Digital Trends

DUALphone 3088 April 19th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Setup & Use

Setting up the Skype DUALphone 3088 is fast and easy. Upon opening the product packaging, I found quite a bit more hardware than I was expecting. The Skype phone itself was at the top of the packaging. Under the first layer of packaging are the phone's charging dock and respective power cable, an RJ-11 (phone) cord for landline use, the wireless transceiver and power cable, a LAN cable for connecting the transceiver to a broadband router, two rechargeable batteries for the handset, and several power adapters for use in foreign countries.

After setting the contents out on my table, I plugged the Skype phone's charging dock into a wall outlet, added the rechargeable batteries to the handset, and set it on the dock for charging. Next, I plugged the wireless transceiver into the wall outlet and then connected the LAN cable from the transceiver to my AirPort Extreme router. When the unit powered up and connected to the internet, a red LED light shone solid on the front of the transceiver. I thought there was something wrong, so I checked the manual. In the case of the Skype DUALphone 3088, red does not equal trouble... a red solid light means that the transceiver is working properly and is connected to both the internet and the wireless handset.

With the hardware set up and the handset fully charged, I turned the handset on. Since the Skype DUALphone 3088 uses your Skype account to send and receive calls, it is necessary to set up your account on the handset itself. The setup is easy: select default language for the user interface and select your country, your country code (USA is +1), and the area code in which you're located. Then, enter your Skype user ID and password using the keypad, and decide whether to have the Skype phone remember your user ID and password or to require this entry each time you turn the phone on. I chose to have the Skype DUALphone 3088 remember my account information.

Once the handset is set up with your Skype account information, it connects itself to Skype's servers and retrieves your account balance and your contacts list. Anytime you add a Skype contact on your computer, the Skype DUALphone 3088 will retrieve the contact and add it to the list. Anytime you add a contact directly into the Skype DUALphone 3088, it transmits this data so your Skype contacts list on your computer is also updated.

Audio Quality

As any Skype user knows, audio quality for Skype calls is largely dependent on the type and speed of internet connection being used. Slower DSL lines and shared connections (hotspots, public WiFi, lower-end internet providers) will often degrade call clarity and reliability. The Skype DUALphone 3088 handles calls as good as or better than any other Skype-compatible headset or microphone combo I've ever tried. In numerous calls to Skype users and landlines, calls sounded perfectly clear, as if I was using a dedicated landline or cell phone. I did experience a very slight delay (about 1/4 second) in incoming and outgoing audio as compared to a dedicated land line, but this is not unusual with VoIP services.

Other Thoughts

Skype software for computers offers Instant Messaging (chat), video conferencing, and file transfers. The Skype DUALphone 3088 only works for incoming and outgoing calls.

When the Skype DUALphone 3088 is used as a landline, the calls are as good as any other cordless phone.

Cordless range may vary based on site conditions, but the average indoor range is about 160 feet, and outdoor range is approximately 980 feet. That's pretty good!