Linksys CIT310 Dual-Mode Cordless Phone for Yahoo! Messenger Review

I have been a user of Yahoo! Messenger's phone out and phone in services for several months now. It was only recently, though, that I picked up the Linksys CIT310 Dual-Mode Cordless Phone for Yahoo! Messenger, which debuted last November. It has made an already great service any greater.

The reason I first started using Yahoo! Messengers phone out/phone in (which allows me to make calls out as well as receive calls through Yahoo! Messenger) was the price. For $2.99 a month I got my Yahoo phone number, which can be called from any landline phone anywhere in the world. As for calls out, it is only $0.01 a minute for calls to several countries and only $0.02 a minute for calls anywhere in the US.

Cheap long distance calls are definitely a plus. Secondly, since my phone number doesn't change with Yahoo! and I travel a lot, no matter where I am my phone comes with me and family and friends can call me with ease without having to pay their own long distance charges.

Unfortunately there was a problem, and that was sound quality. I used a headset, which worked adequately and I rarely had a problem hearing who I was talking too, but the connection for the microphone was not always the strongest, which occasionally made for some frustrating phone calls.

Then I got my Linksys CIT310 Dual-Mode Cordless Phone for Yahoo! Messenger. It plugs into the computer through a hi-speed USB 2.0 port, so data is traveling much more rapidly and much cleaner than through my not always so trusty old headset. In fact, speaking through the Yahoo! Messenger phone out or phone in service was just as crystal clear as you would hear from any decent telephones these days, if not a little bit clearer than some.

As the name says, this is a cordless phone, and the range on it is impressive. It lists its range at 100 feet, and that seems pretty much accurate. I can walk from my apartment, close the apartment door, head on down the stairs and be at my car in the parking lot and the line never misses a beat. I've never even had a regular cordless phone that had that decent of handset range.

The dual-mode feature in the name of the product refers to the fact you don't have to use this phone solely with Yahoo! Messenger, you can also plug it into your traditional landline. I don't currently use a traditional landline (my Internet goes through cable and Yahoo! Messenger's phone service is much cheaper than going through a phone company), so I can't state how well this system works, however do to how happy I have been with the rest of the service I expect it works just as well.

Along with its basic functionality, the Linksys CIT310 also has a few extra features. For example I can plug in my zip code and get the weather through the handset. They have a very easy to use directory feature where I also plug in my zip code, type in what I am looking for (say, for example, pizza), and it gives me local listings in my area based on my search. I get names and phone numbers and even easier if I want to call I just highlight the result I want and it will dial the number for me.

There are a couple of problems with the phone. For one thing, it only works when your computer is on and it is signed into Yahoo! Messenger (unless, of course, you have it plugged in through a landline as well). For the most part I have had no problems with calls, however it has cut off calls a couple of times. Not sure exactly what the cause of that is yet, although it has not been a major issue.

Overall the Linksys CIT310 is an excellent product and I have been very happy with it. Outside of the one time cost of the phone (about $80.00 through Amazon.com) Yahoo!'s is by far the cheapest VOIP service I have found. The only monthly fee is $2.99 for my phone number every month, outside of that I charge up my phone out minutes whenever I need to, with a minimum of $10.00 every six months (and with such low rates $10.00 lasts a while, its about 500 minutes for calls anywhere in the US). Great service with a great phone.