Linksys WIP320 Linksys Wireless-G Skype iPhone

Average customer rating: 2.5

ok phone, but with issues
run from this if not a geek,or working for linksys
Very Good Phone, But Only Real Geeks Need Apply At This Point
QA asleep at the switch
Good app (Skype) on bad hw...

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Listmania:

Gadgets early 2007

Linksys WIP320 Linksys Wireless-G Skype iPhone

Manufacturer: Linksys
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B000JI5L02
2006-11-20

Related Categories:

IP Phones

IP Phones

Product Description

Get wireless handset convenience when you use Skype! Now when you want to talk to your friends you don't need your computer because the Skype application is pre-loaded on the Wireless-G Phone. The Linksys Wireless-G Phone for Skype comes with the Wireless-G Phone and charger and is already pre-loaded with Skype. You are now free to use Skype anywhere you have wireless Internet access. Just select who you want to talk to from your contact list on your color display and get ready to talk.Of course, the Wireless-G Phone supports SkypeOut dialing and rings when you have a Skype or SkypeIn call coming in, displaying the caller's ID on the screen. The Wireless-G Phone also supports call waiting and Skype's optional Voicemail service. When you're on a call, you can hit the Mute button for privacy, or use the handsfree speakerphone function to let everyone join in.The Linksys Wireless-G Phone for Skype allows you to make calls to other Skype users from anywhere you have wireless Internet access. You'll get the convenience of a wireless handset and all its features, plus the high-quality voice reception integrated right into your Skype phone, no computer is required!The WIP320 is also part of the iPhone family of handheld devices which harness the power of the Internet to deliver more than talk, uniting the familiarity of the telephone with compelling Internet services, access to personal content, and integration with the home to create complete communications solutions. iPhone - More that Talk!

Customer Reviews:

ok phone, but with issues.......2007-06-08

when the phone works it is great. clear, loud sound, etc. however there are quite a few times when you can't connect on the first try, sometimes a reboot is required. also the battery standby time is pretty short.

has one disadvantage over the phones that have base (like this one: Netgear Dual Mode Cordless Phone with Skype), it has no way for you to pre-set your location, so that means you always have to dial + (or really 00), then area code, then the number. i wish there was a way to set a default location.

tried other linksys skype phones and one from netgear, with all the faults of this phone it still beats them.

run from this if not a geek,or working for linksys.......2007-06-06

this wi-fi- fone is one hot looking fone and i was in love whan it came in mail ! i will not give it 0 ,had fone not evin a day and all calls to linksys was bad and not helpfull
all thy sayed is call the ones you got it from for help !ok 3 of 7 calls to linksys guys sayed that ,not all ,and or sayed send it back to whar you got it from
i/we was doing a update it ,so all of the fone wood work but it is no go
(all the bad things sayed about this wi-fi fone is true!i.e. no hand free use ,and linksys dos not care about it !? as of my calling ,so do not get this hot looking fone if you be a geek go for it! by the way amazon rocks big time all ways good to me !!!!

Very Good Phone, But Only Real Geeks Need Apply At This Point.......2007-06-05

I really have found all the negative user reviews about the WIP320 to be funny considering almost all of them were from "early adopters", AKA people who bought this gadget "as soon as it was available". 90% of these people have to have known what they were getting into, and yet they're still so upset with Linksys because there were bugs in this product which is not just a new product, but a new product in a new product segment.

Anyway, I did a lot of research on WiFi Skype phones, and found the WIP320 to be my best bet considering Linksys has the best reputation of all the manufacturers I looked at as far as all the products I've used at work for the past 16 years. We use a lot of Linksys wireless products because they are just better than anything from Netgear, SMC, Philips, etc.

So, I've only had this phone for one day, but it was obvious it had some problems, although it worked great most of the time. The firmware version was 1.1.0.0, so I figured at least that's better than 1.0.0.0. The first problem I noticed was that after a full charge, the battery was almost dead after sitting unplugged next to our "old" phone at home for one hour. It was also pretty hot, much more than it should've been considering that it hadn't been touched for an hour, so I thought something must've been wrong with the battery or power saving features. The second, more minor problem was that the menu navigation was lagging and freezing for several seconds sometimes. It was annoying, but didn't happen most of the time. The third problem was that I didn't see a way to use the speakerphone feature all the reviews talked about. Actually, a fourth problem was that the voicemail "On" setting kept going off for some weird reason and calls wouldn't go to voicemail.

OK, so one big problem with the battery, and a few relatively minor problems. So, I saw a menu item on the phone about updates -- hmm, said there were none. So, I checked Linksys' support site looking for some other way to fix the problem. I saw a firmware update to 1.1.0.16 released only a week or so ago. Looked like a minor update, but the comments said it added the speakerphone feature, so I downloaded it.

The firmware updater is an EXE installer that, at some point, tells you to plug the phone into your computer (luckily I have a mini-USB cable I use with my digital camera, because the phone didn't come with one!), then it says to hold down the right soft key, power button, and "#9" keys. OK, so I tried that repeatedly while the phone was powered up, and it just kept shutting down. The instructions didn't say to power the phone down BEFORE pushing all those buttons -- thanks. After figuring that out, got it up in some kind of update mode where it said "USB not ready" instead of "Download" as the updater said. But Windows Vista saw it now, and I told it to auto-install the driver (crossing my fingers it would work). 5 minutes later (thanks, Vista), the driver's installed and the phone says "Download". I continue with the updater after it finds the phone, and 15 minutes and a phone reboot later it's back up with the latest firmware.

Speakerphone feature, it's there and it works fine, problem fixed. Voicemail "On" setting is staying on long after I turned it on, problem fixed. Menu navigation now works fine and the phone is generally much more responsive than before, problem fixed. Last but certainly not least, the battery. Right now, after fully recharging the phone which was nearly dead earlier today, I'm two hours into testing battery life (standby), and the battery still shows a FULL CHARGE! YAY! It's still cool, too, so problem fixed as far as I can tell.

All I can say is that this phone as it exists even with these fixes is still not for the average home user, because it took way too much effort to get it to this point where it seems to be working well. I'm sure most average early adopters gave up very early on and just returned it, but being an I.T. pro for almost 20 years, I'm no average user (and I know very well to wait 6 months before buying a new type of product like this).

Look, if you're going to buy a such a new kind of product like this IMMEDIATELY after it's released, expect some bumps and tech support calls. It's a part of being a gadget freak. Or, be like me and just wait 6 months while all the true "early adopters" take the brunt of the pain.

QA asleep at the switch.......2007-06-01

This is a terrible phone. Save yourself a big headache and move on to another product. I bought one that failed after two weeks, not being able to connect to any network. I got a replacement, and after two days it is getting smoking hot and running down the battery after about an hour.

I have had such good luck with Linksys that I am really shocked that they released such a piece of junk.

Good app (Skype) on bad hw..........2007-05-29

Have this phone for few days. First thing I did is to update the software; the new rev enables the speakerphone.
The good:
- The call and speaker phone audio is ok. The Skype application is very good.
- Nice plastic body with large buttons, large letters and good spacing. The screen is ok too.
The bad:
- The phone does not have dedicated speaker phone button and the speaker phone is activated via soft menu 'options' item. This menu appears only after the receiving party answers the call; at that time you have to remove the phone from your year, press options menu soft key, scroll to the speaker phone menu item and press select; during this time you can not hear the other party... bad, bad design.
- Today the phone stopped rsponding; recovered by removing and re-inserting the battery.
- The notificationb menu item displays sound off icon despite that all sounds are on.

Electronics:

Electronics

Electronics