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36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review for Panasonic Skype Phone, May 9, 2007
I love this phone! It was very easy to setup. The router only took a few minutes to get setup on our network and then once the phone was done charging (6 hours for first time use) it only took about 5 mins to finish the setup for the phone. I have taken it around to surrounding businesses and have had decent luck finding open networks. Most of the restaurants around my home have open networks but a lot of businesses do not. So, it is not like a cell phone but, it has great potential. If you know the network key for a secured network, the interface on the phone makes it very easy to select the network (which it searches for all surrounding networks) and enter in the key. The buttons on the phone are very clear and easy to use. The interface is very straight forward. It is easy to program in additional contacts that you don't have saved on your Skype profile. If you do have contacts in your Skype profile, it will automatically load them on your phone when you sign in. Also, the router is very easy to configure, so if you travel, this is wonderful! You can talk on your phone and use your computer wirelessly at the same time. Anyone who has traveled and been stuck at a desk will really appreciate this!! The one thing I didn't know, and ended up having to call Panasonic about, was if the phone only charged by plugging it into the router. In the instruction manual, it says the phone must be charged by plugging it into the router. I have since found out that you can also charge the phone by plugging it into your computer's USB port. It also can be charged with the charger I have for my blackberry. So, that has made life a lot easier since finding that out. All in all, I am thrilled! A MUST if you travel and enjoy Skype!!
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A hopefully helpful and comprehensive (but long) Panasonic Skype phone review, December 28, 2008
I purchased this Panasonic Skype phone so that I could cancel my landline phone service, but still have an alternative to my cell phone. I opted for Skype's $3/month unlimited U.S./Canada calling plan (they have a $9.95/month international plan), and a Skype phone number ($30/year). I don't like being restricted to the computer when using Skype, so this phone sounded like a good idea.
I saw very mixed reviews for most Skype phones listed on Amazon. This Panasonic model only had a few reviews posted (mostly positive - I think there were only three negative reviews, and one of the negative reviews had just one star but had a very positive tone so was probably a mistake). But I have had excellent success with Panasonic cordless landline phones in the past, so I decided to try it.
I had relatively low expectations for a Skype phone, based on such mixed (often negative) reviews I saw from other Skype phones. I expected a delay in conversations that would be expected with a satellite phone. But thus far, I have been pleased with this model - having owned the phone for about 3 weeks. Setup was quite easy and I did not have to call customer service for assistance. I noticed other Skype phone reviews mentioned that the phone doesn't always ring, but instead goes straight to voicemail - I must admit that this does seem to happen sometimes with my Panasonic Skype phone - but my greeting says refers the caller to my cell phone in case that happens.
This model comes with the phone handset and a wireless/wired router (along with battery, cables, etc.). You can use the router as your sole router (if you don't already have one) so that you can establish wireless internet access at your home for your computer and for the phone; or (if you already have a wireless router) you can connect the router to your current router so that you can use either wireless router's connection. I kind of wish that the router that comes with the phone could be more customizable - such as by being able to change the SSID and encryption key, but this does not appear possible - not a big deal in my opinion.
The phone's size is like that of a large cell phone or a small cordless phone. It's pretty easy to use and maneuver and is very light. It is easy to remove the battery (if you need to replace it after long-term use), which I noticed was more problematic in some of the other Skype phones that I saw Amazon reviews on. The interface on the phone basically corresponds with the interface you see on the Skype software on your computer. It's pretty easy to use and works well. On the phone, you can view and add contacts, view your call history, change your status, check your voicemail, etc. And you have access to call waiting, caller ID, and other settings that you would also find on your Skype software on the computer.
The phone works for me consistently well - especially when I use it somewhat close to the phone router's location in my home. I keep the router in my basement (where my home office is), and I often use the phone upstairs in my living room. I only have connection problems when I move to the far extremities of my house to use the phone (my house is roughly 2000 square feet).
I have seen reviews of other Skype phones that report that their phone's connection often is lost. The only time I ever had this problem was recently when we had a neighborhood power outage. After power returned, the phone would not reconnect automatically until I moved closer to the router - then it connected without a problem. I have had no other connection problems.
It is a bit difficult to hear the party you're speaking with because volume is a bit low (and is not adjustable), but when I use a simple headset that I bought from Target (one with a microphone and earpiece), it became much easier to hear. There's a built-in speakerphone on the phone itself, and this is quite helpful too, and works well.
When I use the phone, people who I talk to say that the voice quality is not nearly as good as when I talk to them using my cell or landline phone; and on my end, their voice quality sounds a bit worse than when I use a cell phone. But the quality is not bad, and is probably adequate for most people (unless you want the person you're talking to hear you with crisp quality). We do have a bit of a problem when calling a family member of ours who is a bit hard of hearing - he can hear us well when I use my cell phone, but has significant difficulty hearing us when we use this Skype phone. This probably also depends on how fast the internet connection is in your home. I should mention that I don't think that there is any real audio delay when using this phone - something I noticed with some other Skype phones reviewed.
It is true that when on standby (not being charged), the phone does not have terrific longevity of battery power. The Panasonic website says that the phone has 72 hours of power on standby mode and three hours of active talk time. 72 hours of standby time is probably an overestimate, and I seem to recall seeing complaints about this on Amazon reviews. But this is not a problem if you keep the phone charged. It is true that you can only charge the phone by plugging it into its router or into a computer's USB port. Since my router (and computer) is in our basement, but we keep the phone upstairs in our kitchen, we bought a universal USB wall charger for $5 so that we can keep the phone plugged into a wall outlet to keep it charged throughout the day - not a bad workaround.
I have not tried the phone when travelling, using the router as a travel router. So I can't comment on how well it works in that case. Reviews of other Skype phones stated that when the phone is in standby mode, incoming calls sometimes do not ring on the phone; I have not had such a problem with this Panasonic Skype phone.
It would be nice if Skype could import contacts (e.g., through Outlook or a CSV file) and retain them in your Skype account. Currently as of this writing, Skype's contact import feature has serious problems - I can only get Outlook contacts to be imported, and this only works when I'm actually running Outlook on my computer; if you shut down your computer, you cannot see your Outlook contacts on your Skype account (including on the Skype phone). There are "extras" you can purchase for $15-20 that allows full integration of Outlook contacts (see "Do More" in the Skype software), and to be used on the Skype phone, and this worked well for me (I use an "extra" called "SkypeSync"). Skype is looking into a better contacts importing feature with its next version, based on a recent email I saw from them.
In cancelling my landline, the downside is that I can no longer fax from my home. But most faxes I have to initiate can be done scanned via email anyway. There are some Skype "extras" I found that allow faxing through Skype, at inexpensive rates.
So overall I would recommend this phone, but probably not as one's sole phone in the house - because of problems with call quality, but also because 911 locater service is not offered with Skype phones, and so if there is an emergency, the 911 operator would not be able to locate where the call was initiated from.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Panasonic builds a winner!, May 26, 2007
I bought this unit because of Panasonic's reputation for value and quality. I was not disappointed. The Skype service worked well and the unit setup was really easy despite my lack of familiarity.
The Base Unit supplied doubles as a wireless router for both the Panasonic Handset and my Laptop and does an excellent job in both roles.
Even the supplied Travel Case for the equipment is well engineered.
If you have never tried Skype you are in for a (money saving) treat. Most everyone I call using Skype reports that the sound quality surpasses the typical cellular phone.
Admittedly, the Handset gets mixed results when used with WI-FI routers other than the Base Unit supplied by Panasonic, but this is a small concern in my opinion. Also the unit (like any unit using Skype) does not identify itself to Caller ID so it appears as "Unknown Caller" on many telephones with Caller ID capability.
Overall, Panasonic has built another winner!
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