The Unexpected iPhone - iPhones for the Home
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The seven iPhone models increase in capabilities as they increase in price. This is only to be expected. While the phones do free you from your PC, for many of them you still must own a PC in order to operate the iPhone. In fact, the four models I'll talk about in this section are characterized by Linksys as cordless phones; they seem to be intended specifically for the home as opposed to a cell phone that can go almost anywhere.
The base model is the CIT200. Linksys describes it as an entry-level cordless VoIP phone. It displays your contact list on the headset, and notes whether they're present to take calls. It supports SkypeIn, SkypeOut, and Skype Voicemail; the first two services allow Skype to connect to normal phone numbers, while the third service should be obvious. The handset is supported by a USB base station that plugs into your computer. You get many of the features you'd expect from any decent phone these days, such as call waiting, caller ID, and speakerphone. This model sells for around $80.
The next model up is the CIT300. It gives you everything you get with the CIT200, with one more advantage: you can toggle between making phone calls over a standard phone line or the Skype service. You still need to plug a USB base station into your computer. This model sells for around $100. If you've already chosen to disconnect completely from landlines, there seems to be little point to this iPhone as opposed to any of the other ones.
For the same price as the CIT300, the CIT310 offers services from Yahoo rather than Skype. You can still toggle between VoIP and landline services, and you still need to plug the base station into your computer. There is a fee associated with the Yahoo! Phone Out service that connects you with regular phones. As mentioned in the previous section, you also get Yahoo Local Search and Weather with this iPhone.
The CIT 400 isn't available yet; it's expected to come out in the first quarter of 2007. This iPhone carries the Skype application right on it, so you don't need a computer to use it. The base station that comes with it plugs into your broadband network and the standard telephone line plug, however. Of course you can toggle between making standard phone calls and VoIP calls. This iPhone is expected to retail for $180.
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