To date, a certain level of computer literacy has been necessary to get Skype up and running,” said Leif-Olof Wallin, an analyst at Gartner, a technology research firm. Anything that reduces the technical skills needed to make a Skype call is positive, he noted, particularly given how easy it is to use a normal phone or speakerphone.
The irony of making computer-to-computer voice calls using Skype’s free Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service is that, on both ends, there is a piece of hardware many times more expensive and more difficult to operate than a normal phone: a computer. But that lopsided equation — expensive hardware + free service = free call — might soon change.
On Monday, Netgear introduced a Skype-certified Wi-Fi phone and Polycom released a speakerphone specifically designed for the service. The first Skype-certified phone allowing users to make unlimited free calls to any other Skype user in the world, Netgear’s Skype Wi-Fi phone (SPH101), will work at any wireless hotspot.
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