FreeTalk Connect Me Skype VoIP Phone Adapter (TALK-1200)

UPDATE: Don't buy this. FreeTalk has abandoned this hardware, and Skype has changed something so the box no longer works. This went from a good/decent VOIP solution to a piece of junk. The reliability of Skype's service has also declined. I guess it's time to move on.Original review: Having tried an Obi100 linked to my Google Voice account, I didn't have much hope for this device. (Google Voice over wifi on a cell was an equally terrible experience.) However, using FreeTalk to use Skype seems to work great!

we got this product since we wanted to use our phone with our Skype account to talk to family overseas;when I first installed it, it worked great and it was easy to install; however, after a few weeks, it lost the Skype account information and I had to set it up again; after that we had some problems of the adapter not being able to get online, despite being plugged in and I wrote the customer service; I was told this was a known problem; Great, you would think there was a solution, but no, just try until it works again - which was like 2 months later; we still had to pay our Skype fees during that time (well, I prepaid for several months);

Basically is a really good solution and the device does what it supposed to in quite convinient way, but if you about to buy it you have to be aware of some down points:1. The device does not support initiating conference calls (AT&T , pressing TALK on the phone during call). I contacted the maker about it and they confirmed it.2. If you use this device - there is no way to get video. Actually the best combination/workflow for this I found is to sign in on the same account both in PC and FreeTell and when someone call and you wish video you ask him disconnect and call again and this time answer on PC (both ring).3. When you dial someone on land line (if as in my case I use it only for international calls having free SkypeToSkype and subscription for Int. calls.) there is rather long and annying delay before it actually dials. Basically it goes like this - you dial, there is a few annoying seconds of silance and only then you hear the device dial. Takes too long.4. It takes too long for device to start ringing if someone calls you over land line, actually the fone connected to the box usualy "misses" about 3 rings which is quite a lot (verified when connected one phone through box and another directly to landline).5. There is a small problem if you use some landline phone services that start with "*" and whant to call skype accounts using quick dial. On my old SkypeBox you could reprogramm it to use ** instead for skype speed dials but here you can't.6. Not sure it's a real problem but it can hold only up to 200 Skype contacts. Enough for me, but maybe worth mentioning for some.Other than that device does what it supposed to, actually waited for something like that for several years - used skypebox connected to computer before.And, yes, another small thing - there is no way to update device's firmware manually - it waits for the designated time and another funny thing - it does not updates to the latest firmware at one night - it took 3 nights until it reached latest firmware (1.0.8 as for now).

I ordered this 5 days ago and got the uk version. There was 1.0.5.6 version installed and it seemed like there was no way to select any other country other than "United Kingdom" from the setup and it wanted to dial 44 in front of dialed numbers. It also suffered from no caller-id and poor voice quality. I went ahead with the setup anyway and sent the support an email from within the interface. I got a reply back within 1 hour and I was told that the latest update is 1.0.9.1 which solves all these issues. There were also some options in the email to force update (soft/hard reboot) none of which worked. I also tried playing with the Scheduled time and other suggestions on the internet with no joy. So, based on reviews here I let it be. One night it upgraded itself to 1.0.9.0 and then the next night it upgraded itself to 1.0.9.1. My suggestion is that leave it for 2-3 days and it will update on its own. Make sure you have not checked "Notify Me Before Upgrade" (it is un-checked by default).After a hard reboot, I was able to select "United States" and caller id works now. The call quality is also much better - I can not tell difference between a normal phone call vs skype. All is working exactly how it should be. I don't use voice mail on this line so I have not tested it. Skype-out and skype-to-skype and incoming calls are working as expected.If I could, I would take 1/2 star off (that I can't on amazon) for not having an "Update Now" feature for instant gratification but it is only a one-time thing so I won't take a full star off. I will update if something drastically changes but so far I am a satisfied customer and would recommend this to others.

Compared to vonage, callcentric, phonepower this is not very reliable at all. Call go through about 40% of the time. Setup is pretty easy and straight forward. Phone should be 100% reliable all the time every time but I wouldn't rely on Skype's service.I have Vonage at my parents' house in Pakistan and since Vonage is fairly expensive I wanted to give Skype a try with this device. Setup was easy and got dialtone immediately after setup. However when someone calls from outside they hear rings but the phone wont ring, if it rings and you can one party's sound doesnt go to the other party but theirs comes through. Overall made over 20 test calls in a week with success rate of about 10%. Vonage was 100%. I know Pakistan disrupts or tries to block SIP and VOIP calls but Vonage continues to work. I'll have to try callcentric with Obi110 to something cheaper than vonage.

I had this for a week and returned it.had audio quality issues that was the deciding factor, add in other issues and that sealed the deal return to sender.A good idea but was poorly executed, don't waste your time or money buying this item