If there was one little product that caught my eye as a low-end, very cool, useful gadget at the ITExpo. It was the VoSKY Chatterbox. Nice little package, sleek white case. Small and portable. It's got everything to love. Or did until I plugged it in.



It sort of slid downhill a bit for me at that point. Keep in mind, I'm a pretty demanding sort. This could be a useful gadget for some, but if I'd bought it, rather than carry it in my bag, I'd give it away to a friend who might appreciate it more than I.

First, there was an issue going in I knew about. It's a USB device. For those of you who aren't familiar with Skype and USB devices, I'll summarize. They work great, if you never unplug them. But if you're a laptop user, every time you unplug the USB device, Skype will forget all your settings and revert to the Windows default sound device. And no, it won't remember when you plug the USB device back in. You have to go reset it every time. Martin Geddes described his Headset Troubleshooting issues in detail. He uses a Plantronics DSP-400. I use the DSP-500 for many things. Frankly, being a laptop user, I hung up my expensive DSP-500 headset other than for podcast production and moved to other, non-USB headsets. USB speakerphone just present the same problem.

I expected that going in, but hoped maybe things had changed. To be clear, this is a Skype issue of poor support for USB devices. This is not Actiontec issue. OTOH, should they have known and documented the reality here? An unknowing user could spend a fair amount of time fightiing issues with the Skype sound devices, and an unknowing user will blame the Chatterbox even if it is a Skype problem.

As for sound quality, I was far less than impressed. As a speakerphone, the speaker doesn't put out very good sound quality. My laptop speakers were far superior. Given that speakers are cheap, and built into so many things (I have a Dell flat panel monitor with stere speakers built in) that I'm not sure why most people would want another external speaker, especially this little tiny one.

Microphone quality was the most disappointing to me. I did a test and with the exact same settings, I compared using the Chatterbox and lying a standard headset on the desk talking just like it was the speakerphone.  The $14.95 headset from Target did better than the Chatterbox. My Plantronics .audio340 headset performed leagues better. That's laying the headset on the desk, not wearing it.

To say the least, I was disappointed. I really wanted to like this little gadget, but frankly, it's not useful. I have no idea what it sells for, but it'll make a great trade show giveaway. Toss complimentary ones in with VoSKY Exchange and Call Center packages. It could be a handy little attention getter, but for all outside the most casual speakerphone users or Skype users, the audio quality, in both directions, will quickly unimpress.

I really wanted to like the Chatterbox, but I don't. It's packed up and ready to ship back to Actiontec in hopes that the next generation will step up the usability.

I'm expecting much more from the VoSKY Call Center.


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