Review: New Skype Phones Facilitate Free Calling

Next, I tried US Robotics' USB Internet Phone. Unlike the Linksys model, it has a permanent wire that connects to the USB port, from which it draws its power (no wireless base station came with the phone). Unfortunately, the wire made the phone clumsy for me to handle. The phone also lacked the color display of the Linksys phone, and the interface was less intuitive.

Though I haven't tested it yet, I have TrendNet's new ClearSky Bluetooth VoIP Phone kit. I did, however, recently test the company's new Bluetooth USB adapter, which was relatively easy to set up (easier than an older Belkin Bluetooth adapter I once tested). I also have external speakerphones from US Robotics and ClearCube, which I will report on at a later date, as well.

In all, these offerings are the first of what promises to be a new crop of Skype-enabled phones. Products that can bridge PBXs to Skype should be especially appealing to VARs. For example, a new product called Vosky Exchange from Skype partner ActionTec lets you set up a PBX that supports IP to dial out to up to four Skype lines.

"For branch offices, this is pretty remarkable," says Gunjan Bhow, ActionTec's director of marketing.

Naturally, Skype's push into small business has raised more than a few eyebrows. Many argue that Skype is a consumer service at best.

"In a business setting, the product still has a residential flavor to it," says Steve Hilton, small and medium business analyst at the Yankee Group, a Boston telecommunications and IT research firm. "If I'm on the phone with a client, it doesn't make a good impression."

However, if customers start running Skype on dedicated networks, many of those issues could become moot. Of course, going that route potentially changes the price equation as well. For now, let's just say I'm not ready to disconnect my regular phone line.