Skype phone by RTX DUALphone 4088, Black, Skype Certified, wireless voip skype phones

I wish they come up with a new model of a dual-mode Skype/ regular phone. This one has been out for a while but remains the only descent phone out there. I use a bunch of those around the house and in the office. They basically work.Pros:1) Dual mode. Very easy to make international calls without using computer.2) Good sound quality and good speakerphone capability.3) Good wireless range.Contras:1) Outdated 5-year old design.2) The most recent batch of 2 that ordered came with bad rechargeable batteries so I had to buy a replacement3) The navigation GUI is slow to the point of being useless. Cannot easily browse Skype directory.4) The blinking LED indicator of the voice message on land line gets stuck in blinking position, at least when on Comcast network. No way to disable the blinking via the menu so I ended up painting over it.

First phone I purchased already more than a year ago. Used it at home and was veeeery happy with it, partially used for personal and partially also for business purposes. a great helper. I communicate with people in also overseas and this makes it so much easier and comfortable, and CHEAP.I recommended it and got it as a gift few months ago also for a friend of mine for a family business place and they are very happy with it. They were paying monthly for a business phone about 250USD and were not really using that much their landline busines phone. I dont know if this was a standard price or they just did not have a very good deal but they said that was the best they got as an offer from ATT. After they started to use this device, they were happy, saving a lot of money, I think the "unlimited" skype plan they have costs them about 6 usd/month which is great and they can make few trips to hawaii for free instead :-)I love about this phone basically almost everything, I only wish it would be easier to delete the call history without reseting the phone.At my place I got this product and then later also an additional phone, so 2 phones with 1 account unit connected to the router.Its nice also to be anywhere with data coverage and then just call home skype account and reach family members at home.I did not experience in all this time issues like not able to reach the phone, it is always online. Unlike smartphones where often when I call they are not reachable and are not all the time online, what is not very helpful so this RTX dualphone is the solution - stays online all the time.You can use this product only if you have at home an internet access or a landline phone. You can connect it to call using landline to what your landline supports, or use the data connection for calls using Skype. If you do not have at home a landline you can use it only with a skype account using the internet connection from your router/modem. For skype you need to register and log in using your credentials. Then if you do not have money on your skype account you can call only skype users. You may also subscribe to some skype plan and be able to call cell phones and landlines anywhere based on the rate. You may also purchase a skype phone number US/CAN/and many other countries which are offered. After that people can call that phone number and it will ring your skype account. You may set up call forwarding which is great if you have an unlimited plan for calling to numbers to a country in which is your cell phone provider. That means also forwarding to the number from this country is for free, that means forwarding to your cellphone is for free. Receiving voice mails is for free so thats also great.I recommend it to anyone I know who spends more money for a phone than most of the other people, thats a reason when it is good to compare it and make a decision.Very happy with currently 3 purchases of this phone.

Update 6 weeks:Lowered the review to 1 start due to SKYPE's customer service. As this phone works ONLY with SKYPE, then the hardware goes hand in hand with the service.Unfortunately, the service is as bad as the battery. I get my account blocked about once per month "for unusual activity", 2-5 days at a time. Sometime even for the same reason, month after month. The customer service CANNOT take PHONE CALLS. So, it's live chatting. As the CS team is overseas, it is difficult to make your point accross.WORST service and hardware out there!Update 4 weeks:Unfortunately, the battery doesn't hold a 35 mins conversation, and takes about 5 hours to charge. This is a big issue. Reason for which, I drop the review from 5 Stars to 2 Stars. This is bad design, and engineering should have been working on this and have it fixed by now. It's either taking to much power to function, or charging system is not optimized.The only reason I use this phone is because is cheaper than vonage. $6/month for a phone number, plus minutes. Vs vonage which goes up to $45/month with a local phone number, and you are tied to a contract. But skype, minute per minute is more expensive than vonage.Note that international phone calls are clear... 100%. I am like calling local, even thou I am 5,000 miles away.Update 1 week:The skype phone is amazing. The skype service with the phone is also amazing. I had this phone for a week, and I can say that quality of calls exceeds my expectations.I have made calls nationally and internationally on landlines and cell phones. Amazing clarity and quality. I could swear I am talking to a person down the street from me.Note: I have not used it intensively, so I cannot judge the battery. But the reality is that battery holds pretty well, if you charge it overnight.First Review:I am going to use it to take my calls to a local number while traveling the world. But I do need an RJ45 jack to connect to a router.For on the go skype calls, I will use my cellphone on wifi. You can also use vonage, which could be cheaper for unlimited dialing minutes, but skype cost just $6 for getting a number, and few cents per minute per month...Note that 4088 Manual recommends charging the batteries for 6 hours BEFORE using the device!!!Also, the 4088 box does not include the Operating manual. As skype is an an online product, it keeps all info online. Either go to dualphone site (net not com) for the manual, or search online for the manual. A russian site has it.And yes, you can switch to upper case by pressing * once while on data entry mode for passwords. Press * again for numeric entry.1. This is not your common sense operating menu. Looks like a Nokia menu from 2000. But is good enough to use it properly and fast.2. High quality feel3. Buttons feel right4. Buttons' color is off a little bit, but still ok5. Truly plug and play6. Have some issues with phone holding battery charge, but it could be bc it stayed outside overnight at 5 degrees Fh7. System wise, it connects to online skype8. Received a test call to a skype number from my computer9. I would purchase this again... For my new office, this is going to be my new phone system for international callingJust my 2 cents. If you have problems installing it, reboot your router and modem. Check security settings on your router.Also, this is not your analog ATT phone hardware. It has processing of VOIP. It is going to respond differently than your Android or Analog phone. It costs only $100. Don't expect more that what it is...