Asus AiGuru SV1T Touch Screen Video Phone - Silver Grey

I bought two of these devices one for me and then one for my mother. I have used it extensively, just about every day for 12+ months. It is a great product and really useful for regular skype calls which are now unencumbered by the PC. I have it on my desk beside the computer. The speaker-phone function really works well. I just press a button when I want to answer an incoming Skype call and speak. For outgoing calls I mostly use the recent callers list. Using my computer for Skype calls I was always scrambling around for my headset. Laptop speakers tend to be not quite good enough for a natural conversational call.

If I need to open a spreadsheet or address book record or type the last few words of an email or boot the computer up or something during the call, I have both hands free, there is no drop-out while the computer does some thinking. After the call I can carry on exactly where I left off. It is very convenient to have a Skype conversation independently of the computer - just like the telephone really.

The video function is good quality and makes it a great conferencing device (nb not as host though. See later.) WiFi and ethernet connections are no hassle and it remembers its settings when you unplug it.

Do not think of this as a handheld device. It is not even really a portable device, although it can be easily moved around the house if you carry it in both hands. However, being tethered to a mains outlet still allows it to be a really useful product. Once you have found a good place for it to live, just leave it there. If there is an incoming call you can hear it from a good distance. You could have one in the kitchen and one in the study.

The product design is brilliant. I feel I will be using this product for years to come.

The Skype software which comes with it is really intuitive and straightforward. The touch screen fits seamlessly into the useability pattern. Making and receiving a call is as easy as a plain old telephone (only better when the contacts have their pictures uploaded) and my 90 year old mother to cope with it - after I set up wireless broadband in her house and her Skype address book etc.

I don't think you can host a conference call with the current version of Skype installed. If you can, it is not at all obvious how. As for sending or receiving a Skype IM, I have not even tried. However, I have my computer for setting up conferencing and for IM and Skype copes brilliantly with the way I can establish or receive a call on either machine. Maybe a Skype software update will become available. However, I hope the simple intuitive interface is not compromised in any way when/if that happens.

I have had to use device reset once after 12+ months of use. I think the call history got too big for it to handle and it started to misbehave. You do not have to reset the wi-fi settings when doing this, so it only required re-entering skype ID and password. No big deal.

I think that this product is being abandoned by Asus.
In spite of the description, and the storagespace in the phone, at least amazon.co.uk's model has no battery included.
I have read that it only got 20 minutes of batterylife, but still it would be nice to have the possibility to roam around the house a little.
The battery is AL21-SV1 and can not be bought anywhere.
The fan is annoying.

The lack of a battery for the UK market makes this product unusable if unplugged (or switched off) for a couple of hours or so, as no settings are retained. It will lose the Skype login name, password, Wi-Fi configuration, everything! For many target users i.e. grandparents who are not totally PC-proficient, this makes the product unusable unless extreme care is take. What a shame as in other regards this is a superb product.