Skype Journal: Skype and the Olympia Dualphone

by John Sjolund, Cape Town South Africa

Having been a very early user of Skype I have tirelessly crusaded to get my friends onboard to what I consider a telecommunications revolution. Having grown up in two countries, having two brothers in two continents Skype has needless to say been great for me. However, getting friends to switch from other instant messaging programs has been difficult and at times frustrating. This has now changed.

Since moving to Cape Town, South Africa from my native country of Sweden Skype has taken a new leap in my life. From being a high quality messaging program it has now developed into my exclusive communication tool for friends and family at home, more than 7000 km away. Equipped with the Olympia Dualphone and a SkypeIn number in Sweden, when I am home in Cape Town, it feels like being in Stockholm (a bit warmer winters aside). It is seldom I become lyrical about a new tech product, but this combination is incredible. With the Olympia Dualphone hooked to the USB port of my computer, friends and family call a local telephone number in Stockholm via SkypeIn, and it rings on my cordless phone down here like any normal phone. I am no longer bound to run to my pc, put on my headset, and sit stationary at my computer. I have a normal phone that works perfectly with Skype, SkypeIn and SkypeOut. I can easily keep in touch with friends at home, and it costs almost nothing. Imagine, working in Africa and having daily contact with my friends at home for almost no cost. By the way, it works as a normal cordless phone with normal landlines as well.

This combination just works, simple as that. It’s so seldom you buy a new gadget and it outperforms your expectations. It happened this time for me!

I choose the Olympia Dualphone ahead of other similar products because of its competitive price, its ability to work in different countries, and the fact that the company seems to regularly update the firmware. The phone has a good solid feel and is easy to use. The interface, though not perfect (doesn’t sort online/offline contacts well) is easy to navigate and built logically. Within about 15 minutes from opening the box of my new phone I had it synced with my Skype Contacts, and ready to go. Sound quality is great. Being that the phone DECT standard, it has the ability to transfer calls between headsets, I have yet to try this feature however.

The Good
• Simple to use
• Phone conveniently peeps when contacts come online
• Caller ID on SkypIN works perfectly
• Quick menu system
• DECT standard
• Upgradable
• Comes with many telephone adapters to match most countries outlets.

The Bad:
• Currently not available in North America
• Boring ringtones

Summary: The combination of this phone and Skype really is incredible. I highly recommend it!!!