Until recently, most dual-mode VoIP phones worked in tandem with your computer. They came equipped with separate handsets and base stations. But you still needed to run Skype (or another messaging application) on your PC to make Internet-based VoIP calls.

 

The new dual-mode phones have Skype software built right into the handset. The Netgear SPH200D and the Philips VoIP8411B/37 may look different at first glance, but once we started testing, we learned that they're both cut from the same cloth. They use similar keypad arrangements, displays, and Skype software--right down to the UI sound effects.

 

Both of these models also bear a striking resemblance to the Linksys iPhone CIT400 Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit for Skype, a similar dual-mode phone that beat these two to market. But despite their seemingly identical specs, we found some important differences between the Philips and Netgear phones.