The Panasonic USB Skype Phone is perfect for travelers

Most of the USB Skype Phone we tested was, scientifically speaking, sucky. Supposedly a phone taps into your wireless internet signal (or any wifi signal that’s open or to which you have a password). If you are in a wifi hotpot and someone calls your Skype phone number your wifi phone will ring.

The problem is that most USB Skype Phone too often looses the wifi signal they are tracking. And their call quality is inconsistent. With one Skype wifi phone we tested the person on the other end literally couldn’t understand a word we were saying; he joked about his concern that we had be kidnapped and were trying to ask him for help through our mouth gag.

Of all the phones we tried, the Netgear phone is adequate and the Ipevo S0-20 is quite good. But the Panasonic is the only phone that consistently made clear calls.

Unfortunately, the TV remote-resembling Panasonic is also the worst looking USB Skype Phone we tested. But we approve of the phone’s easy set-up and long battery life (55 hours of standby, 4.5 hours of talk, between charges). Add that to calls that can sound better than your typical cordless phone, and this Panasonic Skype phone is a winner of function if not form.

While we recommend this Panasonic for your home phone it also happens to be one of the best Skype phone. To that end, it comes with a carry case, voltage-adjusting power supply and a travel router with wireless signal locator (photo below). The Panasonic USB Skype Phone is perfect for travelers who want to avoid the hefty international rates cellular companies charge.