Keepin' it... wait, that's a Bluetooth Skype phone?

by Paul Miller, posted Jun 26th 2006 at 3:25PM

Sure, it might look exactly like those iPod shuffle knockoffs floating around a bit ago, but this new FlashPhone F4K has more going on than just an ugly paint job. The F4K, from the same Mplat that brought us the sexier F2K, is one of those VoIP phone on a USB stick setups, except that this version includes Bluetooth to allow you to make those calls wire-free. Mostly designed for softphone use, the F4K can handle Skype, MSN, Google Talk, Xten, SIP Phone and more, so you shouldn't have much trouble working it from most computers with an Internet connection -- we just want to know why it needs MP3 playback controls. A bit of audio on the go would be nice, but either way we can't really complain with this thing priced at $40 for the 128MB version.

[Via TRFJ]

Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio, Wireless

Tags: bluetooth, f4k, flashphone f4k, FlashphoneF4k, ipod shuffle, IpodShuffle, mp3, mplat, sip, skype, softphone, usb, voip

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

Special_K @ Jun 26th 2006 4:35PM

I'm moving to a remote part of India (for boarding school, not some "finding myself spiritual journey" crap) and I want to stay in touch. I thought that VOIP might be the way to go, but getting my mum and all my friends to install Skype seems like an arduous task- how is Skype-to-phone service? Does it sound alright? How much is it? Can I use it with these sexy knockoffs/revolutionary devices? Are there any other wireless options for me?

Neutral

Richard Garfinkel @ Jun 26th 2006 4:55PM

Special_K, if it's so remote, why do you expect to have reliable broadband internet for Skype, but not reliable phone service?

Neutral

rick gregory @ Jun 26th 2006 5:01PM

Richard,

think of the phone charges... Even if you have reliable phone service, it may be much cheaper to VoIP.

Neutral

Taylor @ Jun 26th 2006 5:19PM

Very, very cool. Can't wait to see this type of product developed futher.

Neutral

phantom42 @ Jun 26th 2006 5:56PM

special_k, my friends and i used skype->land/cell from the bahamas for a month. when we had a decent enough web connection, it worked great. but if your connection is at all shakey, it sometimes starts slipping a bit. in the hotel, our web connection would sometimes randomly die - and trying to use that connection, sometimes there would be a full second of delay. but we'd go to a better hotel with a better connection and it would work like a champ.

Neutral

Justin @ Jun 26th 2006 6:13PM

i'm surprised Creative isn't putting this phone out, they seem to rip off apple design religiously, this would just be par for the course.

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