Philips MSN Dual Phone Single VOIP4331B/37
By: Gemini
More Information
 On: 2008-03-10
We bought a few of these phones and shipped them to family members in Mexico. We have been spending a small fortune every month on long distance and I was hoping these phones would fix the problem. I havent gotten a phone bill since we started using the phones, but they were so easy to set up (even for some of my relatives who arent so computer-savvy) and the clarity on them is incredible, its even better than half of the land line connections you get to Mexico. I thought the comparably low internet speeds in Mexico would be a problem (usually around 512 kbps), but we havent experienced any connection problems at all. The phones interface is really easy to use and, other than giving Windows permission to use the device, there is really no configuration to speak of. We are planning on buying more phones to send to fmaily and friends. The only small glitch these phones have is that occassionally they need to be reconnected to the USB; when the phone will not bring up the Messenger contacts list, we just unplug it and plug it back in again.
 On: 2007-12-07
I have now had this phone for about two months. I am pleased with it in almost every possible way. The phone is stylish, it works both as a voip and landline phone, it loads your messenger contacts to be viewed on it...
Im going to focus on the main features of the phone, the voip and Windows Live Messenger functionalities.
Firstly, this phone allows you to perform simple messenger tasks without having to be at the computer. It lets you sign into your account(provided you have stored your password on the connected PC)with a click of a button. It then loads your contacts and lets you either call them through messenger or through the landline, if you have hooked the phone up to one. The phone lets you change your status on messenger and also sign out of your account too.
If you dont have a landline and your friends dont have a messenger account, you can still call them on their landlines. You do this by buying prepaid minutes from Verizon. These will let you call landline phones through your computer.
The sound quality of the phone is excellent. In fact I would say it is among the best I have ever experienced on a phone. It has good range, even in a big house with many walls and other obstacles in between. The phone also has a locater feature in case the phone gets lost under a couch or something. You simply press the button on top of the base station and the phone will start beeping loudly.
Since you can only view the contacts from the computer that the base station is connected to, some people might want to buy more than one set of these phones so that each computer in the house can have one. Doing so will not cause any problems, because each phone automatically searches for available base stations, and can then be assigned to be used with only one of them. Multiple phones can also be used with a single base station.
I have only had one issue with the phone itself. My computer doesnt always detect that it has been connected to it, even though the phone is a plug-and-play device. I however suspect that this has more to do with my computer than with the phone. Furthermore the problem is easily solved by just disconnecting the phone from the PC and immediately connecting the USB cable back in. The PC always recognizes it after doing so.
I have also had some calls disconnect, but that has been mostly because of my poor wireless internet connection.
All in all, this phone has performed beyond my expectations and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for free PC-to-PC calls, as well as low rates on PC-to-landline calls. It gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to home or office phones.
The only reason I am giving it 4 of 5 stars is because I have on rare occasions encountered the problems listed above, and I cannot say for sure whether these issues just exist with my PC, or with all of the voip phones. In any case, the problems are minor and barely affect the functionality of the phone.
On: 2007-12-06
I have now had this phone for about two months. I am pleased with it in almost every possible way. The phone is stylish, it works both as a voip and landline phone, it loads your messenger contacts to be viewed on it...
Im going to focus on the main features of the phone, the voip and Windows Live Messenger functionalities.
Firstly, this phone allows you to perform simple messenger tasks without having to be at the computer. It lets you sign into your account(provided you have stored your password on the connected PC)with a click of a button. It then loads your contacts and lets you either call them through messenger or through the landline, if you have hooked the phone up to one. The phone lets you change your status on messenger and also sign out of your account too.
If you dont have a landline and your friends dont have a messenger account, you can still call them on their landlines. You do this by buying prepaid minutes from Verizon. These will let you call landline phones through your computer.
The sound quality of the phone is excellent. In fact I would say it is among the best I have ever experienced on a phone. It has good range, even in a big house with many walls and other obstacles in between. The phone also has a locater feature in case the phone gets lost under a couch or something. You simply press the button on top of the base station and the phone will start beeping loudly.
Since you can only view the contacts from the computer that the base station is connected to, some people might want to buy more than one set of these phones so that each computer in the house can have one. Doing so will not cause any problems, because each phone automatically searches for available base stations, and can then be assigned to be used with only one of them. Multiple phones can also be used with a single base station.
I have only had one issue with the phone itself. My computer doesnt always detect that it has been connected to it, even though the phone is a plug-and-play device. I however suspect that this has more to do with my computer than with the phone. Furthermore the problem is easily solved by just disconnecting the phone from the PC and immediately connecting the USB cable back in. The PC always recognizes it after doing so.
I have also had some calls disconnect, but that has been mostly because of my poor wireless internet connection.
All in all, this phone has performed beyond my expectations and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for free PC-to-PC calls, as well as low rates on PC-to-landline calls. It gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to home or office phones.
The only reason I am giving it 4 of 5 stars is because I have on rare occasions encountered the problems listed above, and I cannot say for sure whether these issues just exist with my PC, or with all of the voip phones. In any case, the problems are minor and barely affect the functionality of the phone.
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