Hands On: D-Link i2eye Broadband Videophone

I'll be honest: the whole notion of a videophone just doesn't seem right to me, and a recent report that up to a third of British telephone users make calls in the nude does little to dispel that notion.

But I put my skepticism aside and tried out D-Link's DVC-2000, more familiarly known as the i2eye Broadband Videophone. And after working with it for a few days, I have to ask: who in their right mind is going to pay the suggested retail price of $399 for this VoIP phone? It's marketed to consumers (they list one possible use as a "grandparent-grandchild communication device"), but if you're using a router you'll probably have to fiddle with port settings. The keypad is just mushy enough to be frustrating. And while you can also plug the i2eye into a regular phone line, it won't ring if you happen to be in broadband mode, even if you're not connected to anyone. Finally, there's no mixing and matching here -- if you're in broadband mode you can only call other H.323 phones.

The only advantage to the DVC-2000, as with any other VoIP phone, is that you don't need a computer to use it. But you can get the same funtionality and more from Skype for less money and less hassle.