USRobotics USR9620 USB adapter VoIPs your old analog phones

Almost everyone has an old phone or ten laying around the basement/attic, gathering dust and drawing snickers from the younger cellphone-toting generation. Well USRobotics is sick of the dust and the laughter, and they've enlisted their most talented engineers in a Manhattan Project of telephony that has resulted in a USB adapter which allows you to use corded or cordless phones as VoIP handsets. The USR9620 was being shown off at CeBIT, where crowds apparently gathered 'round as USRobotics technicians wowed onlookers by making several Skype calls using one of Alexander Graham Bell's original telephones borrowed from the Smithsonian. Although Bell's model chintzed out on the Caller ID, the 9620 allows your CID-enabled handsets to display Skype names as well as dial SkypeOut numbers directly from the phonebook or keypad. Currently no price or release date has been set for this handy adapter, which is a shame, because we're just itching to break out an old 1.7MHz cordless handset and add fluroscent light and passing car interference to the already sketchy sound quality we've come to know and love from VoIP.

UPDATE: Harold Wallace, the curator of the Smithsonian's telephone collection, wrote us a kind note asking if we could make it clear that none of Bell's original telephones were utilized in this demonstration, and since he asked nicely we're more than happy to comply. Ah, the perils of sarcasm!

[E-Rock @ Mar 14th 2006 1:01PM]

I'd love something like this, but I'd want to splice it into the house's phone system. I've got all that existing wiring and outlets, just no desire to give the phone company any of my money.

[kelly @ Mar 14th 2006 1:21PM]

in related news, they're announcing a new v.34bis modem.

nothing new here... there are adapters already released that will also let you toggle between skype out and an existing landline.

[Kiran @ Mar 14th 2006 1:57PM]

Vonage already lets you tap into your homes phone line. I have it running all throughout my house on a second line (office line) and it has been working great for over 1 year. It took me all of 1 hour to setup. Just disconnect the phone companies feed to the house so that there is no current going through the inside wiring and use an empty jack in the house to connect the vonage adapter phone out telephone line to this empty jack. Then I can use any phone in the house that is hooked up to that circuit as a VOIP line. Sound quality has been as good or better than traditional phone service (even international calls.) Internet congestion has only caused a problem maybe once or twice every 3 months or so. It only lasted for a few minutes at a time. I like it so much that I am tempted to switch the other line over to VOIP as well but I may have issues with my DishTV and home alarm system. This saves me over $100 per month.

[dudley @ Mar 14th 2006 2:20PM]

Internet Phone Wizard and UConnect both been doing this for a while and are available in Europe.
http://www.internetphonewizard.com/
http://www.voipvoice.com/uconnect.htm
They support Skype speed dials too. You switch from VOIP to PSTN by entering a short code before you dial. All good.

[kelly @ Mar 14th 2006 5:33PM]

oh, forgot to add the link.

http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html

nice voip oriented guide to inside wiring in a house. Just make sure you read the disclaimer before you go get your splice on :)

[Gadget Guy @ Mar 15th 2006 12:27AM]

This isn't an engineering masterpiece - it's merely a brand name licensing deal. The USR name was licensed for an ODM product that came out, and no retailer was interested in, last summer. You can see these "New USR" old USB products, that's right, you'll need your PC running, at www.skypedevices.com - ANOTHER ODM brand that's selling them...

[x23 @ Mar 15th 2006 7:48AM]

i've seen these things before as well.

none of them work with rotary phones though. which would require another clunky box.

certainly companies understand there is a market to combine ancient and bleeding edge tech in one device right? as is evident by all the wood slathered electronics lately or the old handsets converted to Bluetooth. or the ________-in-a-NES hacks.

[John @ Mar 23rd 2006 12:06PM]

Yeah nice idea sounds like www.intercompages.com stuff
and the telephone sharing adaptor..