Introduction

VOIP technology has become a mainstream voice data communicating solution for many of us. VOIP has become such a popular solution today another enterprises as well as home users is its very low cost. Popular VOIP providers such as Skype and Internetcalls are very popular voip solutions among home users. Skype allows free calls among other Skype users. Personally I prefer using Internetcalls as it allows free calls to landlines of certain countries as well. If you’re new to this area I suggest you having a browse through these sites before you read on.

The common hardware components you’d need to use the above voip solutions are a PC, broadband internet connection and a set of headphones. There are many companies out there who have come out with solutions to replace the conventional headphones we use with these voip solutions and Apiotek is one of them. (http://www.apiotek.com) Their newly introduced USB metal phone integrates directly with skype and lets you operate the software directly from it, giving the feel of a conventional phone.

As you can see from the above picture, Apiotek’s phone is ultra slim. It’s a mere 75mm thick and 69grams in weight. It’s got a very stylish design, with a black gloss finish on top with a polished silver back.

The specs given by the manufacturer are below.

Specifications

The controls of the phone are pretty self explanatory, and for Windows users the phone also allows you to record the conversations with a press of a button.

Usability

Due to its size and weight Apiotek’s USB phone is quite easy to use. During a conversation the sound is clear and loud. The keys on the unit however should have a better feel to it, as the numbers you press on the keypad doesn’t get recognized quite easily sometimes. You really need to focus on the keys you want to press or it does not get recognized by Skype. Another area for improvement is to provide some kind of insulation for the heat the phone generates during use as it gets as hot as a mobile phone does when you’re on the phone for around 10 minutes or so. These were the only major problems we found of this unit, everything else was well upto standard. At the press of a button Skype automatically loads up and making and receiving calls are as easy as using a mobile phone.

Another area for improvement for Apiotek would be looking at introducing the same phone with a wireless feature, so that one is not limited to having the unit connected to the PC all the time, as the competition has already introduced such solutions.

If they wanted to add more flare, maybe adding a backlit keypad would be an added advantage in addition to the two LED lights which shows the unit is powered on and on mute.

This phone retails for around US$39 which makes it a very cheap voip phone to use. It’s got a very sleek design and it’s something more unique than using a conventional headphone set. Overall I was quite happy with this offering and if you’re in the lookout for a decent USB VOIP phone for cheap, it’s worth giving Apiotek’s Ultra slim VOIP phone a go. Head to Apoitek’s website to find out your local agents to purchase a unit.