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The Gigaset S440 is a handset fashioned more like a mobile phone. With a backlight colour screen and icons, it's about the swankiest DECT handset we've seen. At 14cm (5.5-inches) tall, it sits comfortably in the hand.
The S440 is available as a 'normal' landline phone. It's when it's combined with the M34 USB add-on, that it starts to become extra special.
The M34 has a slightly rounded and swoopy look to it. It's total length is about 10cm (4-inches), under 3.5cm (1.25-inch) at it's widest point and a little over 1cm (0.5-inch) thick. There's a thin strip of illumination at its end.
Enough of this background. How easy is it to use with Skype, I hear you call. Pretty simple.
The summary is - once you've got it configured (more later), you press a few buttons, make a menu selection or two, and then you're chatting.
Here's the detail. At the centre of the handset is a four-way selector. You use this, to select INT, which brings up a list of other handsets and services that you can connect to. By selecting the M34 USB adaptor, you’re offered a menu of applications that you can run through the M34 (we'll detail the others below).
Simply selecting Skype, brings up the your Skype buddy list on the handset. How cool is that?
To speak to any of them, simply highlight the name, press the Green dial button and you're speaking on a normal phone handset - via Skype!
It takes Skype out of the hands of the technically aware, directly into the hands of every consumer. There can be no-one in the developed world who doesn't know how to use a phone handset. If you can do that, you can now use Skype.
No longer do you need to be tied to a computer to use Skype. You can wander free, while smiling to yourself that you're not spending a penny, to speak to someone on the other side of the world.
We're aware there are other Skype handsets around, but from what we've seen, none of them are as integrated as this Siemens solution.
Sure, to get this product to perfection it could do with single key to get you to your Skype buddy list, and the battery could last a little longer, but this is the first release.
While the M34 & S440 aren't quite perfect ... we'd recommend them to anyone.
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