imFONE Bluetooth dongle lets you make VoIP calls from your cell

Usually we prefer to cover USB devices that are completely useless, but we'll make an exception for the imFONE, an intriguing new Bluetooth peripheral from Korean manufacturer Enustech (not to be confused with Anustech, makers of self-prostate-exam devices) that allows you to use certain cellphones as VoIP handsets. Now Skype users with one of three cells that work with this peripheral can toss their crappy omnidirectional PC mics and low-wattage speakers in favor of the crisp, clear sound quality that cellphones are known for (is that snickering we hear?).

[Paul Power @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

It's great to see this type of tech emerging but I'm surprised that they've restricted it to a handful of phone models. A similar solution which seems simpler and more portable is offered by Epyx Mobile (http://www.epyxmobile.com/). As far as I can tell it makes use of your existing bluetooth connection and simply forwards/receives calls from the the PC - not rocket science but great if, like me, you tend to wander away from your PC quite a lot.

[Fabian @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Funny enough that's exactly what I wanted to have a few days ago. Of course I thought no one's going to make such a device and if, it won't work with my cellphone. But hey, I have the same cellphone that's used in the pictures (Samsung d500)...

...now I just need to figure out the pricing and how to get it to Germany...

[daniel @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Forget about Epyxmobile - sounds great in theory but what they don't tell you on their website is that you need 2 mobiles. One has to sit next to your pc and stay constantly connected via bluetooth. With your second (!) mobile your can then phone the first one, which talks to Skype. This way you're privileged to pay mobile2mobile connection fees before you even get to Skype. Plus you waste one mobile phone completely.

Complicated, stupid and EXPENSIVE! Wasted nearly a day on this - thanks for nothing, Epyx!

[Rolf Tollerud @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

"Forget about Epyxmobile - sounds great in theory" :)

Is that so?

Here in Stockholm my operator offer different contracts, for instance with "Comviq Pal" I can call other Comviq users free, but calling through other operators is expensive. On the other hand with "Comviq Knock-out" I can call everywhere for a small fee (but not gratis).

I therefore habitually used to keep two phones, one for each contract. There is no monthly fee, but I have to call for at least 100 + 150 SEK, that is $35 per month.

One of the phones, an old Motorola that nobody was using is always home, used only to call across operators. It uses the "Comviq Knock-out" sim card. The other phone is my normal mobile.

The only thing I had to do was to download the free EpyxMobile program, install it and connect my old phone. That's all. Now I can,

1) Call free to other Comviq users.
2) Call other operators cheap if I am home.
3) Use SkypeOut no matter where I am.

Thanks for all, Epyx!

Regards
Rolf Tollerud
"It is human to error but it is not company policy to forget"

[Paul Stewart-Day @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Is there a way to use a mobile/cell phone with SIP protocol softphones, such as X-Ten or SJPhone, rather than just Skype/Skypeout? The benefits of SIP softphones include the facts that they can be used with hundreds of VoIP service providers world-wide, and while Skypeout is fine in some countries, in others the latency is too great so a local VoIP service provider is preferable. Furthermore, many people don't use Skype, even where it does work well, so they may well be interested in a link solution between their mobile phone and a SIP softphone.

[Paolo @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Well I have a question.
I do not want to buy a handset for laptop for SKYPE.
Then can I use any bluetooth connection to let my mobile become an handset ?

Thanks