IPEVO USB Handset for Skype (Ultimate Black)

Other products by Ipevo

Product Details

• Item Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000CED6GO
• Item model number: Free1black
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Office Electronics > Telephones & Accessories > VoIP > Handsets

• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 24, 2007

Product Description

Product Description
As one of the first plug-in handsets designed exclusively for Skype, the IPEVO FREE.1 has earned a reputation for its seamless integration with the world's most popular VoIP software in an easy-to-use device.The functions and buttons on the FREE.1 are tailor-made for the Skype experience, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of placing calls via a computer. A "s" key activates the Skype window on your desktop, a toggle "buddy jog" to let you effortlessly scroll through your contact list. Or simply press the "+" key to initiate a SkypeOut call, and use the number pad to dial out just like a regular telephone.Engineered and optimized for Skype, FREE.1 delivers exceptionally clear call quality with 16K sampling rate for Skype-to-Skype calls, and 8K sampling rate for calls to landlines. The unique "hollow" mouthpiece design minimizes the annoying "echo" effect.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST Skype appliance for the price!, August 21, 2006

By	Christopher J. Bieda "chrisbieda" (Buffalo, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Since SkypeIn and SkypeOut were introduced, I have bought and experimented with a variety of IP phones, but none of them were truly workable: I wanted to use my sound card AND my Skype phone, side-by-side, even simultaneously.

(My wife was quick to point out on one occasion that the sounds of the screensaver were smartly layered over her conversation on another Skype device. End of experiment.)

The Free-1 is THE solution. It installs its own sound driver that uses the Free-1 for Skype and nothing else. The sound quality is excellent, and while the phone is smaller than you might imagine (it's not much longer than a stick of DDR memory), it is comfortable to hold for long conversations (at least for a generation raised on cellphones).

I no longer keep a phone at the computer with this bad boy available. Until midnight this New Year's Eve, I'm making every outgoing call to North America with the Free-1 and Skype! It is every bit as good as my landline and sooooo much cheaper.

Honestly, if there were six stars to hand out, I would gladly do so.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and great value piece of kit - that works on my Mac too!, February 9, 2007

By	Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Having got fed up with the irritating echoes on Skype through the computer speakers, plus the fact that talking into a microphone in front of your PC isn't very relaxing, I decided to get a Skype phone handset. I knew what I wanted - a corded handset, nothing too expensive, that worked out of the box. I also wanted - and this was the tricky part - to find one that would also work on my Mac and not just the PC.

When checking around for products I was amazed at how expensive some of this stuff was. Equally there was some very cheap stuff out there but I had no idea if it would work. Fortunately I stumbled across the IPEVO FREE1 phone and various reviews that said it worked on Mac OSX (if you download the drivers) so I ordered it.

Straight away I have to say that this whole buying experience was excellent - Amazon are usually very good for me but this time they excelled; my phone arrived less than 36 hours after I had ordered it and even with Free Super Saver Delivery. It cost me £17.99 which is one heck of a bargain.

When it arrived I plugged it into the USB port on my Mac and it worked as a phone instantly. However pressing all the little buttons on it did nothing so I went to the IPEVO website and downloaded the drivers, realised that I have to run a little separate program as well as Skype, ran the program and off it went. I had a choice of ringtones on the handset (all pretty basic), where the sound came from (I could have it from the computer's speakers or the Free1 handset), how loud various bits `n bobs were. Basically all the things you might need to change. It's got some useful buttons on it that scroll down your Skype contacts list so you don't actually have to touch the computer to make calls and stuff.

I then loaded the drivers for the PC, plugged it into the PC and it worked instantly then too (although I did have to shut down first, as it informed me). I can't think of the last time I plugged the same new piece of hardware into both PC and Mac and it worked first time, so 10 points for IPEVO for that. Sound quality seems fine on both platforms, there's a little green light so you know it's working and... what more can I say. A great bit of kit, a smaller handset than your usual home phone (it's 15cm long and just under 4cm wide) and it works. It's a great little phone that I highly recommend.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars just what i bargained for, April 12, 2008

By	D. Donchev (somerville, ma) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

the ipevo usb handset is stylish and lightweight piece. design-wise, it has already gathered several awards and there's little to add but praise. in terms of sound, it's been perfect so far - loud and clear. there are several extensive reviews on the web, and all of them seem to rate it very positively. works very well with both mac (in this case mac mini) and pc laptops (an ibm t41 and a fujitsu-siemens). excellent bargain for the price.