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Provides: Skype and home office phone functionality via handset, speakerphone and bluetooth headset
Developer: Plantronics
Minimum Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4, 512MB RAM
Processor Compatibility: Intel or PowerPC
Price: $279.95
Availability: Now

The Calisto Pro is the phone that does everything. It’s a cordless home handset/speakerphone with a bluetooth headset. If that wasn’t unique enough, it not only connects to your POTS (plain old telephone system) it also connects to your Mac via USB. But is it worth $279.95?

The phone itself has a lot of technology built in. It’s cordless, it comes with its own bluetooth headset, and it has a speakerphone built in, too. Its battery life is quoted at 8 hours, but the charging station is so darn fun that I have yet to let it run out of battery. The wireless portion is DECT 6.0, meaning you can walk up to 300 feet away and still have it work. I didn’t walk that far away in my tests, but you definitely won’t have any problems inside of your house and likely around it. DECT 6.0 also means that it’s WiFi friendly, so there shouldn’t be any interference there. I know I didn’t find any. The only feature that’s really missing from an all-in-one phone unit like this is an answering machine. But these days, everyone has voicemail, so maybe it’s not that needed.

Ok, so you’re saying to yourself, why do I care? This is Appletell after all, not Homephonetell. The Calisto Pro can now connect to your Mac for phone book info and Skype use. The way it works is you install the Calisto Pro software and launch the application. Then you launch Skype. Calls must be started by Skype, as they currently cannot be initiated by the handset alone. This means you either have to receive a call, or place a call with your mouse. You can, of course, end the call from the handset or headset.

Once the call has been placed, the sound quality is great. In fact, Skype will automatically recognize the device and route your calls to it. I especially liked using the speakerphone option, as it keeps the audio from Skype separate from the audio coming out of your computer. Seeing as Skype is the only easy service supported as of now, you’ll definitely need to be a Skype junky to want this phone system.

As an added bonus of the software, you can also sync your Address Book to the phone. This is a feature that every phone should have, as it saves you a ton of time. The phone can store up to 200 contacts with 3 phone numbers a piece. This feature is not enough to justify the phone system by itself, but it is awesome.

I have two main problems with this device.  First, the software. It’s not that it doesn’t work, because it does work, very well in fact. I just really wish there was some other way of doing this. I have too many applications running on my computer as it is, so I really wish that it didn’t have to be another icon sitting in my dock taking up space. Maybe it could be converted into a preference pane. That way, it would run in the background all the time without any need for distracting icons.

I also wish it easily supported other applications. If you’re going to be compatible with the Mac, then why can’t I use it easily with iChat? It’s possible, but not fun. You essentially have to select the Calisto Pro as the speaker and mic inside of iChat’s preferences. Then in the Calisto Pro software, you need to turn the handset’s mic and speaker on constantly. This will drain the battery, so you’re advised to only turn it on when you’re about to have a voice chat. Needless to say, it’s a bit more painful than it needs to be.

Secondly, the headset. It’s very large. This means you shouldn’t move your head much, as the headset will move around on your ear. The reason it’s so big is so that the noise canceling mic can be placed closer to your mouth. This is less of a problem, since the handset will pair with any standard bluetooth headset. But the whole point of this system is to not need anything else. One phone, one headset, one charger.

Overall, the phone is great. It’s clearly a high quality product. I do wish the headset was smaller, but you can use a different one if it bothers you. Or, you could just use the handset, or the speakerphone. You really have a lot of options. I also wish the software ran in the background, with some extra functionality. This is also fixable, since it’s a software issue. The Mac software is relatively new, so I’m betting it will be improved. The PC software definitely has a lot more features, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of those features make their way to the Mac in the near future. Ultimately, it comes down to one thing on this product. If you spend a lot of time talking on Skype, then this is for you. If you don’t, then it’s not. Simple as that.

I’m going to give the Calisto Pro a 3 out of 5 because the software doesn’t justify the price. For $279.95, this phone and its software should work flawlessly.  For the phone, that’s true, but the software needs improvement. While the Address Book features and Skype functionality are both great, it’s not enough. I’d like the software to be more behind the scenes instead of having an extra program running at all times. And it needs to easily support more services, especially iChat. But still, this is a great piece of hardware, so I’m interested to see if the software catches up.