mVox USB Speakerphone
A really simple and easy to use device
I bought the mVox MV100 USB speakerphone for use with Skype. It works quite well as a speakerphone.<br /><br />The speaker is plenty loud with little distortion. As with most computer audio devices I find myself turning up the microphone to full volume which is barely adequate, I am a low speaker so it's not all the products fault.<br /><br />The device comes with an earbud in case you want to have a private conversation, a really handy feature. You could use walkman type headphones if you don't like the ear bud.<br /><br />The thing I like the most about the device is it's size. It's tiny - so is ideal for the Laptop user. It is much easier to pack in a laptop bag then a headset and is less likely to get squashed or damaged. I can see myself using this to call home froma Hotel when abroad.<br /><br />I wish there was a manual volume dial on the device itself, it's not always convenient to access computer volume controls on the desktop while working on other things<br /><br />The USB cable at the device end is of a type I've not seen before. They call it a mini-USB-B connector which is avalable on the internet should you lose or damage the cable. I realize they went with a micro sized connector due to devices small size, but why not use the same connector as a digital camera? Those cables are freely available everywhere.<br /><br />It comes with a mini-sized CD. No software is required to use the device. Oddly enough the most useful utility, a customized volume control utility is not included on this CD but instead provides you with a link to download from their website. Why not put it on the CD? It's a tiny download. PDF manuals are included on the CD.<br /><br />They also provide hyperlink to another VoIP software vendor, gizmo. Their website's testimonials tout themselves as a 'Skype Killer'. Probably worth a look, but their premium services are on a smaller scale then Skype's and it's still currently (7/28/05) in Beta.<br /><br />JP