skype

geordief

I have a wifi hotspot in my house and wonder what is my cheapest option to use it to make skype calls -and so say goodbye to eircom?

I know it works with i-phone as I had a friend who used his when here.

Is a wifi enabled smartphone a minimum requirement?

Do I have to be locked into a particular service like Vodafone or will the phone work without a sim card ?

Is there such a thing as a sim card that is not tied to one particular service or do I have to load one and then configure the hardware to overide it?

Does a mobile phone, a smartphone or a pda (its phone capability) simply not work without something sitting in that slot?

Davy

If you have a wifi phone, you can use skpe to make calls using wlan point at home or else where.


You dont need to have a sim card in the phone at all with most handset release in the past year.


Skype uses a data/internet/wlan connection to make calls. Only does skype on 3 network work using a dialup connection which does need a 3 sim in the phone.


You can also get a skype phone to install in your house connected to your interent which will work.

One question is how are you getting your internet access if you are cancelling your dsl line?

geordief

Davy wrote: »

If you have a wifi phone, you can use skpe to make calls using wlan point at home or else where.


You dont need to have a sim card in the phone at all with most handset release in the past year.


Skype uses a data/internet/wlan connection to make calls. Only does skype on 3 network work using a dialup connection which does need a 3 sim in the phone.


You can also get a skype phone to install in your house connected to your interent which will work.

One question is how are you getting your internet access if you are cancelling your dsl line?

thanks.
Well to answer your question as I understand it, I am just thinking about cancelling my telephone line-not a dsl line.
I get my internet from a wireless internet provider (not sure if it is Wimax or something else....)
I have now connected the desktop pc to a wireless router which I think has created a hot spot that allows people to use a laptop or an i-phone to make free calls.
I haven't actually used it myself (as I don't have a laptop- or a wifi enabled phone) and that is why I am a bit cllueless about the system and I am wondering waht would be the cheapest mobile phone I could get that would work in the hot spot (and whether it would work outside the house as well like a normal phone.

Davy

geordief wrote: »

I have now connected the desktop pc to a wireless router which I think has created a hot spot that allows people to use a laptop or an i-phone to make free calls.

Is your wireless service good? Using it for calls is difference than browsing online, you may end up with a lot of dropped calls which would be very frustrating.

If you know the model of the modem it would be easy to check online if it has wireless function.

geordief wrote: »

I haven't actually used it myself (as I don't have a laptop- or a wifi enabled phone) and that is why I am a bit cllueless about the system and I am wondering waht would be the cheapest mobile phone I could get that would work in the hot spot (and whether it would work outside the house as well like a normal phone.

A phone that was a wifi function will do.

geordief

Davy wrote: »

.

If you know the model of the modem it would be easy to check online if it has wireless function.


.

sorry what modem do you mean? Is it the wireless one that connects to my desktop? (if it is called a modem-I think it is something called an ethernet adapter)
I know that is satisfactory because my broadband speed is 1 meg fairly consistently and it has been used for Skype calls successfully -but not by me personally yet.
If you mean the modem on my mobile phone then I am only thinking about buying it at the moment so I don't know what modem it will have yet.

Davy

I was referring to your main router that you have connected to the desktop. How do you have it connected?

An ethernet adapter connects a pc/laptop to the router.

geordief

Davy wrote: »

I was referring to your main router that you have connected to the desktop. How do you have it connected?

An ethernet adapter connects a pc/laptop to the router.

well it is an ethernet adapter that was installed when I got the broadband.It is a VIA Rhine 11 Fast Ethernet Adapter and sits between the pc and rge areial that comes down from the roof.
As for my router ,it is a Cisco Linksys WRT54GL.

Basically the broadband cable (which has come down from the roof where the signal was captured wirelessly) first goes to the small (3"x2") unit that is called "Power Over Ethernet" and this small unit is then connected to the router .This ,in turn is connected to the USB port in the back of the PC (the same usb port that I would be using directly if I was not also using a router)

Davy

geordief wrote: »

As for my router ,it is a Cisco Linksys WRT54GL.

You can connect the phone to this using wifi

geordief

So is that the only real requirement for making Skype calls? (that the phone is wifi enabled) or do I need to be able to download the Skype application onto it as well?
I imagine that it would not be enough for me to have Skype just installed on the PC?

Davy

Its nothing to do with your pc application. You will need to download an app to your phone.

http://www.skype.com/intl/en/mobile/

geordief

thanks for your help and your patience.
I won't pester you any more as I have plenty of information to work on now!