Another option for VOIP but still using your existing phone.

[shadybrady]

This may be an option for people who have/getting broadband and what to use VOIP.

I recently bought a Vigor 2500V adsl router which you can loop your normal phone through - this allows you to use your existing phone to router through adsl and make internet telephone calls.

The router auto-switches between ADSL/POTS if you receive calls and using Draytel you can make cheap calls all day!!

Have a gander at broadbandbuyer.co.uk - works out at about £110 but will save you in the long run and you don't have to buy a Skype phone!!

[Monty Burns]

Interesting ......

what advantage does this give you over getting the skype and skype, voip supporting Duel Phone at 70 gbp that also supports pots?

Did I mention that this will support pots, skype and other voip systems?

[fortean]

You could also use the uConnect from VoIPvoice.
http://www.shop.voipvoice.com/Default.asp?view=1&p=10

[AOD]

Originally Posted by Monty Burns

Interesting ......

what advantage does this give you over getting the skype and skype, voip supporting Duel Phone at 70 gbp that also supports pots?

Did I mention that this will support pots, skype and other voip systems?

Hmm, well off the top of my head:

1. No need to leave a PC running 24/7, or at least when you want to make a VOIP call (via Skype).

2. The Vigor router will have inbuilt QoS (quality of service) which ensures that other IP traffic on your broadband connection won't impact the speech quality by prioritising the VOIP traffic.

3. It will support open VOIP standards (SIP etc) so you can call people on virtually any other IP phone (excluding Skype which is still a proprietary protocol).

4. For anybody with an existing wireless DECT phone system, it's a snap to connect your existing base station to the Vigor and choose how your calls get routed. I already have a very nice DECT system with a couple of handsets and wouldn't really want to have to bin them for this, especially given its less than stellar looks. This is of course assuming that the Olympia doesn't support GAP which seems likely given the "custom" buttons etc in use for Skype purposes.

5. If your broadband connection goes done, all your calls can "failover" to regular POTS automatically.

For somebody who's looking to buy a router and is interested in VOIP, the Vigor seems like a good option, although of course not the only one.

[Monty Burns]

Ahh Ok

so in fact it only has two advantages then really:

1 - You don't need a pc to act as a gateway for VoIP
2 - You can't plug in your existing phone hardware

Although ive not really tried it (i just use it for Skype) it does actually have three modes of operation:

1 - POTS
2 - Skype
3 - VoIP (other suppliers than Skype)


Not sure what GAP is (apart from a clothes shop!) so I cannot comment on this but, apart from that it covers all the other stuff either itself or via the connecting PC and can be dragged around the world with you

[AOD]

Originally Posted by Monty Burns

Ahh Ok

so in fact it only has two advantages then really:

1 - You don't need a pc to act as a gateway for VoIP
2 - You can't plug in your existing phone hardware

Think you've got this a bit confused, the point is that you can plug in your existing phone hardware, not that you can't (unless you meant to type "can"). This is an advantage of the Vigor over the Olympia.

Also, you forgot the other advantage of QoS which ensures that even if you have your P2P client running at the same time or are playing Xbox Live (whatever), your VOIP traffic will get priority.

GAP is a standard protocol for DECT phones that allows handsets from different manufacturers to work together and share a basestation. If you get a new basestation, you don't have to start buying handsets again from scratch.

Regarding the use of the Olympia with other VOIP services, that's nifty if indeed it is the case although most ads/reviews only seem to mention skype such as this one

I still think there are more than two advantages but it does depend what you want to use it for and what equipment you already have. I'd also be interested to see how well the failover to PSTN works as the phone seems to rely on detecting the presence of a connected PC via USB (or perhaps it's more sophisticated than that??).

[Monty Burns]

Er ... yeah sorry I forget people are not Psychic and cannot read my thoughts ... I ment that "can't" from the Olympian point of view Doh!


Thanks for the info on GAP! They say you learn something new everyday ... and well I just did

QoS, right click network, select properties ... if it aint there then add it in: Qaulity of Service Packet Scheduler


Yeah that is bizare that no reviews mention the other abilities of it. My Olympian definetly has three modes, it even tells you when you plug it in that service x is detected and service y is not etc. As for failover, it does not actually "fail over". You just have two dial buttons, one for an internet call and one for PSTN - you choose the method to dial. If you look at a picture then you should see the two green handset buttons on it.

As I don't actually have anything other than Skype I cannot confirm how it decides to route through Skype or ANOther VoIP service should they both be enabled on the pc.

Is that the time? Eeek! Best get back to more .... er.... work


edit: Just looked at that toms review. Maybe that was written before a new firmware version was written and applied? My delete key definetley works so maybe at this point they also enabled the "normal" VoIP calling as well? When you install the phone it goes away and pulls in the latest drivers and firmware and will often check whilst its just siting there for new firmware. Oh and in the main picture you can see both dial buttons.

[Monty Burns]

Hmmm interesting......

I just checked out the official website out of curiosity and looked at the FAQ. This clearly states>

"Can I use Cordless DUALphone together with other Internet-telephony programs?
No, Cordless DUALphone has been developed especially for Skype™."


Now this i find odd for two very good reasons.

1 - When turning the phone on it says "Skype detected, PSTN Detected, VoIP Not Detected". Why list VoIP if it is supported as Skype and not other VoIP!?

2 - In control panel (or I would imagine any sound based program) you can select this as your default speaker/recording devices. So VERY worst case scenario is that you cannot answer/dial with this device but you can still use it as a mobile speaker and microphone.

Can you suggest a totaly free VoIP supplier (for just VoIP to VoIP) calls other than Skype so I can find out whats going on?

Maybe there FAQ is out of date to the firmware (unlikely) or the firmware is giving erronous messages (we have never seen that before have we!). Im really