Netgear SPH200W WiFi Phone with Skype
By: Netgear Average Rating: 3.0 Total Reviews: 13
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 On: 2008-07-14
When I bought this item I had the expectation that a commonly available headset would work with it. However, after trying 4 different headsets without success, I obtained a replacement from Amazon. It was no different.
The issue the headset has is that it wont insert fully into the jack. Either the connector was designed inset too far or the plastic housing wasnt opened enough to allow clearance for the body of the headset connector to fit below the surface.
Netgears "Engineering" department is working on a list of approved headsets that are "compatible". To my mind, if it wont work with the same headsets that my cell and cordless phones work with, it isnt worth having.
Otherwise, the phone was easy to setup and worked well enough for me to recommend it. But, not if you need hands-free.
The display does get quite warm after talking awhile. It isnt sufficient to bother, though. Just unexpected.
Amazon was on top of this issue with Email responses, sending out a replacement (even though I didnt ask for it), and a follow up phone call. Bravo, Amazon.
 On: 2008-06-25
I got this phone 8 weeks ago and was very excited at the beginning. However after a very short time the phone became very slow. I have to wait about 10 sec. for the function to be processed after I press the button. I finally lost my patience and the phone went to the garbage!!! I strongly dont recommend this item to anyone who is normal, unless you are very curious and would like to see it on your own!
 On: 2008-06-16
This review concerns only the SPH200W; I dont know anything about the earlier SPH101.
I was hesitant to buy this product based on reviews, but I went ahead and got it, expecting to have to do some troubleshooting.
The product has been completely satisfactory to me. The phone is adequately sturdy, battery life is quite long long (I power the phone down when Im on the move to keep it from searching for networks, and I get 3-5 workdays of standby out of one charge), and call quality is fine. Incoming call clarity is superb; outgoing clarity isnt always great because of the mic placement and quality on this phone. Setting up the phone is easy and intuitive. The phone connects quickly and reliably to networks, and options for preferred networks, entering passphrases, etc., are many and easy. Making calls is very easy. As is clearly indicated on this products box, theres no onboard web browser, so you cant authenticate on a network using a browser. If you just have to register hardware on a network you use (like I do at work), thats easy - use your computer to register, or just tell your IT person the MAC address of your phone, which is under the battery.
You can charge the phone using the included cradle which receives a male USB mini-A plug, or you can plug a USB mini-A cable directly into the phone. Netgear supplies you with an AC adapter which plugs into the wall and terminates with mini-A, so you can charge this phone like you would any mobile phone. Theres also an A- to mini-A USB cable in the box, so you can charge from your computer if you need to. Both methods work with either the cradle or without it. Very versatile charging options.
Heres what I think will be useful to potential buyers -
Netgears support is mediocre at best, and I couldnt get any info. from them about compatible headsets or batteries. Dont buy this phone expecting excellent support from the manufacturer. I did some legwork, and much research later, I have answers:
"Standard" headsets dont work with the SPH200W. You need a 4-pole plug, to start, and then not all headsets of this description will work. Nokia headsets have worked for me - I bought an HS-47 for peanuts, and it works great. This significantly improved outgoing call quality.
Batteries. No help from Netgear on this one, Im sad to say. The battery for the SPH200W is lithium, 3.7V, and has 900mAh capacity. If you search for batteries which are interchangeable with Nokia BL-5C, youll find one which will work. The Netgear battery is the shape of the BL-5C, and many BL-5C replacements are 3.7V (vs. 3.6) and some are higher capacity than the stock one (Lenmar makes one which is readily available and works very well with this phone). If you absolutely must have tons of battery life out of this appliance, get an extra battery and youll be good to go for a long long time.
Other complaints of others:
1) "the speakerphone isnt hi-fi." Its true. Have you heard high-quality sound from a mobile phones speaker? I never have. This works just fine; I can understand what callers are saying when I use the speaker. I dont listen to lossless audio playback on my phone.
2) "outgoing call quality is poor." Not quite true, though this is the SPH200Ws weak point. Its often just as clear as a digital/cell connection, but sometimes its obscured enough to be annoying. If you want to upgrade, spend a few bucks and get a good headset. If this still doesnt satisfy you, wait for the next generation of wi-fi phone technology.
3) "battery life is terrible." Not true. If "less than 9 days of standby" is "terrible," then I guess I can see what folks are saying here. You get plenty of talk/standby time out of this battery, and its very easy to keep it charged up with all the options you have. Extra batteries are also easy to come by.
Im glad Netgear is producing VoIP equipment. This is a good piece, and I recommend it to anyone who is weaning him/herself from a 2-year wireless contract.
On: 2008-06-13
Great product. Its limitation is the availability of free wifi access but that is not something any product can overcome. I was able to enter in the WEP Passcode at some cafes and that is a big plus.
Due to its size, I would recommend bringing a mini headphone/mic set. That fixed the problem I had.
On: 2008-05-29
I bought this Skype phone because it works specifically with T-Mobiles HotSpots. Ive logged in at the Red Carpet Clubs at LAX and John Wayne Airport. The sound quality is excellent. At home, I used it nightly with a friend who is moving to Hawaii. His cell plan didnt cover Hawaii and his last visit cost him over $300. This time we talked for hours over Skype. He used his laptop and I used my Netgear phone. Theres three heavy hitting wireless users sharing a single Apple Airport Extreme. We have Roadrunner Extreme Cable Modem service. So, were well equipt at home for using the Netgear Skype phone. I also use the phone using a portable Apple Airport connected to a hotels inhouse wired Internet access. It works flawlessly.
On: 2008-05-20
I did not find any use for this product. No help how to use it.
On: 2008-05-12
I do not have a cell signal in my apartment, and I do not want a land line, so I signed up for Skype. I was very happy with the quality, but I wanted to be able to use it without being tied to my computer. I looked into wireless headsets for my PC, but I wanted to be able to make calls without my computer being on, so I decided to get a WiFi phone.
At the time, this model was not available on Amazon and all Skype phones that were had bad reviews. However, Time magazine listed this model as one of the top 10 gadgets of 2007, so I bought one directly from Skype. It quickly became clear to me that Time never even touched one of these phones and was just awarding the idea of a WiFi phone. Otherwise, they would have smashed it against the wall and it would not have made the list.
My first complaint with this phone is the Fisher Price interface. When I pay $150 for something that should cost $50, I expect it to have a very high build quality, not something that feels like a toy. The buttons are hard plastic, difficult to press and provide no tactile response to let you know you have pressed them, as if the phone was made out of Legos.
The second thing I noticed about this phone is its terrible interface. First of all, everything is slow. Turning it on, turning it off, going into any menu, etc. The call History and Contact menus are the worst, since the data for them needs to be downloaded from your Skype account, which is convenient, but should be done in the background so the menus are ready when you open them. Also, the history menu appears to only show calls made, missed and received on the phone itself; not calls made from your Skype account.
The other major interface mistake is that double pressing the 0 key results in a "+" instead of "00". This makes calling 1-800 numbers quite annoying. Apparently, this has something to do with international calling, but I can make international calls from a regular phone that doesnt have a +, so I dont see why this phone needs one.
I have tried this phone with at least one hands free set and it did not work.
I have lost track of what complaint number I am on, but the battery lack-of-life is a major issue. This phone lasts less than a day and a half in standby mode off the cradle without use.
Now that I have gotten all of the technical and interface issues out of the way, lets get to the meat-and-potatoes: using it as a phone. In short, the quality sucks. Skype on your computer allows you to open up a random port on your cable router that you dedicate to Skype to improve its quality. This phone lacks this vital feature, without which, sound quality suffers.
Overall, this phone has fewer features and worse battery life than a cell phone from 15 years ago. I cannot recommend it to anyone at $150. I would not even recommend it at $50.
 On: 2008-04-24
It arrived and we charged it, excitedly tried it, but no luck. The Indian lady at tech support walked us thru and said to return it for exchange. Amazon made it easy to return, we got the new one, STILL NO LUCK! Found out that the unit didnt like our houses wireless signal -- we stepped outdoors and it picked up a neighbors signal and began working.
We like it because we dont have to drag the laptop around to Skype. It is nice to walk around as if it were a real cordless phone. Good to hear the zoop noise of Skype signing in, but you must have a good signal. We decided to keep it.
On: 2008-04-21
i am a little disappointed with the performance. phone needs very strong signal to work, and does not update online contacts. once connected, you can not move as signal is interrupted.
On: 2008-04-04
the netgear telephone works fine only when the internet signal is very strong. otherwise the phone will disconnect and then connect again. needs a stronger signal than a computer and this may be a problem when you are not using your network and are not next to the router. good idea but needs improvement.
On: 2008-04-03
In November of 07 I purchased a NETGEAR SPH200W and so far, the phone side has been great, my issue is the "Headset" for the unit. In November when I had a problem finding a headset for this unit I contacted Netgear support who said, use a Motorola headset, so, I tried it... no luck. So, I called NetGear Support again and was told that the Engineers at Netgear were working on qualifying headsets for the SPH200W. I finally looked and last week I noticed they had listed 2 Plantronics headsets for the SPH200W. (dont get excited yet).
I ordered 2 of each of the listed headsets, but, when I received the headsets (2 ea of each flavor) I opened the packages and none of the 4 Plantronics headsets work. So, I call Netgear and spend 2 hours on the phone with their International (India) techsupport trying to explain that the Headsets I have are "Certified Netgear" headsets listed on their website.. .and THEY DO NOT WORK! (You know where this is going, right)
So, finally after 2 hours I get the techsupport person to escalate my problem to Level 2 who would replace my NetGear SPH200W phone. I told them that it is a problem with the Netgear phone and that IF I have to now send the headsets back I will pay both a shipping charge and restocking fees to 2 suppliers because the NETGEAR SPH200W phone is defective!
I was asked when would be a good time for Level 2 Techsupport to contact me and I said, This Morning at 7am and I will be awaiting their call... The assured me they would call and made sure I did not have any privacy block on my phone, I assured them I did not have privacy block on my phone and I would infact be here for the call.
At 10:30 am this morning I called Netgear Techsupport back and got their International (Inda) techsupport group again, gave them my case number and proceed to explain the issue again, explaining that if they send me the new phone overnight that I could check the "HeadSets" I have to make sure they work rather than sending them back at a cost to me of about $50.00. I was told it would cost me about $30.00 to have the Netgear Phone overnighted to me to verify a problem with their phone, or I could just send the Headsets back and reorder them when I got my replacement phone... What a Joke!
I asked to be escallated to a Supervisor (again in India) who I again explained the issue is with their phone, and the headsets are the ones that are listed on "Their Website" as compatible headsets.. He gave me the 3 options, Swap the phone (me paying shipping) sending and waiting for a replacement NETGEAR SPH200W. This Supervisor said (at 11:30 am) that he would contact the head office in Califonia and have someone contact me immediatly (with in 1 hour)... Well, I just got the call at 1:30pm and the nice man, (after I explained my issue again) said he would now move my issue up to LEVEL III for Action and someone would be getting back to me....
So, tell me what you think about this, are others having such an issue as I am with the NETGEAR SPH200W Skype phone? Have you got a Headset to work with the phone? The pone is nice an dsmall but it would be nice to have a headset to use...
I think what makes me so mad is that all through this ordeal they insinuate it is me that has to take the phone to a retailer to find a headset, or I have to pay them to overnight me a new phone to check the headsets that I have already invested $100 to purchase what they suggest..
OK, another update, the engineers "Level 4"at NETGEAR are not going to Test the Plantronics Headsets with the NETGEAR SPH200W phone and see if they are compatible.. .Am I missing some thing? These are the exact models specified on the NETGEAR Website as working models.. Now Enginnering has to check them? I again told the guy, send me a new phone overnight and I will check the headsets I have "Brand New" and let them know if it is the Phone or the Headsets.. he said he would have to contact his supervisor and see what they can do.... All this for a $150 phone How Idiotic.
Sorry for the rant, but Im steaming over this lack of customer support! On the funnier side, I did find out that India is in its hot season with lots of high humidity! Go figure...
On: 2008-03-29
I bought this phone a few months ago and regret having made the purchase.
* The phone cradle they give you does not make correct contact with the actual phones charging contacts, so it is totally useless.
* I am *constantly* having to restart the phone because it runs into a system error or just totally freezes.
* The interface is not well designed and basic actions like changing users or networks is buried in submenus.
* No SMS or IM capability.
* Simple things like turning on the phone are not straightforward. There is no power button. You must press the hangup button, but not just press it once, you have to hold it down and wait. Confusing.
As for comm quality, the phone is actually ok. The problem is getting to actually make the call.
On: 2008-02-24
Having read the specs on this phone I had to buy it. Wow make skype calls without a PC from any wiFi hotspot. Having owned Netgear routers gave me some assurance of the quality. I got the phone early, about October 2007, after Netgear support researched my query and told me where I could order it.
Generally the phone works very well as claimed. I purchased a Skype out plan for $30 that gives me unlimited land and cell phone calls in the US and Canada for a year. The SPH200W was easy to set up and load contact information into via the USB connecter, and effortlessly linked to my wireless Netgear router. I made calls easily without my PC turned on and found the display and useability quite good, with better range than bluetooth devices. I heard both sides of the conversations very clearly, as good as my VOIP phone service from my local cable company. Call quality was described by those I was talking to as TERRIBLE! This was a consistent comment no matter whether calling locally, nationwide, or to Canada, to land phone or cell phone. I decided the phones voice pickup must be faulty but liked the phone well enough I wanted to try using it with a good wired headset to see if that improved the outgoing voice quality. After several attempts and contacts with Netgear support for help with what headset the phone might work with, I gave up and returned the phone. The lack of NetGear support may have been because NetGear was at that time unprepared for support, as some phone support personnel told me they had no such phone as the SPH200W.
Bottom line for me. With TERRIBLE outgoing voice quality the phone is not worth having no matter the price. I liked it well enough I may try a later release in hopes they have overcome this voice pickup problem. Lesson re-learned, early adopters beware.
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