Digital Trends

Companies announce they've begun taking orders for the Netgear Skype WiFi Phone SPH101, which uses WiFi networks to make Skype VoIP calls.

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 "Skye Certified" 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.

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."