Netgear, Skype Begin Pre-Orders for Phone

By Digital Trends Staff Published October 25, 2009

Netgear and Skype earlier this week announced pricing and pre-order information for their upcoming VoIP WiFi phone. The new Netgear Skype WiFi Phone SPH101 is priced at $249.99 and should be available sometime in June or July.

The Netgear Skype WiFi Phone SPH101, said the two companies, is a â€œSkye Certifiedâ€ device which lets users make unlimited free domestic and international calls to other Skype users worldwide when near a WiFi hotspot. The phone, which will work with any secured or open access wireless network which doesn’t require browser-based authentication, comes pre-loaded with Skype software. Other features include an on-screen color menu which shows saved Skype contacts and their online availability, the ability to receive calls from other Skype users and the ability to make non-Skype calls to standard phones for a per minute rate.

Recommended Videos

As an incentive for pre-orders, Skype and Netgear are offering users 30 free minutes of non-Skype calls and 30 free days of Skype voicemail.

“We are pleased to announce pre-order availability of Netgear’s Skype WiFi phone to those who have been anxiously awaiting the product launch since we unveiled a prototype at the Consumer Electronics Show,” said Patrick Lo, Netgear’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. “Our phone combines Netgear’s innovative wireless networking technology with the simplicity of the Skype experience, while freeing users from the PC.â€

Topics

Emerging Tech

Digital Trends Staff

Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…

Cars

Honda doubles down on ‘holy grail’ of EV batteries

honda solid state battery production first electric suv 3

While some automakers are scaling back their production of electric vehicles, Honda is basking in the glow of a successful launch of its Prologue EV in the U.S., and was recently dubbed “North America’s most committed automaker.”

And now, Japan’s third-largest automaker is showing a similar commitment to making EVs more efficient and affordable, zeroing in on the production of its own in-house solid-state batteries, also known as the ‘holy grail’ of EV batteries.

Cars

Hyundai’s brand new Ioniq 9 EV features backseat lounge

hyundai ioniq 9 lounge 4 single image desktop

After months of teasing details about the Ioniq 9, Hyundai’s much-anticipated, three-row electric SUV, the company finally unveiled it at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

One of the Ioniq 9’s promised features -- that the SUV had the ability to offer a lounge-like interior – had most of us wondering what exactly that might mean.

Cars

Kia America COO says ending EV tax credit would be dumb

kia coo ending ev incentive dumb zeta evs

With Kia just getting started with the expansion of its U.S.-made electric-vehicle (EV) lineup, the automaker may have a good perspective on what losing tax incentives on EVs could mean for the industry and the economy.

The transition team of the incoming Trump administration is reportedly planning to end the federal $7,500 tax credit on the purchase or lease of an EV. Under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), an EV made in North America is eligible for the incentive.