35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
Great video phone, could be a little better
I bought this video phone in February, after waiting for about a month for it to become available on Amazon.com. It seems to be always out of stock. Overall, I'm very satisfied with it so far and have used it to view relatives overseas and parents out of state.
Pros:
1) The video phone is always online without having to use a computer.
2) The video...
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
a few issues
the thing works very well but has a couple of issues and a few catastrophic design flaws:
- no keypad, so it is difficult to dial phone numbers (a touchpanel would be a great fit for this device)
- power button very hard to reach, but sometimes you press it accidentally if you carry the device around
- it rings on the headphones, as the headphone...
This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
I bought this video phone in February, after waiting for about a month for it to become available on Amazon.com. It seems to be always out of stock. Overall, I'm very satisfied with it so far and have used it to view relatives overseas and parents out of state.
Pros:
1) The video phone is always online without having to use a computer.
2) The video camera on the Skype phone transmits a video picture as clear or clearer than any of the computer based webcams I've seen, included the highly rated Logitech 9000.
3) When doing a voice only call, the speaker phone is amazingly clear. It sounds better than my cordless speakerphone. With the video calling, the sound quality degrades somewhat, but I believe it is due to intranet bandwidth limits more than phone hardware limitations.
4) The video phone is relatively easy to use. If I call someone who is using Skype on their computer, we often waste a lot of time trying to get their computer webcam or microphone working, whereas my videophone never has to be fiddled with.
5) The phone uses 20 watts of power when plugged in and waiting to receive calls. This is cheaper on the electric bill than leaving on our desktop (120 watts) or a laptop (45 watts) for 24 hours a day to receive Skype calls. I wish it could run on less power though (like 5 watts) when it is waiting to receive calls.
6) The phone setup was not too hard. The trickiest part was getting connected to the internet. I couldn't figure out what the PPPoe user name and password was for a direct LAN cable connection to our router, but I was able to set up the wireless connection after entering (very tedious) a long wireless network password using the on screen keyboard.
Cons:
1) The video screen is not as clear as what I've seen on my laptop's Skype video screen. However, the frame rate is much better than Yahoo Messenger's video calls, so overall I'm satisfied.
2) Battery life is only rated about 20 minutes. Wish it could last for at least 90 minutes, which would cover most calls. At least it is enough time to take the phone for a quick tour of the house or backyard and then find another outlet to plug in.
3) The video phone lacks a number keypad, so it takes a while to enter a phone number in using their on screen number pad.
4) When making a local phone call to a phone number, I still have to type in the country code and city code, as if I am making an international call. The phone doesn't default to a home country or area code.
Update (6.13.2009): It does allow me to enter just the area code and phone number now when dialing a local phone number. It must know which country I'm calling from.
5) The phone is not meant for carrying around and conversing like a cordless phone due to its size. You have to set it down somewhere. I think the base has some weight in it so that it doesn't topple over easily.
6) The phone can tilt up to view the ceiling but not towards the ground to view stuff on the table top.
7) I haven't found a way to change the ring tone for different callers.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
the thing works very well but has a couple of issues and a few catastrophic design flaws:
- no keypad, so it is difficult to dial phone numbers (a touchpanel would be a great fit for this device)
- power button very hard to reach, but sometimes you press it accidentally if you carry the device around
- it rings on the headphones, as the headphone connector is on the back you want to leave them plugged in all the time, but then you won't notice any incoming calls, as you don't hear it ringing when you don't wear the headphones (oh man! what a big design flaw)
- If someone send you a text-message you do not see it (no problem) , but the other person does not know this and assumes you are ignoring the text message. People sending text-messages should receive an automated answer "this account cannot receive text-messages".
- no real buddy list, just a big name-sorted address-book (it has a screensaver which is trying to mimic that)
- silly boot and power-off images (sun and moon), just does not look very professional
- one ringtone for all contacts
- you cannot remove "Echo / Sound Test" from your contacts. (they should move that to audio-preferences, contact list is not a very good place for sound test)
- the device is a little bit too big and too heavy (it weights much more than my netbook with 6cell battery, which has more than enough power to do skype calls)
- it should have a dedicated mute button on the front
- power save mode still consumes too much power, you cannot change any of the screensaver or display-off-timeout values (when I am at my desk I want to see a buddy list all the time, when I leave a easily reachable sleep-button would be nice)
- if you change volume there is no feedback how loud the setting actually is
it looks like they did not test the device with real users, or the release deadline was already near.
I tested the device with software 1.0.0.23 (which is now 6 months old), it looks that this is their latest release
I did not test skype-in skype-out and answering-machine
I hope they fix all of the software-only "bugs" soon
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
My grandmother is 87 years old, and she has three grandchildren living abroad. Obviously, she misses us and would like to see us more often than just when we visit. But she does not feel confident using a computer.
We bought the Aiguru SV1 for her, and she uses it with wired internet, since that is easier. She has become a very eager user. She is concerned about the fact that it gets warm, and insists on turning it off whenever the probability of getting a call is low.
There is only one thing that could have been made easier, and that is turning it off. Now you have to press the on/off button on the back, and then a yes/no window pops up and you have to choose yes by using the arrows. It would have been easier to just turn it off by pressing the on/off button. It is not so easily accessible, so there does not seem to be a great danger of turning off the phone by mistake.
This is not a videophone that I would buy for myself, since I have my computer on all the time. But this is definitely ideal for grandparents, and there are many who would love it. It is not available worldwide. I am just glad I found out about it and was able to buy it. I recommend it wholeheartedly as the perfect gift for grandparents.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
This AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone is a complete waste of money, I would not recommend it to anyone. While it seems practical and fun, it cannot connect automatically every time it is turned on (as it is supposed to). A message keeps coming up saying that the password to our wireless network is invalid. This does not happen to any of ours notebooks or iphones that connect to our wireless system but it does happen to the AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone. As a result, I have to enter and re-enter the password several times until the machine decides to accept it. Sometimes it may take up to 15 minutes to do so, sometimes it does not work altogether. I got in touch with Skype about it and costumer service was extremely dismissive and simply told be to get in touch with the retailer (which happened to be Skype). I sent them several e-mails after asking for advice but to no avail, these have yet to be answered. I have been buying products from Amazon for over 7 years (since I moved to the US) but I could never really be bothered with writing a review. However, I am so disappointed by this product that I want to prevent others from buying it and having to go through the same amount of trouble that I have to every time I want to make a call through Skype using this gadget.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
We've purchased one of these devices at my employer as a test, and have found the voice and video viewing quality to be as expected. However, the transmitted video quality (i.e. the built-in camera's performance) is not very good. At this time Skype only supports their high-quality video if a Logitech Orbit AF or QuickCam Notebook Pro is being used. It would be good if it would be supported by this device. Having said that, it's not necessarily ASUS's fault that it doesn't. Just noting that those viewing you as you use this device shouldn't expect high video quality.
Also, given that an ASUS Netbook is not significantly more expensive than this video phone, and is much more capable, has a larger screen, and can run Skype, asking $260+ for this device is more than I think the market is going to support.
Get your cost down, ASUS, and I think you'll have a winning product.
===============
Additional Comment 2/11/10: I wrote that this item was too expensive back when I bought it for $260. Now I see that they've raised the price on it another $60! Good luck with that.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
The combination of features and price is unlike any other device on the market. We use video conference a lot at work using devices that are 20 times more expensive and don't work nearly as well over the Internet. Having a Skype appliance is great. It's easy to use and the video and audio quality are surprisingly good.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
I have had this item since Dec 2008. Its great !!!!! My Parents in there 70's are able to use it with no problems. We are able to connect up to them and they are able to talk and see their Grand Kids.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
The Skype video phone AIGURU SV1 works as advertised and we have it found much more convenient to carry around the house than carrying a laptop.
The video image transmitted to laptops is excellent and seems to be better than the video from PCs and laptops, at least this is our impression.
There are limitations on battery time and Wi-Fi range, but they don't outweigh its convenience and higher quality video.
Henry S.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
It's really a great fun to talk on AIGURU SV1 Skype Video Phone especially with family . It has such a good video camera with good picture clarity. It's also simple to install and use.It's integrated with Wi-Fi with clear sound.Its drawbacks are a bit too bulky to carry around while travelling and battery's talk time is not long enough to talk in hours . Hope one day AIGURU SV 1 can come out with long talk-time battery.
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This review is from: AIGURU_SV1 Skype Video Phone (Electronics)
product works great right out of box. Same skype interface. Machine found my wireless and i was up in minutes. A 5-year old can use it.
Voice quality for skype-to-skype is great. Some deterioration in skype out and skype in, but i think it has more to do with skype than the phone. Video on the camera is not the best on the market but it's not the worst. speed is good and quality is better than my on my pc.
Basically, I love this device. make it a little smaller, lighter, and give me 1) bluetooth; 2) removable camera; 3) wireless handsets and I'd be even happier.
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