Final Words
What else can we say about this phone? What most users will expect is the ability to pick up the phone, receive a call or dial a number, maintain a good connection, and offer acceptable audio quality. The ASUS AiGuru S1 provides these basics and offers the opportunity for a Skype user to break free of the headset or microphone requirement for communicating with their friends, family, or business associates. This has been one of our main issues with Skype since we first started using the program as you were tied to the computer the program was loaded on. This is no longer an issue and we look forward to our new found freedom and no longer have to worry about missing a call because we stepped into the next room. However, we did find the ability to control playback functions within Windows Media Player and to sync a play list along with audio playback on the phone to be more of gimmick than a useful feature.
The performance of the phone in daily operations was very good to excellent with the latest version of Skype for Windows XP. The phone lived up to its specifications by providing right over two hours of talk time and approximately twenty eight hours of standby time during our testing. The audio clarity was better than our analog line the majority of the time and at times exceeded that of our headset. However, we noticed during heavy network traffic that the unit would not sync properly and left us sounding like a cat on a hot tin roof in one conversation. This is something to be aware of as connection quality is not always consistent, but overall the audio clarity did surprise us as we were expecting something more along the lines of a cellular phone.
The phone always connected properly when dialing or receiving a phone call from another Skype user or from our associates with both landline and mobile phones. Our only issue, and this occurred about five times out of thirty, is that it took about five to seven seconds for the phone to sync with our voice when we were answering a call from a landline or mobile phone. Once our voice was synched properly with the outbound signal we did not notice any further issues during conversations that sometimes lasted over one hour. We also noticed the signal and audio quality would slowly start to deteriorate about 75 feet from our base station until the phone was not useable at about 100 feet. We did not have any issues in a two story complex as long as we stayed within 75 feet of the base station.
We tried an interesting experiment by attaching the Wireless Link module to our test notebook and then traveling down to the local Barnes and Noble that supported a Skype WiFi hotspot. We were able to successfully dial out and receive calls with the phone while our notebook was connected via the 802.11G protocol within the hotspot. We noticed during our WiFi connection status checks that the phone generally had a connection rate of 48Mbps. We were able to keep an acceptable connection up to an estimated 40 feet with this configuration. We might have been able to go further but did not trust our ability to outrun the person who kept a keen eye on our notebook while inching closer to our table during extended distance testing.
Overall, we are impressed with the ASUS phone, but when looking at the specification sheets of upcoming Skype phones from the likes of NETGEAR we are definitely interested in features like full color LCD screens, icon based menus, the ability to see the actual online status of our contacts, full chat capability, and the ability to use the phone in hotspot locations without lugging your system with you, something the Asus phone does not offer. However, upon noticing the price differences we are brought back to Earth for the time being and recognize the ASUS AiGuru S1 is a good deal for someone looking at a Skype based phone at this time. We recommend this product currently based upon its performance but are anxious to review other Skype specific phones before declaring the ASUS phone to be a bargain or even the best unit available.
What else can we say about this phone? What most users will expect is the ability to pick up the phone, receive a call or dial a number, maintain a good connection, and offer acceptable audio quality. The ASUS AiGuru S1 provides these basics and offers the opportunity for a Skype user to break free of the headset or microphone requirement for communicating with their friends, family, or business associates. This has been one of our main issues with Skype since we first started using the program as you were tied to the computer the program was loaded on. This is no longer an issue and we look forward to our new found freedom and no longer have to worry about missing a call because we stepped into the next room. However, we did find the ability to control playback functions within Windows Media Player and to sync a play list along with audio playback on the phone to be more of gimmick than a useful feature.
The performance of the phone in daily operations was very good to excellent with the latest version of Skype for Windows XP. The phone lived up to its specifications by providing right over two hours of talk time and approximately twenty eight hours of standby time during our testing. The audio clarity was better than our analog line the majority of the time and at times exceeded that of our headset. However, we noticed during heavy network traffic that the unit would not sync properly and left us sounding like a cat on a hot tin roof in one conversation. This is something to be aware of as connection quality is not always consistent, but overall the audio clarity did surprise us as we were expecting something more along the lines of a cellular phone.
The phone always connected properly when dialing or receiving a phone call from another Skype user or from our associates with both landline and mobile phones. Our only issue, and this occurred about five times out of thirty, is that it took about five to seven seconds for the phone to sync with our voice when we were answering a call from a landline or mobile phone. Once our voice was synched properly with the outbound signal we did not notice any further issues during conversations that sometimes lasted over one hour. We also noticed the signal and audio quality would slowly start to deteriorate about 75 feet from our base station until the phone was not useable at about 100 feet. We did not have any issues in a two story complex as long as we stayed within 75 feet of the base station.
We tried an interesting experiment by attaching the Wireless Link module to our test notebook and then traveling down to the local Barnes and Noble that supported a Skype WiFi hotspot. We were able to successfully dial out and receive calls with the phone while our notebook was connected via the 802.11G protocol within the hotspot. We noticed during our WiFi connection status checks that the phone generally had a connection rate of 48Mbps. We were able to keep an acceptable connection up to an estimated 40 feet with this configuration. We might have been able to go further but did not trust our ability to outrun the person who kept a keen eye on our notebook while inching closer to our table during extended distance testing.
Overall, we are impressed with the ASUS phone, but when looking at the specification sheets of upcoming Skype phones from the likes of NETGEAR we are definitely interested in features like full color LCD screens, icon based menus, the ability to see the actual online status of our contacts, full chat capability, and the ability to use the phone in hotspot locations without lugging your system with you, something the Asus phone does not offer. However, upon noticing the price differences we are brought back to Earth for the time being and recognize the ASUS AiGuru S1 is a good deal for someone looking at a Skype based phone at this time. We recommend this product currently based upon its performance but are anxious to review other Skype specific phones before declaring the ASUS phone to be a bargain or even the best unit available.
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PokerGuy - Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - link
Thanks for the article, I'm glad to see this kind of review on my favorite tech site. There's a lot of interest in VoIP and Skype and lots of products are hitting the market now: we need AT to help us figure out what's junk and what really works.Also, another product that you might want to review is the Vosky Call Center (from Actiontec). It's basically a little box that plugs into the USB port on the PC and allows you to simply plug your own analog cordless phone (5.8ghz, 2.4ghz or 900mhz) into the box. That way, you use a 'regular' phone with skype, and you can make calls uing both skype or your regular landline with a single cordless phone anywhere in the house. Very convenient.
jamawass - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
The review doesn't address whether you can do all skype functionality with the phone. ie do all skype contacts appear in the phone's address book, does skype to skype calling function the same way as skypeout? Can one chat with this phone? Also do all the pc sounds go through this phone? One problem I have with skype is that I can't listen or watch anything else on my pc as all the sounds are transmitted over line. Does the phone have this problem?budsan - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
This was the most comprehensive and fascinating article on Skype and this new phone by ASUS. I am looking forward to more reviews from you on other Wifi phones. For those that are unfamiliar with VOIP technology, you made it a pleasure to read!soydios - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - link
"We might have been able to go further but did not trust our ability to outrun the person who kept a keen eye on our notebook while inching closer to our table during extended distance testing."=D
Good article, especially for people like me who haven't looked much into Skype.
Schugy - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - link
I would call these things Peripherals.I think a phone is something like the Siemens C450 IP (+Router) or the AVM FT 7150 D.
Then you don't need a PC, save 150W energy and you have talk times between 10 and 17 hours.
JNo - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
unfortunately, Skype uses proprietary protocol, not VOIP SIPs like other providers, and so wouldn't work with the Siemens C450 IP etc as it only supports VOIP SIPSSchugy - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
But using SIPS is one of the biggest advantages. If your provider has problems or bad support you can easily change it. There's maximum competition.But what is when Skype makes trouble and you have paid 300$ for a phone (this isn't a PC independent phone anyway) that you can't use with others? Well, I prefer throwing a 300$ phone out of the window over being locked into skype.
heulenwolf - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - link
I'm a bit confused about the wireless connection. Does the USB dongle connect to the phone over its own, separate 802.11g connection? Living in a densely populated neighborhood, there are already more 802.11g networks in my area than there are non-interfering channels and interference is a significant problem. Would the phone-computer connection add yet another wireless network to the mix or would it work over my pre-existing 802.11g network? When testing the phone, how many pre-existing wireless networks were there?Gary Key - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - link
The USB Wireless Link from Asus is a separate 802.11G connection. It will not work over an existing wireless network as the interface between the phone and the wireless link dongle is proprietary. In regards to the testing, there was an active 802.11G network via our DSL modem, an active Draft-N wireless network being tested, and a wireless 802.11G network in the building next door. We did not experience any cross-talk or interference during testing with the other networks. I will retest tomorrow with two active 802.11G routers in the same room.Gigahertz19 - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - link
Glad to see a review like this, I'm moving into a new house this Thursday and have to set up a phone service. Not sure to go with Skype or Vonage, no more standard expensive phone service for me. So Gary could you see this phone replace your landline as a permanent solution?Only thing I wish they could somehow do is find a way to still use Skype on your phone without your computer always turned on. That's why Vonage might be a little more attractive as a permanent solution. They need to come out with a adapter to plug into your router or something for Skype, that would be nice.