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Maybe I got lucky, but I would buy another one in a NY minute. I even took it to Europe twice last year.no problems. I take it with me out of town.connects to open networks everywhere. I haven't experienced the heat or complications I have been reading about. I have had this phone well over a year. It has not failed me yet. It was wonderful being able to keep in touch with family and work in such a cheap and easy fashion.
Nicely. Lo and behold, hidden in there is a new firmware section that you *MUST* download. You have to download 24MB, not an unsubstantial upgrade package. I am used to first generation gadgets, but this one had eve me whistling though my teeth a little.Now to the good news: With the upgrade, the phone connected to my wireless network.So with the installation complete, how does it work.
But the WIP320 refused to connect. No phone in the house. There are not many connectivity options to try, and I knew the wireless network just works.So I had to be off to the Linksys.com support area. If you like to fiddle and take pride in having next gen technology work for you, you may like it.
And since I am moving out of my house for a year or more, this is a chance to set things up with next generation technology. But I understand other users may carry them around from Hotspot to Hotspot, and demand portability - and probably in a few years we basically all will.Some limitations. But I have not run out of power.The build quality of the phone seems somewhat flimsy, though, with key press and such feeling "cheap", but that is just an opinion and a matter of taste. inconsistent battery level indicator, and the power budget is definitely on the tight side - keep the phone next to your bed overnight, and the battery will be near empty the next mornin - without having made a call. The keyboard layout is simple, and the menu easy to navigate with the little navigation pad and the 2 softkeys.From here, I thought things would be easy, power the phone up and then the menu seemed simple and intuitive - and my wireless setup is simple (WEP 64) and I know it by heart. And while having a compact cell phone format is nice, I'd prefer this phone to be a big bigger and substantial, since it is my home phone. You have to start with the phone turned off, and the a secret and awkward key combination that will get your WinXP computer to find a driver caller Gadget or something like that (not very intuitive) and then the upgrade process will go on and take 20 minutes or so.
As a Skype user, for long I have wanted to replace my house landline with a Skype phone. But Linksys seems to release open source code for it, so probably one will find more personalized stuff over time - a wake-up function would be nice, for example.All in all, I am glad that Linksys presents me with this alternative to traditional telephony - it just works (after some initial fiddling that may be too much for the average user). And hey, if you have family in Europe (like I do) you will save money using this, despite the fact that long distance bills aren't what they used to be.You *know* what Skype is, right. The phone itself is remarkably easy to navigate and naturally intuitive with people who have used Skype and with cell phones, it's a hybrid between the two, but geared to simply connect to a wireless router and become a stand alone Skype handset. I am also a tad surprised that ring tones are so limited in an expensive phone.
Battery life seems a tad inconsistent - it will be OK at times, then again go down in big steps very quickly. Really - it's not plug_and_play. Not a gentle get-to-know each other phase, as you may have gathered. If you haven't used it on your PC before, forget it and stop right away. This required a USB cable from computer to WIP320 that is not included in the box, but if you're like me you have plenty of them around (they come with every second USB gadget).The software update is quite fundamental. Vwery configurable it isn't. Probably another firmware release away, but then again WiFi is always going to be powerhungrier than other technologies, I guess, part of the price you pay for next gen technology.Also, for some reason I would have expected the phone to be more configurable when it came to ringtones and such - Skype allows one to import tones into the application, this phone does not.
Perhaps less plasticky feeling. Even love it.
My cell and the Skype connectivity ought to be more than enough.The phone is well packaged and appealingly designed. You *MUST* - go there right away.
It just works.I have not experienced any functional issues, the phone does not get warm, and the wireless functionality seems stable. The packaging is simple - instructions (which you may just as well toss away, as we shall see), the phone with battery and battery cover you assemble together quickly, and finally a charger with a USB connector - simply to charge the battery.
Some reviews already exist, so I'll be brief and to the point.If you're not technology literate and expect things to work out of the box, stay away from this. The cool white color and overall minimalist design display represent highlights.
Very decent voice quality (which admittedly one should expect from a $80+ phone) and familiar Skype functionality.
What I don't get is why the price has gone up so much. Sometimes excellent; other times not so. It's worth that much. We live aboard a sailboat in the Caribbean, & Skype is the only good (cheap + reliable) calling option. Not worth the expense. The battery is fine for our sometimes hour-long calls with plenty of juice left.
For $259, get a headset & use the computer. We purchased this phone in Februrary '08, & over the last six months have been pleased. The phone seems to be as good as the internet connection. We paid $119 with free shipping.
It is a big pain to use this device. I would not reccommend buying this product. Frequent drop calls, no outgoing caller ID are few problems I faced.
Talk time is 2+ hours and standby time is about 20 hours before charging. Some wireless connections, such as those at McDonalds, are free. It works on "open" wireless networks but not "free" wireless networks. Battery life is OK. I bought this product about a month ago. It's useful while working around the house with a wireless broadband connection, however, it's not that useful while away from your base. You can use a laptop to tap into the system easily but you can't use the IPhone to log in.
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