Comments on: SMC WiFi Phone for Skype (WSKP100) http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/ Would you eat your toast without butter? Thu, 28 Aug 2008 07:22:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Andy Melton http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-715 Andy Melton Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:21:23 +0000 http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-715 <strong>Vikingsson</strong> - Thanks so much for the information. I can't wait to try it out. Hopefully someday I can write a post about how I got my own phone system set up. Vikingsson - Thanks so much for the information. I can’t wait to try it out. Hopefully someday I can write a post about how I got my own phone system set up.

]]> By: Vikingsson http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-712 Vikingsson Mon, 12 Nov 2007 22:08:08 +0000 http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-712 Asterisk in the raw form is a bear to work with. I use "Trixbox" www.trixbox.org which is asterisk bundled with all the parts, lots of addons and a front end to make it much easier. You burn the CD iso and install (it will wipe out whatever is on the harddisk). For a while I used softphones like SJPhone but there are others. Then I got a USB phone for the softphone and now I have some real SIP phones and the SMC WiFI. You can get started without any real VoIP accounts which makes it like Skype. For VoIP there are too many players to list but the cheapest is to treat inbound and outbound separately since you can find inbound for $4-$10/month with all inbound calls included. You pick your location so for example get a local number and one located far away so those people can call you on a local number. Then get an outbound VoIP service and either pay a flat fee or by the minute. There are some out there that let you test free long enough to get the hang of it. After a while you figure out the best way to deal with it and you give up all the expensive providers including Vonage (which is pretty cheap). For the best stability you can keep the landline but use it on the PBX (via an FXO device). Once you have the landline in play you can extend it to any SIP device which is what I did for the boss, he wanted to work from home but still use the office landline. I put the landline on the PBX and made his SIP extension the destination. Now the office number rings at work and his house or anywhere he can get a WiFI signal. About the Skype version, you have to be careful since the phone has 1/2 the RAM so you can't simply send SIP firmware to it. But it can be done I hear with a minimal version of the firmware. Bottom line is that I love having my own PBX and can mix and match all sorts of toys on it including voice mail, IVR, automated attendant and anything else a big company would have but pay $0 for the features. I only pay $4 for a local number and whatever minutes I use to the outside. Calling anyone I have setup on the PBX no matter where they are is free. Asterisk in the raw form is a bear to work with. I use “Trixbox” http://www.trixbox.org which is asterisk bundled with all the parts, lots of addons and a front end to make it much easier. You burn the CD iso and install (it will wipe out whatever is on the harddisk). For a while I used softphones like SJPhone but there are others. Then I got a USB phone for the softphone and now I have some real SIP phones and the SMC WiFI. You can get started without any real VoIP accounts which makes it like Skype. For VoIP there are too many players to list but the cheapest is to treat inbound and outbound separately since you can find inbound for $4-$10/month with all inbound calls included. You pick your location so for example get a local number and one located far away so those people can call you on a local number. Then get an outbound VoIP service and either pay a flat fee or by the minute. There are some out there that let you test free long enough to get the hang of it.

After a while you figure out the best way to deal with it and you give up all the expensive providers including Vonage (which is pretty cheap). For the best stability you can keep the landline but use it on the PBX (via an FXO device). Once you have the landline in play you can extend it to any SIP device which is what I did for the boss, he wanted to work from home but still use the office landline. I put the landline on the PBX and made his SIP extension the destination. Now the office number rings at work and his house or anywhere he can get a WiFI signal.

About the Skype version, you have to be careful since the phone has 1/2 the RAM so you can’t simply send SIP firmware to it. But it can be done I hear with a minimal version of the firmware. Bottom line is that I love having my own PBX and can mix and match all sorts of toys on it including voice mail, IVR, automated attendant and anything else a big company would have but pay $0 for the features. I only pay $4 for a local number and whatever minutes I use to the outside. Calling anyone I have setup on the PBX no matter where they are is free.

]]> By: Andy Melton http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-711 Andy Melton Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:02:44 +0000 http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-711 <strong>Vigingsson</strong> - I am so glad you mentioned Asterisk. I was trying to think the other day of the Linux distribution for SIP. Thanks! In a way I wish I had kept the phone so I could simply flash the firmware and put the SIP phone software onto it instead of Skype and try out Asterisk, maybe write a tutorial for that. But unfortunately I don't have a lot of time at the moment to do that. What service do you get your SIP numbers & SIP to POTs service from? That's really cool that you have your own home phone service through SIP. I want to do that someday. Thanks for the comment and info! Greatly appreciated! <strong>Tommy</strong> - I agree. I had to do the same thing with mine. I am pleased to say that when I returned it they refunded my money promptly. Very pleased with the whole buying experience, just not the phone. I am glad you mention that the Phillips and the Sony Mylo aren't much better because I was looking at both of those, wondering if they were any better. Good to know that I'd be wasting my money on them trying to get something better. I wonder if there will ever be something that is decent? Maybe it's just Skype? In a way, I kind of suspect Skype because they are slow to update their software for Mac and Linux and most of these devices run on Linux so that is what version of Skype they are using for the devices. Vigingsson - I am so glad you mentioned Asterisk. I was trying to think the other day of the Linux distribution for SIP. Thanks! In a way I wish I had kept the phone so I could simply flash the firmware and put the SIP phone software onto it instead of Skype and try out Asterisk, maybe write a tutorial for that. But unfortunately I don’t have a lot of time at the moment to do that. What service do you get your SIP numbers & SIP to POTs service from? That’s really cool that you have your own home phone service through SIP. I want to do that someday. Thanks for the comment and info! Greatly appreciated!

Tommy - I agree. I had to do the same thing with mine. I am pleased to say that when I returned it they refunded my money promptly. Very pleased with the whole buying experience, just not the phone. I am glad you mention that the Phillips and the Sony Mylo aren’t much better because I was looking at both of those, wondering if they were any better. Good to know that I’d be wasting my money on them trying to get something better. I wonder if there will ever be something that is decent? Maybe it’s just Skype? In a way, I kind of suspect Skype because they are slow to update their software for Mac and Linux and most of these devices run on Linux so that is what version of Skype they are using for the devices.

]]> By: Tommy http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-705 Tommy Mon, 12 Nov 2007 02:28:42 +0000 http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-705 I ended up returning mine. The quality and reception was horrible, even being close to the router. It's too bad because I wanted a no-PC replacement for Skype. I have the Philips VOIP321 currently, and the quality is ok but my PC stinks, and I thought this would be better. It was much worse. So I'm sticking with this one for now. I also have the Sony Mylo which has Skype on it and works well too, but suffers from the horrible echoing effect that Skype sometimes has. Unfortunately Sony hasn't been updating the Mylo and it really needs one. I ended up returning mine. The quality and reception was horrible, even being close to the router. It’s too bad because I wanted a no-PC replacement for Skype. I have the Philips VOIP321 currently, and the quality is ok but my PC stinks, and I thought this would be better. It was much worse. So I’m sticking with this one for now. I also have the Sony Mylo which has Skype on it and works well too, but suffers from the horrible echoing effect that Skype sometimes has. Unfortunately Sony hasn’t been updating the Mylo and it really needs one.

]]> By: Vigingsson http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-704 Vigingsson Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:54:05 +0000 http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-704 I have the non skype SIP version (WSP100). Nearly identical phone except it does standard SIP so I point it at my own asterisk PBX. The PBX then connects to whatever VoIP or landline service(s) I want to try or use. I gave my kids their own extensions on the PBX and they use a softphone or a normal SIP phone. They can call each other, me, or anyone else, conference call, voice mail, etc. They have tons of fun. But I agree with the faults except for the noise and time issues. Mine gets the time from my PBX and is always right. The battery life is short if you leave it on when it is out of range of an AP but is ok when connected. The best part is the linux. That gives me hope that it won't become a door stop like nearly everything else out there. It is a cheap chinese piece of plastic but for the price it is a ton of fun. Oh, the voicemail thing must be a Skype issue since mine acts like a normal phone and will go to voicemail based on how many rings I set the PBX for. I have a regular SIP phone at work and I set the PBX to "followme" to the SMC WiFI so I can pickup office calls as if I'm at work. So besides running Linux the fun is also using your own PBX and never be tied to a provider's choices and quirks. I gave up on cell phones a few years ago. I have the non skype SIP version (WSP100). Nearly identical phone except it does standard SIP so I point it at my own asterisk PBX. The PBX then connects to whatever VoIP or landline service(s) I want to try or use. I gave my kids their own extensions on the PBX and they use a softphone or a normal SIP phone. They can call each other, me, or anyone else, conference call, voice mail, etc. They have tons of fun.

But I agree with the faults except for the noise and time issues. Mine gets the time from my PBX and is always right. The battery life is short if you leave it on when it is out of range of an AP but is ok when connected.

The best part is the linux. That gives me hope that it won’t become a door stop like nearly everything else out there. It is a cheap chinese piece of plastic but for the price it is a ton of fun. Oh, the voicemail thing must be a Skype issue since mine acts like a normal phone and will go to voicemail based on how many rings I set the PBX for. I have a regular SIP phone at work and I set the PBX to “followme” to the SMC WiFI so I can pickup office calls as if I’m at work.

So besides running Linux the fun is also using your own PBX and never be tied to a provider’s choices and quirks. I gave up on cell phones a few years ago.

]]> By: Andy Melton http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-689 Andy Melton Sat, 27 Oct 2007 21:47:13 +0000 http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-689 <strong>Tommy</strong> - I have the exact same problem with my phone. I have not found a solution for this other than turning the phone off when I am not intending to answer it or will be away. From all the other sites I have read this is a common issue. I agree, it's very frustrating! I wish there was a solution! Tommy - I have the exact same problem with my phone. I have not found a solution for this other than turning the phone off when I am not intending to answer it or will be away. From all the other sites I have read this is a common issue. I agree, it’s very frustrating! I wish there was a solution!

]]> By: Tommy http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-685 Tommy Fri, 26 Oct 2007 01:21:29 +0000 http://techbutter.com/2007/10/21/smc-wifi-phone-for-skype-wskp100/#comment-685 I have the WSKP100 phone in the US, bought from Skype.com and when I have an incoming call, it never goes to Voicemail. It rings forever and rejecting a call sends a busy tone. Have you found a fix for this? I am sure the settings are correct in the Call Direct settings. It's very frustrating! I have the WSKP100 phone in the US, bought from Skype.com and when I have an incoming call, it never goes to Voicemail. It rings forever and rejecting a call sends a busy tone. Have you found a fix for this? I am sure the settings are correct in the Call Direct settings. It’s very frustrating!

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