference, I'm running on Windows XP SP2.]

Sound quality has been excellent on both my ends, which has been my main issue with hardware with Skype. I have had 3 different microphones and one USB Skype phone for over a year prior to getting this phone and they offered a range of sound quality with the most notable differences on the other end (could they understand me or not? I could always understand them). With this phone, there haven't been sound issues. It isn't the best but it is at the higher end of the spectrum of what I've used.

My next Skype phone will be a WiFi phone but that won't happen until their prices drop (a lot) and they are easier to setup on networks. This phone was one of my best purchases of the last year.

Update: still going strong in Feb, 08. I'll update if anything changes.

Update: nearly a year later (11/20/08) and still working perfectly.

Update: still working in April '09. I do wish the software would also work for a Mac though... that's a downer (I was hoping to start using this phone in my office occasionally but it looks like it will just be limited to my PC at home).

I brought this phone 2 days ago and am already in love with it! It is very convenient, sleek, great voice quality.... and the best is the dual phone effect.
I rate it at 4 stars due to 2 minor flaws... which can be easily overcome.... but very poorly documented by Philips.
1. Skype Out calls: As pointed out by others in the review, the trick is to dial 001 and the number and then hit the RED SKYPE button and NOT the talk button. The talk button is for normal phone. This is not very well documented.

2. PC SPeakers: The software automatically changes the default speaker and microphone to PhilipsVOIP321 codec. So you should change it back to Windows Default or any other Codec you use - both in Skype and in the Audio Settings in Control Panel. Restart would be helpful after this.
however another thing is that each time you use the phone, the PC audio is muted.... So once your call is over, go to the sound settings and unmute the Wave bar and increase the volume!

This is a small price to pay for the other unique features!!
Highly Recommended!

I used this phone for a while with my Windows XP machine and loved it. For the money, it did everything it said it would and functioned great as my home phone and skype phone. However, when my computer finally crapped out and I bought a new machine with Vista, I found that this phone is not compatible... sort of.

It's really a crapshoot whether this phone will work with Vista or not. My guess is there was a chipset revision made at some point or something else changed from one production run of the phone to the next since some users got the phone to work with Vista while others, such as myself, get a "Code 10" error when Vista tries to load the drivers. I did everything possible to get this phone working (USB hub firmware upgrade, all Vista updates, latest software from Philips, etc.), but it just wouldn't work.

Unfortunately, this is a pretty common problem and neither Microsoft or Philips seems to care. Philips online help doesn't really help and their customer service really doesn't help much either. They chalk it up to Vista problems and tell you to buy a new phone. That's really not a good solution.

So in the end, this phone is now worthless to me since I have Vista. Don't get this phone if you have Vista. Buy a standalone Skype phone that isn't computer dependent. I've learned my lesson.

I originally bought this phone when it was $100. Really neat stuff. It CAN DIAL ANY NUMBER THROUGH SKYPE!!! just hold the 0 to get a "+" sign and the number and hit the skype key. Cool that they went with AAA batteries instead of an obscure pack. Great distance - 100 feet from the second floor through 6 walls and sounds great. Personally I am going to buy the new Philips voip cordless with Skype engine built in and use this only when my computer is docked. I am going to take the plunge and go POTS-less!
As far as drivers go, despite it saying only good with Skype 2.5, works without problem on 3.1. If you get a second handset, you can talk handset to handset also.

I originally bought four VOIP321 phones to run on an XP PC, and they have proved very reliable. I recently upgraded to a Windows 7 64-bit PC, and discovered that W7 wouldn't start VOIP321 as a sound device (showing a yellow exclamation mark under Devices). So I took the advice of 13roots from this thread (confirmed by posters on several other websites), and installed a VIA VT6212L chipset PCI card (£2.95 including postage from ebay in the UK) and used it to connect my VOIP321 hub to the PC. It now works perfectly with the latest Skype 4.1 software. Please spread the word.

Note that for W7, I used the VOIP321 Vista installation application run in Vista SP2 compatibility mode.