Smart Home Reviews Archives - Page 11 of 13

Crowning the King of Free Talk – Skype vs. Gizmo

Is there really room for more than one Skype? That's the question faced by Michael Robertson's Gizmo Project. Derek Boiko-Weyrauch put both to the test but found that Skype won't be relinquishing its lead position anytime soon.

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Quickview: Actiontec VoSKY Chatterbox

Actiontec's VoSKY Chatterbox is supposed to let you conduct Skype chats without being tethered to your computer via a headset. But Tim Higgins found that he'd rather wait for version 2 of this little speakerphone.

Smart Home Reviews

Squeezebox For In Home Music Distribution

If you want to listen to your digital music collection in your bedroom or in your living room, you don't want to have to fire up a PC.

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Verizon VoiceWing BroadBand Phone Service

Verizon thinks that upstarts like Vonage shouldn't have all the VoIP fun (and revenue). Jonathan Ghazarian takes a look at the company's VoiceWing Broadband Phone service and finds it to be a fully-featured, easy to use offering.

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Linksys CIT200 Cordless Internet Telephony Kit

Linksys' Cordless Internet Telephony Kit has hit the shelves to help further propel Skype into mainstream legitimacy. Tim Higgins takes a look at a nicely done way to unchain yourself from your PC while Skype calling.

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VTech Broadband Telephone System with Vonage service

Vonage will soon unleash a VoIP Wi-Fi handset upon at least some eagerly-awaiting consumers. But for those who desire wire-free VoIP that sticks more to home, it has already teamed with VTech to field a combination product that's sure to please folks who rather talk than connect and configure.

Smart Home Reviews

QuickView: Vonage Wi-Fi Handset

Vonage has been promoting its upcoming Wi-Fi Handset for over a year. David Strom got hold of a Beta copy but found a product with a great deal of promise, still unrealized.

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Sling Media Slingbox

What PVRs did for TV program time-shifting, Sling Media's Slingbox hopes to do for "place-shifting" any video content to anywhere there's an Internet connection. Jim Buzbee takes a look.

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Asterisk@Home

What Vonage did for the individual callers, Asterisk does for SOHO and small biz users looking an easy to install and use VoIP PBX. Jonathan Ghazarian takes a look at the more user-friendly version of this popular open source application.

Smart Home Reviews

QuickView: Plantronics CS50-USB VoIP Wireless Headset

VoIP softphones tend to keep users tethered to the desktop or notebook they run on. Eric A. Hall found that Plantronics' CS50-USB lets you roam in cordless comfort, but can leave you a little lighter in the wallet than you'd like.

Smart Home Reviews

ZYXEL P-2000W v2 VoIP Wi-Fi phone

Wi-Fi VoIP phones are a cool concept. But at least in the case of ZyXEL's second attempt at a low-cost product, the reality got Tim Higgins a little hot under the collar.

Smart Home Reviews

Olympia Cordless DUALPhone for Skype

Skype is easy and cheap to use, but it's no fun being tied to your PC. The Cordless DUALphone for Skype lets you yak away via Skype or "normal" phone service, roam as free as you want to be, and keep track of the online status of your fellow Skypers.