Philips touts straight-to-Wi-Fi Skype phone

Electronics giant Philips has announced a cordless VoIP phone that connects directly with wireless broadband without needing a PC. 

The Philips Voip841 is the first Dect cordless phone to offer this functionality, according to Rudy Provoost, chief executive of Philips' consumer electronics division, who announced the phone at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin.

The handset will be available from December, but Philips has not yet announced a price. 

Netgear announced a PC-less VoIP phone, the Skype SPH101, at CES in January. The device works on Wi-Fi networks to which the user has access and stores up to 200 contacts.

Skype handsets using USB cables or a Wi-Fi connection have been available from a range of vendors including Taiwanese firms Wistron and Accton. But they all require software running on a computer. 

The Netgear model was the first to allow users to place phone calls without the need for a PC by connecting directly to a router.