Strangely the Linksys WIP300 is the more stylish and better built of the trio so we can be sure that Linksys were not hiding the model from us and we are firmly committed to the merits of a truly WiFi VOIP phone as opposed to the DECT half breeds. It measures 46.7 x 135.2  x 18.8 x mm and is not dissimilar to a mobile phone of about 3 or 4 years back. Like those who went before it the WIP330 is simple to connect to our office network, which is good seeing as the router is also a Linksys device.

Using the large 2.2" clear screen we managed to navigate the menus to enter our SSID and WEP key in order to join the secured network,  within seconds we were assigned an IP address via DHCP and the WIp330 was on network. Both WEP (64/128) and WPA-PSK encryption are supported. Once connected it was time to make our first call but how to fire up Skype?

We looked further and much to our surprise found that the most popular (re visible) VOIP client was indeed missing from the WIP330, that wasn't so much of a shock when we dug further and found that this is a SIP protocol device. SIP is a peer 2 peer protocol that is perfect for creating and removing voice calls from an Ip network that travels via servers, so ideal for calls over the internet, in fact there are estimated to be 100 million SIP users worldwide, far more than Skype.

Skype is not a SIP network and therefore it is not surprising that the WIp330 doesn't support Skype, however we did some more digging and found that Linksys had introduced Skype as a feature in the v1.01.00 firmware but then as quickly as it came it went in v1.02.04S lasting just 2 months as a supported application. Given that Linksys use Windows CE 4.2 as the operating system for the phone it seems entirely reasonable that the handset would support Skype but for now it is off the menu.

So time to use another VOIP provider and bingo our first call bounced around the web and quickly connected. Call quality was surprisingly good and clear easily on a par with and possible exceeding both the Belkin and Netgear units. The handset is able to manage more involved features like conference calling and caller display plus it is high customisable with ringtones and vibration alert. We thought that you could install an extra application on the 330 and in theory you can despite the very small amount of free memory and having to use USB to get the install files over. However the memory is volatile and only the configuration file and network settings are protected from a power down a bit like the bad old days of the early iPaq.

Where the Linksys handset starts to win friends is when you travel with it or try to connect to networks other than your home network. Where both the Belkin and Netgear fall the Linksys strides on, without a browser built in the other two cannot connect to a unsecured network that requires a sign in or on screen acknowledgement or a network that requires a simple key like Starbucks. The WIP 330 comes with a small but useful web browser courtesy of Windows CE, this can be used for web browsing with lots of scrolling and fiddling with the 4 way pad. Far better to use it to connect to almost all WiFi hotspots and web based IM services.

Things get better still with a small bit of the network file used to store up to 10 favourite hotspot details making it very easy to sign in without having to struggle with the phone keypad each time you long in. Linksys do claim that you can view video over a 802.11g connection but perhaps they should just stick to the basic VOIP functions which work so well and the ability to really connect to almost any network something that has this model streets ahead of the others.

Priced at a shade over £200 it is around double the price of the Belkin and Netgear models but for those who want to use a SIP based VOIP provider or system and / or want to be able to use it in hotels with login pages or star bucks the extra hundred could be money well spent.

Published - 12/02/2007

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