List Price: $199.99 Our Price: $199.95 You Save: $0.04 (0%)

Product Description

The GE28310EE1 phone comes with Skype P2P (peer-to-peer) software on a computer processor chip built into the base of the phone, enabling the system to function without connecting to a PC.The GE28310EE1 delivers full Skype support, sending and receiving Skype/VoIP calls as well as standard PSTN calls, while permitting conferencing of up to four VoIP users. The phone features DECT 6.0 (Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology), which delivers calls of exceptional voice quality without the static, pops, hiss and buzz which severely hinder the performance of most wireless home and small office telephones.The GE28310EE1 telephone has many enhanced features, which serve both traditional phone line and Skype calling. These include polyphonic + midi melody ringtones for custom ID of incoming callers as well as a 200-entry phone address book that can sync up with the consumer's computer.

Customer Reviews:

• Problem with Skype?
  One fast comment about this GE DECT Skype phone. It works pretty well. However, you might find that sometimes when you go to answer the phone when it rings, both sides hear silence though they're both trying to talk.
  
  How to fix it: We found that this problem would happen when the skype account that the telephone was logged into was, at the same time, ALSO logged in on our laptop's copy of skype as well.
  
  SO, make sure that the skype account that the phone is logged into is NOT currently logged in on another computer or phone somewhere. That fixed it for us....more info
• It really works
  I bought this phone almost 2 weeks ago and I really recommend this phone to everyone. It does what I paid for ! I created my skype account and only with R$14,95 ( it is almost U$6) I can talk 400minutes. I work home office for an international company, I've just plugged the fone in my internet broadband connection ( 6MB ) and also plugged the landline so people that call me are calling using the landline, when I call I select skypeout.
  The quality of sound is excelent, the speaker phone is also great.
  When I connected the phone on the internet it detected a new version of firmware, I updated very easy, just selecting "next, next, finish" it took 15minutes without any interaction after I confirmed.
  I gave 4 stars because of the following problems:
  1-) sometimes the phone just hang and I can not type the phone number, I have to remove the batteries.
  2-) the status of the batteries does not indicate the right amount of battery.
  3-) I noticed the problem start when you are visualizing the features on the phone, checking all the options and menus. The phone is not very tough you need to be careful .
  4-) The batteries that came with the phone are not so good, maybe it can be the problem, a good point is that they are rechargeable .
  
  The truth:
  I saw a bunch of reviews saying a lot of problem and some wrong information.
  1-) is very easy to raise the volume during the call, just pressing one key.
  2-) some problems are due old version of firmware, update the firmware and the quality of sound will be improved
  3-) I did notice any delay to type the numbers and the noise when pressing keys are normal
  4-) the design is not poor, the design is simple, this phone is the cheapest voip phone that I found.
  5-) only the phone I had to remove the batteries ( 2 times ) and eventhough I am sure that it is being caused by the batteries . The base I never unplugged.
  
  ...more info
• Phone is junk, Service sucks
  It worked for a bout a week. Then lost connection with a base.
  I'm not a newbie and have huge experience with setting up making electronics and computer stuff work.
  
  800- number is a joke. It just tells you to visit a website or call 310- number.
  Finally got through. Was advised to send it back for replacement to El Paso, TX.
  Three months later I found a time to call them - no, it was not replaced and nobody cares. They offered me a refund of purchase price and they'll mail a check within 6 weeks they told.
  So bottom line is a hundred bucks away from my pocket for 4 months and purchase and return shipping costs lost.
  Never ever Thomson/GE.
  Take a look at Rip-Off Report website - there is a hundreds of similar claims....more info
• Flop
  GE 28310EE1 is not as stylish and well made as discontinued Phillips VOIP841. I have been using VOIP841 for over a year. I liked that phone despite the need to reboot the base station about once a month but I wanted a system that really works with several handsets.
  
  I purchased GE 28310EE1 with two extra handsets. I had no problem registering additional handsets with the base station. The process was very simple, reset a new handset that you want to add (Settings->Advanced->Reset), leave it on a cradle and press the reset button in the base unit. I can tell that GE 28310EE1 was designed to work with several handsets. You can rename each handset (e.g., "Kitchen", "Bed Room"), make intercom calls or join a pending Skype call.
  
  Unfortunately, the phone has a few drawbacks. First, GE handsets tend to malfunction (some users call it freeze). How frequently this occurs, depends on how many options you use in the phone. If you open Contacts, select an item, press Options then go to Settings->Phone Settings, the handset will freeze after a few iterations. When you do not visit Settings, the handset will probably work fine for a week or so. When the freeze happens, the handset becomes very slow. Its communication with the base station is broken, you cannot fetch the contact list nor input more than 3-4 numbers. The problem is not caused by the base unit but the handset itself - the other handsets would work fine. The only way to fix the problem is to remove batteries to reset the handset (or to register it again with the base station but you will lose the handset name). The problem can be serious when you have only one handset. The phone will not ring and you may not notice this for quite a while. But if you have two handsets you can be almost sure that one of them will ring. Amazingly, the base station seem to be stable and does not require manual resets (or it resets itself automatically from time to time). I contacted the Danish company RTX, that designed the phone, and asked if they plan to fix the firmware but they directed me to GE. Well, I am not sure how much GE knows about this phone. This problem was reported by users and reviewers in 2007 and has not been fixed for more than a year.
  
  Removing batteries from the handset to reset it is simple but there are side effects. It appears that the handset is not able to measure precisely the voltage of installed batteries and it uses time to determine how long to charge. If you remove and put back fully charged batteries - the battery status becomes low and a full charging cycle is applied. So after resetting the handset by brute-force battery removal, batteries are charged again and they become hot to the touch. I am not sure if this poses any fire hazard (charging is slow so should be safe) but if you are worry about house safety, leave the handset off the cradle for a few hours. Also, when you put the battery, the handset may not boot properly so you will be forced to repeat the process several times.
  
  My handsets came with firmware version 1.01. This version does not allow you to send DTMF tones during 1-800 calls (press 1 for this, press 2 for that, etc.). The phone is almost useless without this feature when calling banks, credit cards, airlines or support lines. Fortunately, firmware can be updated to a newer version 2.24 that fixes this problem. The process of upgrading firmware was very smooth for me: Settings->Advanced->Firmware Update->Latest firmware. All handsets have to be left in cradles during this process. New firmware is downloaded from Internet to the base station and to handsets, one after another.
  
  In November we had a daylight time switch in California. I noticed that the phone displayed wrong time with settings: "Time & Date-> Daylight saving-> Daylight saving" (Time Server must be activated). Interestingly, disabling daylight saving provided correct time. This looks like a firmware bug. BTW, should this option be called "Daylight saving->Enable"?
  
  The user interface in this phone is rather slow. After pressing "Contacts" you need to wait about 4 seconds for the list of 10 items to show up. The phone makes long "booooo" sounds when any key is pressed. A shorter beep would create appearance of a faster response. There is one case when pressing buttons does not produce any beeps, lift the handset and press the "Call/Speaker" button to select the landline. Now pressing buttons is silent - another firmware bug.
  
  Screen fonts used to display contact info and phone numbers are narrow. The good side of this choice is that the names can be longer than in VOIP841 but they are harder to read on a small color display. Increasing display contrast improves readability.
  
  Keypad buttons feel like a "hard" remote control. The round navigation button is particularly flimsy and uncomfortable. The base station plastic case looks cheap. The handset clip is made of shiny black plastic but the handset black plastic has mat finish. Did GE outsource plastic injection molding to two CM? The base station has no "page" button to locate a missing handset but if you have a second handsets you can call it and find it that way. Another annoying thing of this phone is that the display turns off after 60 seconds and there is no way to turn it on without activating some function assigned to a button. Moreover, when the connection cannot be made, the phone momentarily displays a message ("Not Available" or "Sorry, the user is busy") and goes back to the main screen. When you hold the handset next to your ear, you would not know what happened - you dialed a number a moment ago and now the phone shows the main screen as nothing happened.. The phone should emit a warning beep and wait with the message for the user to confirm - another firmware bug, same as in VOIP841.
  
  GE 28310EE1 does not have an internal web page that can be viewed with a web browser. All configuration have to be performed using a handset. I have a network printer, home alarm, router, DSL modem, network storage - all those network devices have internal web servers to view and/or change configurations. Philips VOIP841 has a simple internal web page as well. Surprisingly, GE 28310EE1 does not offer this useful feature.
  
  Finally, the 28310EE1 user manual is bad. Fortunately, there is a solution for this problem. You can use dualphone 3088 manuals (European version of this phone). There are two interesting manuals, one for a single handset system and one explaining features of an extra handset. Clear language with color screen captures will guide you through advanced features, e.g. how setup 3-way conference calls. Apparently the phone has some shortcuts, e.g. pressing "Menu" then "555" pops up screen contrast control. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to soft reset of a handset.
  
  In my view the phone is not reliable enough to disconnect the landline. Moreover, the phone does not fully integrate skype with landline. The phone has no answering machine so you need to keep your old answering machine connected. Of course, for a small fee, Skype would provide the voice mail service but this will not include your landline calls. It would be great to have a phone with one, integrated, local answering machine for both skype and landline calls. Also the phone should allow all contact info to be stored locally rather than on the skype server. If skype goes out of business, this phone is completely useless.
  
  On the positive side, a nice feature of 28310EE1 is that different melodies can be selected for incoming landline, skype and intercom calls. The base station is also Energy Star according to the GE website. The power supply is rated 12 VDC @ 300 mA so the power consumption should not exceed 4 Watts, excellent. The voice quality is good, especially when calling a similar phone (skype-to-skype); if you call your family a lot you may consider buying them a similar phone and enjoy voice quality that is better than landline. In my local Fry's store I also bought for a few bucks a simple, GE branded headset with 2.5mm jack and a microphone on a cord (elongated shape). The rubber trim around the ear bud started to fall almost immediately but the voice quality is very good, better than Philips. Volume can be adjusted by pressing up/down arrows on the round navigation button but only after the connection is made - it would be good if the telephone could display a number between 1 and 10 representing the current volume. The phone works fine with default network settings and the WRT54GS Linksys router.
  
  Overall, I would give GE 28310EE1 3 stars (out of 5). The user interface is sluggish and the handsets occasionally freeze preventing you from receiving or making calls. The industrial design is uninspiring. There is no built-in web server to change phone settings or to view phone logs. The manual is rather poorly written, even the electrical specification is missing (power consumption, max talk time, screen resolution, etc). Certainly, GE should overhaul its QA department and work a bit harder on industrial design. Unfortunately, there are almost no other choices of PC-less Skype phones that work outside 2.4 GHz and with several handsets. In socialism people used to say: "if you do not have what you like, you have to like what you have". Now I repeat the same phrase every time I look at this phone....more info
• Phone works well (finally), but tech support was horrible
  I decided to try this phone largely on the strength of the Amazon reviews, but my experience was less than positive.
  
  I bought this phone used; the person I bought it from said it worked fine for him, but he later decided to get rid of landline phone service altogether (including Skype) and use cell phones only. I hooked up the phone and base station as described in the user's guide and was able to go through the first several startup screens successfully (this is a series of screens which are accessed using the phone handset), but when I got to the step where I was directed to sign in to my Skype account the phone displayed a screen which read simply, "Communications Error."
  
  Finding no additional help in the user's guide, I called GE Tech Support at (310) 953-9028 and was told, after a rather frustrating series of exchanges with a technician who seemed to know less about the phone than I did, that all they could recommend was that I get another phone.
  
  I would love to try out Skype's service using a Skype phone, as I have had great success using Skype with my computer and webcam, but I have been less than impressed with the selection of currently available Skype phone products, and my experience with the GE 28310 has done nothing to change that.
  
  Update, 1/19/09: After my initial frustration with this phone as described above, I ended up just leaving the phone and base station connected and sitting on my desk. I had in mind that I'd try a firmware update and see if that would solve my problems with signing in to my Skype account, but I ended up not getting around to it.
  
  Then a few days ago, a couple of weeks after my initial attempt to get it working, I picked up the handset and it had a message on the screen that said something like, "A new update is available, would you like to download it?" I can't remember the exact wording of the message, but I'm pretty sure it didn't specifically say "firmware" update, because I would have remembered that.
  
  I said "Sure" and it immediately began downloading and installing some sort of update, and a few minutes later I was able to sign in to my Skype account! I have since made and received several calls on the phone and have found the sound quality to be excellent (though perhaps not as good as on my USB headset when I use Skype on my computer). I plan to test it out a little more before I decide if I want to ditch my current phone provider (Vonage) for Skype.
  
  If Amazon would let me, I'd probably raise my rating for this product to two stars; the phone itself seems to work pretty well, but my experience with GE Tech Support was still horrible. Not only did they not fix my problem, they suggested that I get rid of a perfectly good phone....more info
• Terrible product, support is even worse
  Paid $140 right here on Amazon. If I could get my money back I would. The phone worked flawlessly for almost two months then died. I called Thomson and they said to return it for repair. I did on Dec 26, 2008. Thomson placed an order for a new one January 29, 2009. What was the month delay for? Now I'm on the phone again with Thomson and it's another 4-6 weeks because of availabily. And, when you call Thomson you just get some 3rd party outsource company who knows nothing.
  If it works for you, great. If you are thinking about buying one, look elsewhere....more info
• Seems like a great product
  I purchased this item because it was the perfect solution for what I was wanting, Although expensive. Unfortunately their hard to find specially at a good price. Turns out the one I finally found was not working when I received it. It seems like a good product, too bad it did not work for me....more info
• Great Phone
  I bought this phone for my mother because she can't use a computer and I needed a way of comunicating without paying for expensive phone calls. So far the phone has worked fine. Sound is great and my mother who is not technology friendly learned to use it very fast. I recommend this phone....more info
• my new g.e. skype phone.
  this g.e. skype phone works just fine. i like talking with other people in difternt parts of the world. great time on the phone with skype. this g.e. phone sound is great.love it. larry e. stults...more info
• GE Skype phone
  I bought this phone in DEC.08, after few weeks did not work anymore, contacted Thomson Inc, the company that covers the warranty,as of today 5/22/09 they have not replaced the phone and neither refund me the money, even involved BBB to help me on this case. I hope you do not have to go thru my same ordeal....more info
• Worst skype phone
  GE - SKYPE - Dect 6.0 Cordless phone
  
  I purchased this phone to make cheap phone calls...This phone worked perfectly 1st one week or so..after one week it just could not sign into skype i could not go into the ip settings when i tried to do it ..it comes back to first page...I tried every possible way to fix it..reboot..reset..turning it off for 24 hours but nothig worked..i would say that there are bugs in the software of this phones and GE customer support is also non responsive...Please stay away from this phone...more info
• Does what it says on the box
  I have been using this phone for over a year now and it does what it says on the box. It performs well, gives little trouble, and saves me loads of cash on international telephone bills by using Skype. Call quality is typically excellent.
  
  Battery life is fantastic, and with the telephone headset port, I can spend a full 8+ hours on conference calls without having to worry about the handset dying.
  
  PRO's:
  - I like the different ring tone for incoming landline and incoming Skype calls
  - Choose to dial number from memory or 'as entered' using Skype or landline service provider
  - Battery life
  - Save's me loads of cash on international phonecalls to landlines
  - Cordless handset with speakerphone and headset port
  - Save even more money on free phonecalls to other Skype PC or telephone users
  - Make Skype calls without needing a PC (the phone has a base station that connects directly your wireless router - I use a Netgear router)
  
  CON's
  - Firmware upgrade does not seem to work (user error perhaps?)
  
  I love this phone and would have given it 5 stars if I could get the firmware upgrade to work. I don't know what the firmware would improve, as the phone performs well enough with the current version....more info
• Problems with GE 28310
  I've now had 2 of these phones and they both have had problems. When I initially got the first phone, it was great but after a few weeks, I was having connection problems and had to reset the phone very often. GE customer support is almost non-existent. It finally died on me after a few months. I got a new one and it seemed to work better for a while, although I was having some problems with the auto-login with Skype from time to time. The phone was already preset to be logged in at all times but it would lose that function and wouldn't let me log-in manually so I wasn't able to make the call. I've had this second one for about a year and it has to be reset every month or so and I am waiting for it to eventually die. It's no longer under warranty so I'll just have to eat it! Hoping to find another better quality Skype phone that doesn't require a computer and that has CUSTOMER SUPPORT....more info
• Not a good phone at all
  I bought this phone 6 months ago and basically stop working (no communication between the base and the handset) two weeks ago. Before this thing happened, have to reset the unit almost very week for six months until it finally dies. At first, I thought it was our internet provider (AT&T) that was the problem so I changed it to Time Warner but the same problem happened over and over again. Called GE's (Thompson's)customer service to have it replace since it still under manufacturer's warranty but was so surprise to hear that GE does not support products that were sold online especially from auction sites (don't ever buy from Buy.com if you want a peace of mind - GE is claiming that they sell used phones that's why they can't give warranty ). So buyer's be very careful buying this product online, especially when buying it from BUY.com. But as a product, it's a not a good one since it's very unstable and quality and customer service really sucks! DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE BUYING. THERE ARE BETTER PRODUCTS THAN THIS ONE....more info
• Great Phone
  We decided to switch to Skype for our home phone service. This phone works very well. It has some nice features such as adjustable ringer volume, and an easy to read color display. I highly recommend this phone. ...more info
• It works, so I can't complain
  Listen, I wasn't crazy about getting this. But we don't have a land line -- yes, we're one of those families that just has cell phones and no land line. But we do have internet via a cable modem, and a Skype Pro account.
  
  It works. Yeah, the menu is sluggish, but it works. You can dial SkypeOut contacts, or just punch in the full number and dial out, and it'll receive phone calls to at your SkypeIn number. Heckuva a lot cheaper than regular telephone company rates and monthly fees.
  
  The construction is lightweight, which might some to comment that it feels less than substantial, but I'm pretty happy with its heft.
  
  Sound quality is not as good as Skype on a computer, but pretty good -- better the our cell phones.
  
  Hey by the way -- be careful. A bunch of the Skype phones you're probably searching for right now require a computer with a USB connection -- most of the time a Windows computer. We were interested in a standalone Skype phone -- with a base station that plugs into our ethernet router. This is that. But, be careful also, this is not one of the Skype phones that connects directly to WiFi (you can read the reviews on those).
  
  This may be the worst review I've ever written, but please don't let it reflect on the quality of the phone. If you're on the fence, I say get it....more info
• Phenomenal audio quality and cheap service
  The GE Skype phone is absolutely amazing. Prior to purchasing this, my girlfriend (who has partial hearing loss) hated talking to me on the phone because she couldn't understand anything I was saying. This phone's audio quality is amazing. over Skype, the audio quality is even better due to higher bandwidth on the internet compared to copper phone lines.
  
  My only caveat for the phone is that it looks hideous, but the audio quality alone is more than enough for me to give it 5 stars....more info
• it works
  i know there have been some complaints about the phone and with any technology i'm sure there are exceptions out there.
  
  but so far i've been lucky i guess, as we've had crystal clear calls both sending and receiving.
  
  we live in nyc and call family in australia and london.
  
  they say they can hear us very clearly and there hasn't been so much as a disconnection or glitch or noise on the phone. so, so far so good!...more info
• Great when it works....when it works is the key
  The phone is quirky. It will work fine and then just start dropping calls or it will dial and then you can't hear the party on the other end but they can hear you so you have to hang up and dial again sometimes twice to get thru. The batteries will show full charge but phone will not work so if you re-seat them then it shows they need a charge. Sometimes it won't ring or show missed calls or voicemails until you reset. Called GE/thompson customer support. First person said they could not help because I bought it online from Amazon. I had to get to a supervisor to get approval for replacement but have to send it to them and be with out a phone for 4-6 weeks once they receive it. I will probably just limp along instead. Frustrating. Will anybody stand behind there products these days and provide REAL customer service! Oh well!...more info
• GE Skype Phone
  This little phone is one of the best purchases I have ever made. Quality is superb, and it was delivered promptly. In every way, it has outperformed expectations.
  
  I recommend it without reservation.
  
  ...more info
• great product!
  This phone is just great. I have the Skype subscription for US and Canada where I just pay about $4 a month plus I rent a skype in phone number for my local area and it works just great. The gadget is responsive and has all features I can ask for in Skype. Feels great to walk away from the computer with this phone. Sounds is so clear and crisp, with no cuttoffs, much better than in the computer. I bought the inexpensive Jabra headset for 2.5mm plug and it makes the experience even better. I definitively recommend it....more info
• SIMPLY... DOESN'T WORK
  It is a shame that I have been sick and unable to return this product. It simply doesn't work. It is blocked and there is no way to unblock it....more info
• Very Good Phone
  PROS - Easy hardware setup. Easy software setup. Firmware automatically updated itself. No problems when calling companies with voice menu with number options. Features: mute, redial, flash, etc... .
  CONS - Cheap plastic feel and look. Pressing dial pad numbers feels soft and rubbery (You have to press the numbers firmly so fast dialing is difficult).
  VOICE QUALITY - About 80% as loud and clear as land line phone. Very usable.
  CONCLUSION - Though there is room for improvement, this phone functions very well.
  
  
  ...more info
• This Phone has issues
  I bought this phone back in Oct. 08 and I wish I could return it. The site I bought it from only has a 20 day return policy. I must say installation went well. Everything was easy. Sounded good, functionality was convenient once the contact list was updated. Probably more than a month ago I would have to re-log in about every couple of days. That was annoying because it would not log in on the first attempt. It usually to 4-5 times of going through taking out batteries, unplugging the router, resetting the modem, resetting the base station and where did it get me...TO A Time Screen! AH! The last time it happened it has not changed. I went through the instruction manual doing it's suggestions to no avail. I even called the cable company to reset my line and still nothing. Before I started having problems I convinced my own mother to buy this phone. She never got to use it. She has had the same problem right out of the box in not being able to log in to her phone. I had 20 days from my retailer to return it and that is long gone. I still have the one year manuf. warranty, but I have seen where others have tried to use Thompson/ RCA/ GE warranty service and get the run around about when they are going to get their phone back. So buyer beware. Like I said, I loved using this phone until it died. Definitely not worth 130.00 for a few months. If anyone wants mine to try I still have the original box. I will sell it to you. Have fun.
  
  Brian in Buffalo
  ...more info
• Excellent choice and a good price
  This mi second skype enable phone and finally i got what i needed. I bought this in order to have a independent skype line from the computer and works perfect. In a matter os minutes the phone was installed and ready to use. After charging it overnight the phone works just perfect, have a very clear sound and good speaker. Can't talk about the intercom, just got one.
  Also works perfect with the land line.
  It is kind of light weight but not a real issue. I works with aaa batteries so in case the original one fail, can be easily replace. ...more info
• Wonderful Skype & Landline Phone
  The phone comes in a wonderful design and a larger screen than other products.
  What I liked most that it updates it's software automatically after you accept the requst, all it asks you to stay away for a while, and it's all done by itself.
  Switching between the handphone and the speaker is just a button click.
  When you make a call it simply asks you if you want to use landline or skype.
  I see this phone very easy to use and it's much better than the NETGEAR's WiFi Phone (SPH200W-100NAS) I previously bought when it comes to sound quality and ease of use.
  Thanks......more info
• Stoppded working randomly
  This phone was amazing until about a month after I bought it, it just stopped working. It wouldnt even turn on!!!! I was pretty disappointed, but up until then it worked fabulous! LOL. Hope others have a better experience. ...more info