AmperorDirect Skype VoIP Solution

Skype no longer has to be all about ‘standard’ phones... it is time to bring some fun into VoIP calling! The Skype certified Verball series offers users a chance to own a fun gadget. Verballs are the talking internet telephones that bring Skype to life for young adults. Each of the 5 USB powered characters contains a hands free microphone and quality speaker so you can enjoy free calls to your friends around the world.

Description

With horns that light up and arms that wave when someone is calling, you’ll never miss another Skype call again! When you have answered, a Verball will move its mouth at exactly the same time as your friend talks to you! As well as chatting to friends, you can also listen to your MP3s, download ringtones, and quite a bit more!

Features

• Hands Free Microphone
• 0.5W High Quality Speaker
• USB powered (no batteries)
• Moving Arms, LED Flashing Horns
• Mouth moves at the same time as audio is received
• Acoustically isolated speaker and microphone eliminates echo
• USB-powered: 1.5m USB cable length
• Microphone and headphone sockets for quiet calling
• 100% integration with Skype™

Compatibility Information:

• PC or laptop required for operation
• Windows 2000 and Windows XP compatible
• Not Currently Mac Compatible

What’s in the Box

• 1X Verball
• 1X Easy Start Guide
• Weight: 430g
• Dimensions: 25cm (L), 14cm (W), 17cm (H)

Certifications

• Skype Certified
• CE, FCC, ROHS, EN71

Compatibility

Windows	MSN Messenger	Skype	Yahoo!	VoIP Buster

A fantastic gift for all ages...

Product Review

This is Howard Chang from AmperorDirect.com. Today, I want to provide my review on this cool Skype gadget, the Verball. If you follow the news in the Skype community, you must have heared the good words about this cute little gadget, at Skype Journal or Yahoo Tech. After the log wait, is now finally available here in US for the 2006 holiday season.

Basic Functions

Before getting into the application of the Verball, let me first show you the basic functions of it. The Verball is an external speaker and microphone combo unit. It uses USB interface to communicate with PC. There is also a 3.5mm audio jack on the back of the Verball. Just in case you don’t want to broadcast your private conversation into the air, you can plug your headsets into the audio jack, enjoy your privacy, and still have fun with the Verball.

ID Design

After going through the basic functions of the verball, let’s look at its ID design. In my opinion, the thing makes the Verball stand out from the already over-crowed PC speaker market is its cute outfit. There are five different cute Verballs you can choose from. This one is called Mr. V. This is the baby. You can go to verballs.com to see the other three, which are the slick Boss, Britney, and Striker. There are stories behind each Verball. So, don’t forget to check them out while you are at AmperorDirect.com.

Three different movements

Other than the cute, unique outfits, there are three build-in actions in Verballs: hand-waving, ear-flashing, and mouth-flopping. The first two motions can be activated if there is an incoming call, which I’m going to show you later. You can see the mouth flops if the volume of the voice (or music) coming out from the Verball exceeds a certain level.

Skype Incoming Calls

Now that you have a pretty good understanding about what a Verball is and what it can do, I want to put it in actual use so that you can have some feeling if it is the gift you want to put under the Christmas tree. First, let me Skype my laptop through the SMC PC-less WiFi phone. You can hear that, as an external speaker, the Verball plays fairly good sound. You should also be able see the hands waving and the ears flashing. It’s cute, isn’t it?

Internet Chat Companion

Second, let me show you why a Verball can be a very good companion when doing Internet chat. Most people’s average Internet chat experience is typing and waiting for a response from the screen. If the imagination hat is not on, it can be a very mono visual experience. However, I have a Skype third-party application, called Robo Skyper. It can translate any received Skype chat message into voice, and announce it through the speaker, which, in my case, is the Verball. Let me show you how it works. So now, I can have a cute little guy interact with me, and talk to me. It is kind of weird because the Verball will always use its ridiculous big, but innocent eyes staring at me. and using its innocent big eyes to stair at me during the chat. But, it is fun.

For Your Loved Ones

Seriously, if your loves ones (significant other, spouse, or kids) are not in the same area and you rely on the Internet chat to keep in touch with them, I strongly recommend you to get a Verball for them. The baby verball can be the best choice because its fury outfit can provide an extra warm feeling.

Sing a Song to Your Loved Ones

Speaking about the far-away loved ones, here is another thing you can do to them with the Verball. You can sing a song to them when they are down. It can be a comforting song, a ove song, or even a lullaby. Before I give you an example on how adorable a singing Verball can be, I want to show you an important trick. Because Verball uses the sound volume to determine if it needs to flop the mouth, you need to fine-tune the speaker volume level to get a right mouth movement. If the speaker volume is set too high, you can expect to see the mouth stays in the open position during the whole sentence. On the other hand, if it is too low, the mouth won’t move. Furthermore, using Skype 3.0 version can make the fine-tuning job easier. Skype 3.0 allows users to change the volume level during the chat, on the Skype screen.

In conclusion, the Verball is a great holiday gift, if you have loved ones being far away from you.

Have Fun

OK, my review will be ended by having my Verball singing Aero Smith’s “I don’t wanna miss a thing”. It’s a pre-recorded clip. Remember, the voice is from an anonymous singer. It is not from me…..