Review: The Polycom Communicator
The Polycom Communicator is just one of a million Skype approved accessories available at the moment. It seems Skype has been sticking its seal of approval on every Tom, Dick and Harry, recently.
This one is a portable Skype-enabled speakerphone, which double as speakers for when you’re in less of a work mode. They’re no Kate Moss when it comes to looks, but weigh very little, so perhaps might have more in common with her than first appearances suggest. This makes them easy to move around, especially in the neat soft case provided.
They plug directly into you USB socket and should work immediately, although I had to download a firmware update in order to get them to work perfectly with Skype. Once plugged in, you can bring up the Skype software on your computer, adjust the volume, mute and terminate a call via one of the four buttons.
The call clarity is fine, and although there is a slight delay it’s not so much as to become an issue. As speakers they also work well, although are more suitable for listening to music in a hotel room than keeping them in permanent use.
Overall, there is very little to go wrong with them. There is little you can control from the hardware itself, unlike many of the Skype products available at the moment. But then since your hands are free, you shouldn’t have any problems using the computer to place the calls.
Product page: £99 here
