A WiFi Phone, Two Continents, and Five Countries Later

My socks were rocked, and that's saying a lot...because I don't wear socks.

I ended my pricey AT&T affair, realizing I'd unwittingly become a slave to oddly unexplainable monthly service charges (a technology infrastructure surcharge on a $150 bill? Seriously?) and embarrassingly tripe international rates to Australia and Europe, even with the "World Connect" feature (yet another monthly fee), a wicked form of legal robbery rivaled only by collect calls, pound shoppe calling cards, and college tuition.

I'm not even going to touch the things which transpired in Amsterdam, but will admit to being turned into a proper Manchester scalawag at a chip-shop drunk dialing whoever, potentially building a telecom bill that'd sober me up faster than a Chav can think Burberry.

Of course, before I left I thought of these possible scenarios (and then some). Already enjoying an awesome Skype Subscription on my laptop, I happened to stumble across Netgear's WiFi Phone with Skype which demanded an immediate giddy go at Best Buy, stoked at the concept, I was digging the box and charging cradle. By then I was on suburban snarky autopilot, slipping off my Roos and zipping open the pocket conveniently containing mum's charge card. You know the rest.

A minute or two of googling would have you staying away from this phone like killer peanut butter, and let me be the first to say that this technology is far from perfected, and truly in its developing stages (there was only one model available for purchase at the store I visited, and only a handful on Skype's website.)

Like I mentioned, this isn't something to box up and give to your hapless off-to-college freshman or dad who thinks he's state of the art, it took a bit of trial and error, a firmware update and a few tweaks resulting in a phone able to call anywhere, with clarity comparable to a cell phone, and flawlessly integrate with the desktop Skype application.

The hardware: Retro basic for sure, the simple Nokia throwback reigns supreme as it should (why take something that's perfectly good and mess it up?) built with a solid feel and generous screen, a blue glow shines bright with an added touch of style illuminated by backlit keys shining to compliment the standard button layout (right down to the press-and-hold-1 for voicemail) and durable hard-to-scratch polycarbonate shell.

The wall charging unit which can plug directly into the phone or into the charging cradle is perhaps one of the most nifty and useful features of this phone: battery charging is achieved by a run-of-the-mill USB port, allowing a great deal of flexibility for the international traveler and couch surfer alike to keep the unit powered up and steady as she goes...

The speakerphone is a bit loud, but useful, and with updated firmware, the unit has little to no echo problems with landlines, cell phones, and can also handle the phone trees from hell, a longtime frustration of skypeout PC desktop platform users - the exhaustive "...or, if you are calling from a rotary phone, please remain on the line..." is increasingly replaced with a click and cursing after sitting through a minute or two of phone tree coaxing.

The claimed standby time and talk time vary depending on factors such as brightness, number of incoming calls, time spent debating which among the three ringtone choices best suits your individuality...on average, the phone can go a solid day without needing a charge, and can provide about an hour and a half of time to discuss the subtleties of talking trash with your mate from sheffield.

The software: Built to Skype. The phone seamlessly integrates your contacts, both skypeout and skype contacts, and offers the ability to manage those contacts, choose your status level (Online, Skype Me, Away, etc.), set a mood message, and even search for skype users based on names and e-mail address.

To get the most out of the phone's capabilities, plopping down a few fivers to get a skype-in number (or two) will maximize the software experience - skype credit can be viewed through the interface, as can the voicemail message retrieval system. For those business types that just have to start out a message with "Hi, today is...", the integration of such options and services will be a welcome luxury.

The nitty and gritty of network interfacing is the biggest complaint among users of this device--and I'll admit it can be frustrating...as a U-Verse (AT&T Fiber Optics) customer, I'm given righteous access to WiFi hotspots galore, but unfortunately, any hotspot that requires web-browser authentication is rather useless to the phone, although it supports nearly all types of secure networks, and users have the extended option of joining the T-Mobile hotspot network or The Cloud network interface.

Fortunately, if you're an urban dweller, WiFi junkie like me, you'll never be too far out of touch for too long, and even then, you can set incoming calls to forward to a friend's cell phone, or any number for that matter, allowing options for staying connected.

As for the real world? This phone accompanied me on my trip to europe and rarely let me down - that is not to say there weren't times when I could've really used the instant connectivity of a cell phone and cursed the lack of available WiFi, but just as such, the ability to use a public connection and communicate with family back home, or friends, hotels, and travel agents anywhere from Ireland to Amsterdam was at least $20 saved in a single day, not to mention the suave move of purchasing a skype-in number in the UK, allowing friends to have a local number to call me. Almost as if I lived there!

Is it worth it? That's all up to you, search around the web a bit and see just how much free WiFi exists in your area. Skype offers money back satisfaction on most all of its products, and unless you've put it through hell, you should be able to return the phone within a month or so (check the fine print of the return policy if you're not sure).

Back in Dallas, the rolled-up shirtsleeve-and-loosened-tie moguls roaming about downtown know the perfect places to take a cigarette break with their iPod in hand, facebook inbox queued up...and even the commuter train that crisscrosses the metroplex offers 3g service.

For free, of course.