Uniden’s Very Friendly Web Phone

Looking for a new way to reach out and touch someone? There’s a host of cutting edge gadgets on the market that act like regular cordless phones by making calls over traditional phone lines, but also place calls through a PC’s high-speed Internet connection. As part of a series on these Web-friendly phones, I took a look at Uniden’s WIN 1200, introduced in January, 2006, and selling for $99.99.

I found a lot to like about it — from excellent call quality to ease of use to compatibility with Microsoft’s (MSFT) instant messaging service — and little reason to quibble.

Standalone Web-calling services often don’t support 911 calls — a big reason many people aren’t ready to ditch their landlines altogether. But Web-enabled phones such as the Uniden WIN 1200 offer the best of two worlds: the low cost of communication via the Internet and the reliability of traditional landline calling.

Makes Friends Easily Dial 911 and this phone will put you straight through to an emergency responder through the regular line. Meantime, the Web function helps you save money on long-distance calls by calling fellow users of Windows Live Messenger instant messaging service for nothing. Want to call folks who live far away but aren’t IM buddies? You can call them, too, for about 2 cents a minute.

Another advantage of this Uniden: Unlike many other cordless phones, it won’t interfere with your home wireless network. It works on the 5.8GHz frequency, which, according to experts, is more friendly to wireless fidelity, or Wi-Fi, connections than the more commonly used Wi-Fi compatible 2.4GHz frequency.

One of the phone’s biggest distinctions is how well it integrates with Windows Live Messenger, which boasts more than 200 million active users. Other phones aim for compatibility with comparable Web-based communications services but don’t always succeed. With Uniden, you can download your Messenger contact list right into the device’s phonebook. The phone can notify you of new Hotmail e-mails, contacts who are online, and incoming instant messages. One drawback is you can’t check the e-mails right on the phone.

Automatic Driver Setup Setup was easy and intuitive. I was able to insert the phone line cord and plug the phone base into my PC USB port in less than a minute, though after inserting a battery into the handset I had to let it charge for several hours before use. I especially like a phone whose base connects directly to my computer, rather than, say, a router or a modem. I find plugging into a PC’s USB ports streamlines setup and allows a cleaner look. One disadvantage to keep in mind: Your PC has to be on for you to make Web calls.

Getting at the software was a breeze, too. With a lot of fancy new home phones, you have to insert an accompanying CD into your computer and go through a software setup. This phone installs drivers automatically, as soon as it’s plugged into the USB port.

Ease-of-use doesn’t end with setup. The device boasts a joystick button that lets you scroll through lists quickly. And although the phone does a lot, its surface isn’t covered with buttons, as were some other cordless phones I tested.

Outdated Manual This phone also has a color screen that allows for some fun graphics, such as color wallpaper and animations [I chose an animated frog that would stick out its tongue, jump off the screen, or peek out of a bucket, depending on the task at hand]. The phone offers a ton of scheduling features as well, allowing you to program sound or display alerts for meetings, for instance.

The Uniden also does the things most cordless phones do, such as conference calls and storing as many as 100 contacts. You can also use the phone with a headset — a feature lacking in many home phones integrated with Web calling.

One of my few gripes: The manual seemed dated, and its descriptions and diagrams didn’t always match up with the phone. That was the case when I was making a PC-to-phone call. As a result, it was hard to tell which button to press when I wanted a call to go through the PC rather than my landline.

Fortunately the phone is easy enough to figure out without the manual, and overall, I found it to be one of the better new phones on the market.