ActionTec Skype Adaptor Review
The £39.95 (RRP) ActionTec PC only (Windows 2000 and XP) Skype telephone adaptor comes packaged with all required leads and adaptors and is bundled with 60 minutes of Skype-Out time and 1 months free Skype voicemail.
It's a nicely made cream/blue affair, about 10cm x 6cm, and won't look too out of place sitting on a desk or on top of a PC case. Three LED's on the front give status information, both on the units readiness and line status.
Installation
Assuming you have Skype already installed you just plug in the device using the supplied 50cm USB cable, drop the supplied CD-ROM into the drive and let Windows do the rest. It's a simple process, although you do need to put in your e-mail address at the final stage of installation (I suspect some marketing e-mails to follow, although I haven't actually received any yet). Once you've authorised Skype to use the device you're ready to go.
Plugging in a regular PSTN type telephone completes the hardware setup. If you wish, you can also then "daisy-chain" the device to the BT socket on your wall, enabling seamless integration with your existing phone service through one telephone. For those that need to know, the ActionTec has a REN rating of 0.5
In use
Calls are made to Skype users by previously having given them a "speed-dial" number. You can also manually double-click on the user and initiate the call in software, although this rather defeats the object of having a device designed to get you away from the PC.
Speed-dials are configured in Skype itself by right-clicking on a username. Once set, you simply pick up the phone, ensure that you are in "internet mode" (a click on the hash key will set that if not) and dial the speed-dial number.
Calling a regular landline using SkypeOut requires you to dial in full international number format, as usual with most VoIP services, but apart from that, you simply pick up and dial while in internet mode (again, hitting the hash key sets that if not), indicated by the front panel status LED's.
If you're reading this then you're probably already a Skype user. The important thing you need to know is that it works, and it works pretty well. Audio quality is just as good as you can expect through a telephone handset, and the dialling system is intuitive and simple.
The pass-through port is designed so that you can easily use the ActionTec for both PSTN and Skype calls. Toggling between both modes can be done via the telephone handset.
Conclusion
There's not much more to know about the ActionTek, and not much more that I can say about it. Given the way that it works, it wouldn't surprise me if I heard that it contains the same electronics as the highly rated RapidBox device. As Sean noted when writing that review, it's a versatile little box that won't look out of place on your desk, and it does exactly what it says it does.
Added: Sunday, November 27, 2005
Reviewer: dean
Score:
Related web link: ActionTec
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