News / Hardware
Skype announces Wi-Fi handsets for computer-free calls
Skype announced in July 2006 that Accton Technology’s Edge Core, Belkin, Netgear and Standard Microsystems would release Wi-Fi handsets later that quarter.
Internet calling beyond the PC
The planned phones were to come with Skype software installed and synchronize existing accounts and contacts. Skype said they would work at open-access Wi-Fi points that did not require authentication, allowing users to make calls without a computer.
That condition sharply limited where they could be used: paid hotspots in coffee shops and bookstores were excluded because the handsets could not authenticate or pay. Skype also described calls to other Skype users as free and calls to other numbers as using SkypeOut. Model prices, release timing and call-quality claims in the announcement were launch claims, not independent findings.