Linksys Cordless Internet Telephony Kit

The Linksys Cordless Internet Telephony Kit is a Dect handset that allows you to make Skype calls without being tied to your PC.

This is a growing trend for products and we are seeing more hit the market, as companies realise that Skype is a popular communications tool, but that its users want the same freedom that they have when using a tradition landline.

The downside to Skype is that the PC must be on, and it's no different with this Linksys handset.

The kit includes the handset, charger and USB base unit, and set up is easy.

The software wizard clearly shows what to do at each stage, and it takes only a couple of minutes. After that, the phone then seeks your Skype account and will list all your contacts.

At least that's the theory, but as we discovered, not the reality first time round.

It told us that our contacts were offline – the only way to show them was by rebooting.

The kit comes with an FAQ sheet, and two of the three problems listed – the above, plus the handset taking over the speakers, occurred when we installed the phone.

Although easy to fix, it left us wondering why Linksys cannot prevent it happening in the first place if it is a well-known issue.

Once running, the sound quality is excellent; calls were clear, crisp and sharp. The handset is also ergonomic and comfortable to use.

But there are several downsides. The phone costs £100 but, unlike some of the rival handsets, cannot make BT landline calls. And these phones, such as the Cordless VoIP/Dect Dualphone, are equally as good in terms of call clarity but cost less.

We therefore feel this phone is over priced.

The documentation is also poor, which makes things frustrating if you hit problems. We contacted Linksys with one issue, which it then had to go off and investigate.

We found that when you switched between Windows users accounts it couldn't find that person's Skype contacts list. After checking for themselves, Linksys told us users must instead completely log off from one account and log on to the other in order for the phone to switch Skype accounts.

Since this issue affects any family PC where more than one person has a Skype account, we were surprised Linksys hadn’t already sorted the problem.

That Linksys had to look into the problem left us wondering just how much testing the phone received before its release.

This phone by Linksys has some plus points, but the cost, poor documentation and other various issues really hold it back.

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