Top Wifi Reviews

1. 

   Tom Chappell
   May 15th, 2010 - 00:27

   Review by Tom Chappell for Netgear SPH200W WiFi Phone with Skype
   Rating:
   This review concerns only the SPH200W; I don’t know anything about the earlier SPH101.

   I was hesitant to buy this product based on reviews, but I went ahead and got it, expecting to have to do some troubleshooting.

   The product has been completely satisfactory to me. The phone is adequately sturdy, battery life is quite long long (I power the phone down when I’m on the move to keep it from searching for networks, and I get 3-5 workdays of standby out of one charge), and call quality is fine. Incoming call clarity is superb; outgoing clarity isn’t always great because of the mic placement and quality on this phone. Setting up the phone is easy and intuitive. The phone connects quickly and reliably to networks, and options for preferred networks, entering passphrases, etc., are many and easy. Making calls is very easy. As is clearly indicated on this product’s box, there’s no onboard web browser, so you can’t authenticate on a network using a browser. If you just have to register hardware on a network you use (like I do at work), that’s easy – use your computer to register, or just tell your IT person the MAC address of your phone, which is under the battery.

   You can charge the phone using the included cradle which receives a male USB mini-A plug, or you can plug a USB mini-A cable directly into the phone. Netgear supplies you with an AC adapter which plugs into the wall and terminates with mini-A, so you can charge this phone like you would any mobile phone. There’s also an A- to mini-A USB cable in the box, so you can charge from your computer if you need to. Both methods work with either the cradle or without it. Very versatile charging options.

   Here’s what I think will be useful to potential buyers -

   Netgear’s support is mediocre at best, and I couldn’t get any info. from them about compatible headsets or batteries. Don’t buy this phone expecting excellent support from the manufacturer. I did some legwork, and much research later, I have answers:

   “Standard” headsets don’t work with the SPH200W. You need a 4-pole plug, to start, and then not all headsets of this description will work. Nokia headsets have worked for me – I bought an HS-47 for peanuts, and it works great. This significantly improved outgoing call quality.

   Batteries. No help from Netgear on this one, I’m sad to say. The battery for the SPH200W is lithium, 3.7V, and has 900mAh capacity. If you search for batteries which are interchangeable with Nokia BL-5C, you’ll find one which will work. The Netgear battery is the shape of the BL-5C, and many BL-5C replacements are 3.7V (vs. 3.6) and some are higher capacity than the stock one (Lenmar makes one which is readily available and works very well with this phone). If you absolutely must have tons of battery life out of this appliance, get an extra battery and you’ll be good to go for a long long time.

   Other complaints of others:

   1) “the speakerphone isn’t hi-fi.” It’s true. Have you heard high-quality sound from a mobile phone’s speaker? I never have. This works just fine; I can understand what callers are saying when I use the speaker. I don’t listen to lossless audio playback on my phone.

   2) “outgoing call quality is poor.” Not quite true, though this is the SPH200W’s weak point. It’s often just as clear as a digital/cell connection, but sometimes it’s obscured enough to be annoying. If you want to upgrade, spend a few bucks and get a good headset. If this still doesn’t satisfy you, wait for the next generation of wi-fi phone technology.

   3) “battery life is terrible.” Not true. If “less than 9 days of standby” is “terrible,” then I guess I can see what folks are saying here. You get plenty of talk/standby time out of this battery, and it’s very easy to keep it charged up with all the options you have. Extra batteries are also easy to come by.

   I’m glad Netgear is producing VoIP equipment. This is a good piece, and I recommend it to anyone who is weaning him/herself from a 2-year wireless contract.
2. 

   Michael L. Borgstahl
   May 15th, 2010 - 01:27

   Review by Michael L. Borgstahl for Netgear SPH200W WiFi Phone with Skype
   Rating:
   Having read the specs on this phone I had to buy it. Wow make skype calls without a PC from any wiFi hotspot. Having owned Netgear routers gave me some assurance of the quality. I got the phone early, about October 2007, after Netgear support researched my query and told me where I could order it.
   
   Generally the phone works very well as claimed. I purchased a Skype out plan for $30 that gives me unlimited land and cell phone calls in the US and Canada for a year. The SPH200W was easy to set up and load contact information into via the USB connecter, and effortlessly linked to my wireless Netgear router. I made calls easily without my PC turned on and found the display and useability quite good, with better range than bluetooth devices. I heard both sides of the conversations very clearly, as good as my VOIP phone service from my local cable company. Call quality was described by those I was talking to as TERRIBLE! This was a consistent comment no matter whether calling locally, nationwide, or to Canada, to land phone or cell phone. I decided the phone’s voice pickup must be faulty but liked the phone well enough I wanted to try using it with a good wired headset to see if that improved the outgoing voice quality. After several attempts and contacts with Netgear support for help with what headset the phone might work with, I gave up and returned the phone. The lack of NetGear support may have been because NetGear was at that time unprepared for support, as some phone support personnel told me they had no such phone as the SPH200W.
   
   Bottom line for me. With TERRIBLE outgoing voice quality the phone is not worth having no matter the price. I liked it well enough I may try a later release in hopes they have overcome this voice pickup problem. Lesson re-learned, early adopters beware.
3. 

   J. Kelley
   May 15th, 2010 - 01:37

   Review by J. Kelley for Netgear SPH200W WiFi Phone with Skype
   Rating:
   I bought this Skype phone because it works specifically with T-Mobile’s HotSpots. I’ve logged in at the Red Carpet Clubs at LAX and John Wayne Airport. The sound quality is excellent. At home, I used it nightly with a friend who is moving to Hawaii. His cell plan didn’t cover Hawaii and his last visit cost him over $300. This time we talked for hours over Skype. He used his laptop and I used my Netgear phone. There’s three heavy hitting wireless users sharing a single Apple Airport Extreme. We have Roadrunner Extreme Cable Modem service. So, we’re well equipt at home for using the Netgear Skype phone. I also use the phone using a portable Apple Airport connected to a hotel’s inhouse wired Internet access. It works flawlessly.
4. 

   G. Egger
   May 15th, 2010 - 02:21

   Review by G. Egger for Netgear SPH200W WiFi Phone with Skype
   Rating:
   Horrible call quality with FAST and RELIABLE internet connections. False advertising when they state “compatible with most wifi hotspots including t-mobile;” that statement should read “compatible with ONLY 2 hotspot providers worldwide, one in europe ONLY and also t-mobile.” Cannot connect to a wifi network with web login. Freezes randomly so that you have to disconnect the battery. Takes upwards of 5 minutes to connect to any given open or preferred secured wifi network. Does not work with a handsfree unit (hardwired or bluetooth). The netgear website is full of it when they say it will work with the motorolla headsets. Cannot SMS?!? I am horrified by my experience with this item.
5. 

   obscurity
   May 15th, 2010 - 02:48

   Review by obscurity for Netgear SPH200W WiFi Phone with Skype
   Rating:
   I have been using Skype on my Mac for all my work-from-home needs for quite some time. The sound quality is excellent, and the price is just right. So I thought I’d extend that a little bit, and get a Skype handheld – so my phone can ring when my computer is closed. You know – like a real landline.

   This was a failed attempt.

   I’m going to try other devices, but this one does not make the cut – at all.

   * Frequent crashes (4 or 5 per day) that require pulling the battery out to reset
   
   * Sound quality so exceedingly poor that it is not usable
   
   * Did I mention the sound quality? Words are unintelligible for people on the other end …

   So you may be thinking “I bet its your network” … “I bet you have interference” …. “I bet your upstream is bad” ..

   No, No, No.

   First, remember that Skype on my Mac works flawlessly and I’ve never experienced any bandwidth or sound quality issues with it.

   Upstream: I’m in a MUD but my upstream consistently gives speeds of over 1.8 meg – which far exceeds VoIP requirements – faster than T1.

   Interference: I thought there were too many devices on Channel 4 in my house, on my existing router, so I setup a separate wireless network on channel 11 (minimal interference) just for this phone. Nope.

   Encryption: I thought that WPA/WPA2 may create too much overhead on the poor little phone, and it would benefit from a less processor intensive encryption protocol, so I switched its own separate wireless network over to WEP40. Nope, no benefit.

   I thought that my friends were just being difficult, so I had someone call me to test the sound quality. I could not hear the first nor last word that the subject spoke, and the ones in the middle were highly compressed.

   SkypeOut to Europe? My friend said “Oh no. I’m calling you back on a real phone” … So I said, wait, let me try Skype on my Mac. Worked flawlessly.

   I also failed to mention that the microphone jack doesn’t support any microphone that is currently in production in the US – even those that fit into the mini-jack … don’t work.

   In general, save yourself the hassle, and select a different solution for your Skype needs. (There’s a reason the most recent version of the firmware was compiled in 2007).

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