Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype with Boingo Hot Spot Manager ( F1PP000GN-SK )

Being someone who uses Skype constantly for both business and personal long distance and PC-to-PC phone calls, I got a Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype as a Christmas gift from a loved one who knows just how nerdy I am when it comes to new gadgets. I love them!Unfortunately, I can only say that I *like* the new wi-fi phone from Belkin. Appearance-wise, it's terrific with a sleek black case, color screen and attractive key layout. It's a good, comfortable size and feels about like a stylish mobile phone. It comes with a USB cable for charging and software updates, as well as a regular power cord for charging. You can use the phone while it's connected to the charger, which is what I find myself doing a lot.The sound quality is good and it connected right to my household wi-fi system once I punched in the security code. The controls are easy to access and use. I was quite excited to get going with it and used it for several days without incident.Then it froze. No matter what I did, the buttons made no difference and the screen stubbornly stuck on 11:38 a.m. and no amount of prodding would break it free. I looked for some sort of reset button like you get with a Palm or other PDA-like device, but there isn't one. I finally decided that the only way to get the baby to reset would be to take out the battery and put it back in.Thus, my next problem. The battery cover refused to budge. It was as if it had been super-glued shut. I pulled, pushed, yanked but it held firm. I had no other choice than to resort to the proverbial waste of time - support.Yep, total waste of time. I tracked down Belkin support, filled out the form to inform them of my problem (frozen screen, stuck battery case) and got an answer from some clueless girl telling me I should go into the menu and use the "reset" function. Duh? The SCREEN IS FROZEN, honey! How the heck am I supposed to do that!So, back to pulling, tugging and yanking on the battery cover. I finally managed to pry one corner up and get enough leverage to get the darned thing open without breaking it. I pulled the battery out, the phone reset and I was up and running again.My next disappointment came when I stayed at a hotel that offered free wi-fi. I had hoped to use the phone to make some calls, but, alas, the hotel requires you to open their web page in a browser before you can connect to their access. That's all, just open their page in a browser - no inputting codes or anything. Just an open browser.The Belkin phone has no Internet browser, a terrible oversight for a product that people will want to use at Internet cafes and the like. Not a smart move, Belkin.Yes, the phone is supported by Boingo, which has hotspots here and there. In my area, my choices are a UPS Store or an RV park. Somehow I can't see myself hanging around those to make phone calls. I'm out of luck at Starbucks, hotels and anywhere without completely open wi-fi access.Another minor peave is the lack of Skype chat support. My company uses Skype chat a lot during the business day, so I can't plan on using the Belkin Skype phone exclusively for business because there's no chat support. I understand that trying to do chat on that itsy bitsy keyboard is difficult, but people send text messages all the time on cell phones, so there should be support for chat. If nothing else, I'd like to be able to set the phone up to let people know that I don't have Skype chat, try me on AIM or whatever.Anyway, don't think I'm totally unhappy with the Belkin Wi-Fi-Phone for Skype. I'm not. It's great to carry around the house with me when I'm not on the computer. It just means I have to switch back and forth between it and a Skype-enabled computer quite a bit. I guess my suggestion for those considering one is to say that it's great if you just want a wireless Skype phone for home, have no need for Skype chat and don't plan on trying to use it too many places outside your home network. It's a shame, but it probably won't work for you on the road or in your neighborhood Starbucks.

We have skype at home and use this phone as a portable extension, but also take it one the road. We just came back from Israel. There were unsecured hotspots everywhere and we were able to keep in touch with friends and family at home easily and cost-free. We were also able to call people and businesses in Israel at nominal cost.When the phone is on standby the battery runs down in about 24 hours, a lot faster than most cell phones. Longer charge life would be helpful. It also will occasionally lose its connection even though the signal is good. Although it quickly re-establishes the link, a call may be interrupted in the process. This is a problem that needs some attention.Given satellite connectivity, it would be truly sensational.I see an item 'tag this product' below, which I don't understand, so I'll have to skip it.4.21.13: Addendum: the phone died after 3 years. I have not purchased a replacement as the cost was excessive for the duration of service. I could better recommend it if it were cheaper or more durable.

For the faint of heart who leap into the world of Skype with this phone will do well to remember to get a top quality Wireless N type router. Although it will do well with the regular G routers, N is preferable.Pros: Lightweight, fits the hand well, very user friendly screen and controls (I dig the little thumb toggle in the middle.), easy setup and sign in to Skype,ability to use any other wireless hotspot on access point, very good battery life and talk time, good value for the money verses other very expensive phones. We paid $108 for ours with shipping and had it before estimated receive date.Cons: Charger for the phone fried in less than two weeks. But it also came with usb charging/data connect for the computer so we were able to charge it anyway. Loudness of mic is somewhat lower than what we expected, but reception is loud and clear enough.Changes???: Charger reliability. Make phone size a little smaller or make into a flip/slider style. Fix mic and receiver loudness. Otherwise this phone is kick arse!

I was mainly looking for a phone that would not require the use of any of my home computers. For this purpose the Belkin has performed almost flawlessly. I have tried it on several open wifi networks (most often at home and at my parents) and have had extremely clear phone conversations. I don't know whether or not it makes a difference in the sound clarity, but my parents and I both have very fast broadband service and very fast wireless routers.I only give the Belkin Wi-Fi 3 stars because it has a few weaknesses. First the battery does not last very long. I spoke on my phone for about an hour before having to recharge. Second you can't store multiple Skype accounts on the phone. For some this may not be a problem, but in addition to having mutual friends my wife and I have different contacts. It's annoying having to sign off an account and then sign in and enter a password. Ordinarily this would not be a problem on a computer, but on the Skype phone you have to use the keypad to type the password. This can be annoying using the numeric keypad.Finally I have had great difficulty (actually no success) in using this phone at different hotspots. It's not possible (perhaps it is, but very difficult) to sign into a pay for other services. Admittedly I have not yet tried the boingo wireless service that comes with the phone. I'm guessing that it will work well with a service that is optimized for its use.Overall I'd recommend this phone for home use or free wireless environments. I'd wait for the next generation if you want to use it in pay wireless environments.