| Adapter "skypes" analog phones |
Jan. 13, 2005
 Tired of grabbing a headset to make Internet phone calls from your PC? Actiontec wants to change all that, with a small gadget that lets consumers make and receive Internet phone calls from a regular phone using Skype's Internet calling service. Actiontec claims its Internet Phone Wizard will be the first such adapter to enable a single analog phone to make both normal and Internet calls.
The unit has three input/output connectors -- a USB connector, compatible with USB 1.1 and 2.0, for connecting it to a PC; one RJ11 connector, for connecting it to the desired "ordinary" phone; and a second RJ11 connector, for optionally connecting it to an "ordinary" (PSTN) phone line, which allows users to make both Internet and regular phone calls from the same phone.
The device sits between the ordinary (analog) phone and a PC, to which it connects via USB. The PC is used to configure the device, and also provides the required Internet connection.
Once connected and configured (and assuming the PC has a working broadband or dial-up Internet connection), the Internet Phone Wizard lets users make free calls to Skype-enabled PCs anywhere on the Internet, using the ordinary phone. It can also call ordinary PSTN-connected phones anywhere in the world, using Skype's "low cost" SkypeOut service, which charges at local calling rates even for overseas calls, Actiontec says.
Actiontec lists the following features for the Internet Phone Wizard: - Easy to install and use
- Patented I-Phone Switch for switching between Internet and regular phone modes
- Call waiting
- Free or great low rates on international calls
- Echo-cancellation technology
- Speed-Dial integration with Skype
- No external power required
- Conference calling
- Phone rings on incoming Skype or regular calls
- Supports 8 and 16-bit linear audio
The company notes that users of its Internet Phone Wizard essentially get a second phone free: "if a family member is on a landline call in one room, you can pick up your Skype-connected phone in another, tap a few buttons, and make an Internet call on the spot," it says.
Deja vu
 Back in 1998 Aplio began shipping a compact speakerphone-like appliance that contained an embedded computer capable of connecting on its own to the Internet and making IP-based phone calls. The early version of Aplio's IP Phone used a built-in dial-up modem.
In 2000, Aplio introduced an upgraded model, the Aplio/PRO, that had a built-in Ethernet interface. The device was based on a custom system-on-chip processor that integrated a 32-bit ARM7TDMI RISC CPU core plus a pair of DSPs (digital signal processors), 4MB RAM and 2MB flash memory, and an embedded uClinux operating system.
Unlike Actiontec's Internet Phone Wizard, Aplio's IP Phones worked on their own, without needing to be hooked up to a PC for their Internet connection and VoIP operation.
Aplio was subsequently acquired by net2phone and initially showed an interest in offering the devices as part of its service, but Aplio's pioneering VoIP phones now appear to have vanished from the scene, though they may have morphed into these.
Further info on Internet Phone Wizard
Actiontec's Internet Phone Wizard is expected to be available in February. Further info on the device is available from the company's website.
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