Question for people who use Skype phones and adapters?

Question

I know there are adapters out there which connect to your computer and allow plain jane telephones to talk to your computer running Skype.

I also know there are wireless Skype phones which have their own dedicated router but use their own vendor specific phones.

I also also know that these dedicated Skype routers allow you to connect your copper land line into it and receive normal calls.

However, is there a jack on these routers which allows me to connect my existing plain jane phones into it and allow me to dial using them? I really like my existing phones but want to Skyp-ify them without having my computer up 24/7.

Answer 1

The only Skype adapter I am aware of is the D-LInk DPH-50U USB Phone adapter.

http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=466

But it does have to plug into your PC USB port.  Then your regular phone into that.

I am not sure a completely standalone Skype box exists that just plugs directly into router and no computer.

I think the reason is because Skype is different from other SIP based VoIP services.  Skype is proprietary technology and their protocols are not publicly disclosed.  This is why it  is only available in phones that have Skype proprietary "firmware" embedded into the phones.

I think the D-Link USB box requires skype to be installed on your PC.  But, a stand-alone box with built-in Skype client doesn't seem to exist yet... But, perhaps they will come out with something before too long if it continues to grow in popularity.

Most VoIP adapter boxes that work directly plugged into a router use "SIP" protocol (Skype is not SIP standard).  Services that support SIP can be used with any standard SIP ATA Box and always allow a regular telephone to be plugged into it.  

But, Skype is different...

I use a Linksys SIP VoIP adapter box that I use to subscribe to numerous SIP-based VoIP services... But, Skype is one that it cannot connect to...

Tip:

There is one new VoIP-based service that allows you to interact and make calls through your Skype account using a regular telephone.

You may want to check out Mobivox:

http://www.mobivox.com

FAQ (Skype interface):  

http://www.mobivox.com/help/FAQ/?t=4#q4

Answer 2

I have Skype but I only use it for certain conference calls, I find the service for other calls pretty poor.

My normal phone provider is launching its own voip network in Europe this year, it is operating in N. America now, and that service will be excellent, you will not need a computer, just a broadband connection, and it will allow calls to any type of phone.