Must be a broadband customer though IIRC... won't take off yet though

Newer BT Fusion works on WiFi... if you are in a WiFi location and make a call it uses that, then if you leave that location it moves onto a cellular network (Vodafone) but still only charges at WiFi levels!!

Most Smartphones with WIFI can run a mobile version of Skype i.e. Orange SPV M600

[Edited on 12-01-2007 by Rob_Quads]

You can get WiFi ones for about £90 - talks to your wireless router and acts just like a cordless phone. Or a box that plugs into the back of your router and then you connect a normal telephone to it, but these are quite rare.

Is there any standalone units that dont need a computer out at the moment? just need a router port or come with their own ADSL modem?

i use skytalk

£5 a month, free calls 24 hours a day to all uk landlines, most european countries, australia, usa and canada......

get involvedddddddddd

For a Skype phone:

You have it connected to your PC. It's a USB device.

They can be used very much like voice communication via MSN messenger. I.E. you have contacts in your contact book and you can speak to them free of charge using that. However, if you want a telephone number you have to subscribe for that service. I am unsure as to how much that costs, but it's inexpensive. You can then recive calls from landlines using that number. Interestingly you can somehow choose the locality of that number, so you could have a New York telephone number and somone in NY could call you on that number locally, however, you could recieve the call in the UK.

Then to make calls to landlines you need to pay for minutes. As far as i'm aware you prepay and top up an account. Then you can dial out to any number and make inexpensive calls.

Really usefull service :)

How do they work? Do they have some sort of Dynamic IP Updater involved?

are they standalone units or do they have to be used along with your pc?

any info would be greatly appreciated as i might buy a couple for me and my folks who live abroard as telephone calls are becoming extortionate.