A couple of months ago you couldn't find a decent Skype phone for love nor money, and now four turn up at once. The latest to arrive is the Asus AiGuru S1, a wireless VoIP handset that doubles up as a streaming music device.
The handset has Skype pre-installed, but unlike some of the other phones it can't connect to your existing 802.11b/g Wi-Fi infrastructure. You'll need to use the accompanying Wi-Fi dongle and leave your PC switched on in order to make and receive calls. Bummer.
Still, the AiGuru S1 supports SkypeIn, so you can receive calls via your own personal local telephone number, SkypeOut, so you can call ordinary landlines, plus it lets you conference call, store contacts and access voicemail -- all from the handset.
The AiGuru S1 has an integrated 0.5W speaker for hands-free calls, which you can also use to play music that's stored on your PC (you can use a set of ordinary headphones, too). We reckon this would be useful for listening to music while pottering around the house or doing the gardening.
Our spokesgeezer at Asus says the AiGuru S1 is set for release some time in October for a super-reasonable £70. -RR