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…..