Netgear TA612V

Voice over IP looks set to revolutionise the way we make telephone calls, but the speed at which it catches on depends largely on the ease of migration from standard phones.

Netgear recently added the TA612V Broadband Adapter to its already bulging portfolio of network kit. In essence, the TA612V lets you use an ordinary telephone to make VoIP calls, even when your PC is turned off.

However, the TA612V has a fatal flaw. When first browsing its web-based interface, we noticed that, although there's a VoIP section, it's impossible to alter any of the VoIP settings.

We were then dismayed to discover the TA612V is locked down to Sipgate's VoIP service. The installation procedure requires you to register with Sipgate (555 free minutes are credited to your account). Soon after, all your settings will be downloaded to the TA612V. Painless setup, but there's no choice of VoIP provider.

As far as quality goes, we have no issues. Sipgate's service offers excellent call clarity and there's very little lag. The TA612V is designed to be attached direct to an Ethernet broadband modem so, if you're planning to integrate it with your current router, you'll have to fiddle with firewall settings to get it to work.

The TA612V does a great job of making VoIP easy to set up and use but, by locking it to Sipgate, its appeal is limited.

Worse still is the utterly misleading packaging. It talks about a 'free VoIP service' being included, but we didn't get the impression that use of Sipgate was compulsory. Only under the 'system requirements' on the side of the box does it confirm this.

It's fine if you're happy with Sipgate, but if you switch VoIP suppliers that's £80 down the drain.