Tapping into the new Wifi Skype phone market, SMC has brought out the WSKP100 Wifi phone.

Like the rival Netgear SPH101, it comes with a white facia, although its case and screen are slightly bigger. In terms of style, it’s a poor second to the Netgear, particularly the numerical keys, which are plastic, wobble in their seatings, look naff and need quite a firm press to get them to work.

We also found the Netgear easier to pair with a wireless network, and SMC would do well to update its instructions to make it clearer how to connect when encountering WEP or WPA protection in what was otherwise an in-depth pdf user manual.

Battery life is a claimed 50 hours in standby and three hours for talk time, although in our tests, it lasted closer to 20 hours in standby.

Call clarity was excellent between two Wifi handsets, but there was a noticeable drop when talking to someone using a headset. This isn’t down to the handset, but equally you can’t insist all your contacts go out and buy one. You can make or receive free Skype to Skype, Skype Out and Skype In calls, use voicemail, manage your contacts and set up call forwarding using the phone.

But like the Netgear, the handset suffers from a number of restrictions. You can’t use the Skype instant-messaging function, can’t create a conference call (but you can join one) and it has no camera for video calls.

Neither phone will join a wireless network that requires browser based sign on, such as in hotels, airports, coffee shops or even in some companies. But SMC has scored a victory over Netgear by setting up a deal with The Cloud, allowing owners to use any of its hotspots, and so giving you a degree of freedom.

It is only a degree though, because it costs £6.99 a month and if you are on the road and not at one of The Cloud’s 8,500 European hotspots, then you still can’t use this phone.

In the UK, its hotspots are largely in pubs, along with major rail stations, the Coffee Republic chain, a smattering of hotels and even the odd night club, gym and bowling alley. Many business people may not consider some of these the best environments from which to make company calls.

The great promise of Wifi phones was that they would free users from their computers, which would no longer need to be switched on to make Skype calls, but that is hardly the reality with the first generation of these phones. With its inability to be used in any hotspot requiring browser based sign on (unless you pay for and find a Cloud hotspot), you’ll end up using your mobile anyway.

Home users may be attracted to devices such as these, but at £150 it’s an expensive option and we’d bet many who buy one would end up using their computer because they want to use the video or IM functions. The price of Belkin’s equivalent, at £100, may be more attractive to home users, although we have yet to test its performance.

Long term, Wifi phones will become popular, but we are not convinced current attempts will win out. Make the phone much cheaper and we could live with its limitations, but right now, we wouldn’t dip into our pockets to buy this or the more expensive Netgear alternative.

Also consider:
Netgear SPH101 Skype Wifi phone
First of a new generation of handset for Skype, but you pay for the privilege

Cordless VoIP/Dect Dualphone
Make calls over the Internet without being tied to your computer

Linksys Cordless Internet Telephony Kit
An ergonomic VoIP handset with excellent call clarity, but it's expensive

All reviews of Skype phones [http://www.pcw.co.uk/tags/Skype]