When you walk into a Verizon Wireless store to plunk down $199.99 (after the $50 rebate) for the new Verizon Hub, some of your hard-earned cash is going to pay for the VoIP phone / media hub's stylish packaging, which is strikingly similar to those sleek and sturdy Apple iPhone boxes.

Removed from its slick housing, though, the Hub's appearance does its box justice. Our Hub arrived in two boxes, with the base, handset and accessories in the larger box.

More unboxing after the jump.

It's been more than a year since PCMag.com first tested the magicJack, a clever VoIP device that lets you make very cheap phone calls using your PC. We've now retested magicJack in the Labs, and it works--most of the time. If something goes wrong, however, you are pretty much on your own. Just type "magic jack complaints" into Google and you'll see what I mean. I've offered upmy take on the magicJack, but I want to know what Gearlog's readers think.

How many of you have tried magicJack? And how much technical support can you reasonably expect when you buy a $40 USB dongle and hand over just $20 a year for unlimited phone service?

Love it? Hate it? Leave a comment below.

If you're a business traveler making frequent trips overseas, you know tracking your roaming phone calls is like trying to herd cats; it can get out of hand fast. DeFi Mobile wants to ease that pain by allowing unlimited, international calls -- sent and received -- over Wi-Fi-equipped phones. That's not all. The cost is just $40 a month, flat.

For it to work, you need a phone with the DeFi software installed. Currently it only runs on select Nokia handsets like the Nokia 95, N82, E90, those with integrated Wi-Fi, and the Symbian S60 operating system. If you don't have one -- and if you live in the U.S., chances are slim -- DeFi suggests buying one unlocked at partner Communication Xperts (lowest price for a DeFi-friendly handset: $325 for Nokia e51).

Very few names are capable of eliciting the same manner of geeky nostalgia as Erector. The mere mention of the company's name brings a deluge of memories of flanges and bolts and motors. For many Americans it's on a par with the kind of nostalgia invoked by Legos. It's fitting then that the company pushes forth into the 21st century with Spykee, the Wifi and Bluetooth-enabled iPod-and-PC-compatible "spy robot."

According to Erector, Spykee is, "the first Wifi robot that moves, sees, hears, speaks, takes pictures, [and] creates video." The robot can be controlled from your PC via Wi-Fi. If Spykee detects movement while you're out of the house, he'll sound an alarm (perhaps not the most useful function when you're miles away) or send a picture via e-mail. As evidenced in the picture, the robot is also an iPod-compatible MP3 player. Users can also make phone calls with the robot using VOIP.

If you've been considering switching over to a cheap voice-over-IP, service, you're in luck: The PC Magazine networking team recently reviewed the YMax magicJack, a near-perfect consumer-level VoIP solution. Just plug the YMax magicJack into an analog phone and the USB port of a PC with broadband Internet, and enjoy crystal-clear nationwide service for less than $20.

Get the full scoop in our in-depth review.

Have you ever been on the road and had a burning need to call your mate overseas? Actually, as someone who lived in the UK for two years, I know the feeling.

OK, so that's a bit of a unique case. But what about a businessman on the road? As more and more of us interact with overseas contacts, a cheap means of calling overseas strikes me as a handy backup. Enter Raketu's SMS service, which will be announced this coming Monday.

Raketu's pitch is that you might not own or have access to a smartphone with an embedded Skype application or other VoIP application. By texting a message to the local SMS number, Raketu will connect the two numbers (which can be the mobile you're holding or a nearby landline.)

Pulver Media's Fall VON is the obese simian of voice-over-IP trade shows--at least in the US. Since Boston's only an extended Amtrak nap away, I decided to hop up here today and sniff around. First clear trend:

First, VoIP vendors loooove SMBs and are ramping up a bunch of bundles and appliances to woo all you small biz readers. The shot above is an example of an ultra-appliance from Sutus.

Earlier today we covered the Microsoft Unified Communications press conference in San Francisco.

I personally think that the technology may have a minor effect on business culture, like the effect that mobile computing and mobile phones have had on business, but to a lesser extent. If Microsoft can shift the "voice mail as email" paradigm onto the culture at large, though, I think they'll have something. (Part of my "minor" rationale is the price: as our new networking analyst Oliver Rist points out, it takes five different server platforms to run correctly.)

With that aside, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates felt that UC was significant enough to fire off a lengthy email to Microsoft employees. (As a point of reference, one of his last formal emails was in February, on secure access in a connected world.) Here's what Gates has to say, after the jump.

Here at Gearlog, we're always bumping into the PC Magazine lab analysts and reviewers, because we all work on the same floor. But the lab guys are so busy, we don't usually know what they've got going on until they find the time to post on the blogs or or publish a review on PCMag.com. So to satisfy our curiosity and yours, we're going to head into the lab every Friday and stalk the analysts for a while, to see what they're reviewing, what they wish they had time to review, and what they have to say about the latest gear and software.

So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, your PC Magazine lab analysts:

Davis Janowski, Lead Analyst for Web Applications and Software:

Davis says he's about to take a look at the IPEVO Free.2 tethered Skype phone, which lets you record Skype conversations directly to your hard drive. "It's got a snazzy look and feel to it," said Davis "and a different design than most Skype phones."

And how do we know that? Because Skype just signed a deal with Wal-Mart on Monday.

Starting today, Wal-Mart is offering nine makes of Skype Certified hardware in the Internet and voice communications area of 1,800 of its stores throughout the country. Wal-Mart is also the first U.S. retailer to offer Skype pre-paid cards: a $20 pre-paid card, plus a second card can be used to buy a three-month subscription to the Skype Unlimited Calling Plan for just $8.85. This gives consumers three months of unlimited Skype calls to any landline or cell phone number in the U.S. and Canada.

As the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart has to basically be all things to all people, from rednecks to road warriors (the techie kind, I mean). But just as a dad shopping with his son might wander into the HDTV aisle, a grandmother out buying toys for her grandchild might see a Skype prepaid card, and wonder what it might do for her. That's sort of how cell phones became mainstream, and how VOIP is as well.

The Universal Service Reform Act of 2007 is much like the Universal Service Reform Act of 2006. Or the Universal Service Reform Act of 2005, for that matter. This week, House Energy and Commerce Committee Members Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) introduced the 2007 version, which would essentially require VOIP providers to pay into the Universal Service Fund.

The USF is one of those service charges that appears on your telecom bill each month. If you live in a major city, then the USF is a tax you're paying to help fund rural telecommunications providers, who have to build out more cable/DSL/optical trunks/cell towers to serve a far less dense customer population. If you live out in the boonies, however, it's a subsidy to help keep your telecommunications costs down.

Essentially, the bill would ask customers of VOIP providers, such as Vonage and SunRocket, to pay into the fund. On the other hand, the USF would be expanded to help push broadband out into rural areas as well. Obviously, KeepAmericaConnected.org, which is backed by rural telecoms companies, supports the bill.

Since I'm a member of the liberal media, I'm sort of forced into supporting this as well. All kidding aside, however, my wife's maid of honor currently lives in a farm deep in the wilds of Alabama, where many real-world commodities (food, shopping, gas, neighbors) are limited. Adding broadband won't change that. However, wiring a house with broadband also allows them to also participate in the global community, which I can't help but think is a good thing.

For those times when you absolutely need to make a Skype phone call and use your computer and still save a USB port, there's the USB Skype Mouse. The Skype Mouse doubles as a USB Mouse and a USB Skype Phone connected to your computer, and claims to switch seamlessly between the two when the mouse is used as a phone. To switch to phone mode, the top of the mouse opens up to reveal a number pad and LCD screen that you can use to make and receive calls. The mouse claims to seamlessly integrate with Skype and several other VoIP services, and even supports functions like hands-free dialing, speakerphone, and multiple ring tones. When in mouse mode, the 800 dpi optical sensor on the bottom offers mousing precision.

These creatures may look like just a toy, but they actually serve a practical purpose, albeit in a fun and silly way. The Verballs--five in all--are actually handsfree speakerphones for use with Skype and other VOIP services. When a call comes in, their horns light up and they wave their hands around. And once you accept a call, the Verballs move their mouths whenever your caller speaks--just like a badly dubbed movie!

You can also use Verballs to listen to MP3s (via the built-in speaker), download ringtones, use text-to-speech software and more. Choose from Mr V, Striker, Boss, Britney and Baby. (Britney, Mr. V and Slick are pictured on the left.) Each go for $39.95 on Firebox.

Boy howdy, we love us some Skype (even if we're a bit sad to see the whole free thing go), and the new beta of 3.0, released yesterday, and reviewed by PC Magazine a few weeks back, makes things all the sweeter. If there's one thing that might possibly be able to make the service even better, it would be the ability to break free the shackles of our PCs, and Skype it up at one of our friendly neighborhood hotspots, for a little cappuccino action, or even--gasp--some sunshine, courtesy of our beautiful WiFi-enabled parks.

PC Mag has taken a look at two of the first PC-free Skype handsets, and wasn't especially impressed by either Netgear or Belkin's maiden offerings. Early adopters might want to consider plunking down the cash, but everyone else might want to wait until round two.

Mvox Technologies, Inc is at the DEMOFall '06 conference this week to demonstrate its Mvox Duo, dubbed the world's first wearable Smart Communicator.

When I first heard of the Mvox Duo, I just thought it was a bluetooth headset. I soon learned that it's so much more than that. It's a cell-phone headset & VoIP headset, hands-free car kit, and mobile conference speakerphone all in one!