Asustek Computer, the world’s largest producer of mainboards, said it would bundle a special adapter that allows making Skype calls using typical desktop phones with select mainboards. The move highlights popularity of Skype service and may attract customers to Asus’ mainboards. It is unlikely, however, that the new Asus TeleSky mainboards will become seriously popular.

The manufacturer said that its new Asus TeleSky telecom voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) adaptor will now be included in the package of the M2N/TeleSky and P5B/TeleSky motherboards, which are intended for AMD and Intel processors, respectively and are mainly aimed at home users.

Asus TeleSky adapter is not the first of its kind and similar devices can be purchased separately. To use the TeleSky, it is necessary to plug it into a spare USB 2.0 port of a PC and then connect with the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and the desktop phone. TeleSky can switch the house phone connection between PSTN and VoIP networks. Users can also use their phones to operate Skype functions, including SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Conference, call waiting, speed-dial, and 3-way telephoning. The TeleSky supports both corded and cordless telephones.

Theoretically, Asus TeleSky provides opportunities to lower telephone bill costs and provide some ease of use to those, not familiar with special headsets for calling using computers or not willing to use a special telephone designed for VoIP services. However, those, who use Skype a lot would prefer a separate handset for it, whereas those who use the technology occasionally would hardly find any benefits the TeleSky provides.

Skype network allows members to call each other for free and also dial traditional landline or cellular numbers at relatively low rates.