US Robotics USR9601 review

We reviewed US Robotics' first Skype phone, the USR809600, three months ago in What's New, Shopper June 2006, but its successor is already available.

The USR9601 is similar in size and style to the original phone, but the velvety plastic feels much nicer. This is also the first Skype phone we've installed that hasn't overwritten our default Windows audio devices, instead correctly installing itself purely for telephony use in Skype.

There have been some significant improvements in use over the USR809600. The main improvement is that the USR9601's LCD can now be used to browse your Skype contacts and display the caller ID of any incoming calls. This might not sound very useful, especially considering that the USB cable necessitates the phone being tethered to your PC, but it does mean that you can use Skype without having to turn on your PC's monitor. The screen can also be used to browse through the recent incoming and outgoing calls.

It's no problem if you want to use your PC's display, as the phone's cursor keys can be used to navigate through Skype's interface. As with the USR809600, pressing Hang up minimises Skype. Pressing the call button brings Skype to the foreground, but this product doesn't call the currently highlighted contact automatically.

The problem of international dialling codes that we had with the previous phone has been eradicated. With the USR809600, the LCD didn't display the leading '+' of international phone numbers, so misdialling was common. The USR9601 displays the '+' correctly, so it's much easier to use. Call quality is of the same high standard and, provided you have a decent network connection, you shouldn't notice the difference between this and a normal phone.

The USR9601 has the same launch price as its predecessor, but it is leaps and bounds ahead in terms of quality and it is an excellent addition to Skype.