Labs

HP's Internet Handset looks great, its buttons are large and tactile, and its Skype integration is first class. Pick up the receiver and Skype appears. Put it down again and it goes away. The same applies to handling calls. Pick it up to answer them, and hang it up to cut them off. There's a button on the outside of the handset that picks up voicemails and a hold button on the inside, where your thumb

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falls, which is a nice touch.

Sound quality in our tests was excellent in both directions, indicating a high-quality microphone and earpiece. The ringtone is the same tune found on HP's Premium Travel Phone, but better rendered by the more powerful speaker in the base. Ringtones sent by applications other than Skype have no access to this speaker, instead playing through the handset's earpiece. It's easy to set up with Google Talk, Windows Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger. However, you may want to close Skype if you're running these, as it will pop up every time you answer one of their calls.

As with HP's Premium Travel Phone, the driver is supplied on a mini CD, so you can't use it if you have a slot-loading optical drive.

This is a great-looking phone that works beautifully with Skype. If you don't mind using your PC to make calls and don't need a wireless handset, this is a great low-cost alternative to Philips' wireless Internet Phone. It's a Budget Buy.