If you're a Skype user, chances are you use your computer to make your phone calls, or you're among the growing numbers who use the new breed of Skype telephones to connect to Wi-Fi hotspots on the road. The benefit in both cases is lower long-distance rates (or even free connections to other Skype users).

Skype is the popular phone service that allows you to connect to other computers or telephones around the globe using the Internet via a technology called VoIP (voice-over Internet protocol).

Both paradigms are intriguing ways to save money on your phone bill; but a new phone from General Electric makes the concept even easier for home users. It's the 2 in 1 Internet & Standard Phone. OK, the name leaves much to be desired, but the concept is sound.

With the GE phone, you can connect a single device to your computer network and your traditional land line. Like most Skype phones, you can then make your telephone calls through Skype without having to connect a microphone and speakers to your computer, or download software. The phone works like a standard telephone, connecting your Skype call as if you are on your home phone. That's where the similarity to other Skype phones ends, because the GE phone also acts as a traditional telephone, letting you make phone calls through your regular telephone number.

Why would you want a phone that connects both ways? To save money and to get high quality. If you do a lot of international calling, the Skype capability can save you hundreds of dollars monthly. Hour-long calls to Argentina or Thailand would cost you around $1.80 each using the Skype service.

If you like the quality of your land line, you can make local calls using the land line for free. You can decide which calls to make over which service. In my home, out traditional phone line has for years been restricted to local calls. We can't make outgoing long-distance calls. Normally, we call long distance using our cell phones. But in order to not burn up cell minutes, we'd need to wait for nights and weekends for those long-winded, long-distance calls. With the GE 2 in 1 Internet & Standard Phone, we can use Skype minutes, which are much less expensive, and still have the convenience and quality of plain old telephone service.

To save money on long-distance domestic calls, you can purchase a Skype unlimited nationwide calling plan for $12 a year. Yes, that's a yearly cost, not monthly.

Instead of connecting to your Internet service via Wi-Fi, the GE phone uses a standard network cable connected to a wireless base station, similar to those you get with standard wireless telephones. This allows a higher-quality connection. Plug the cable into your network router and plug another wire into your standard telephone jack, and you're ready to make calls -- almost. You still have to create your Skype account and purchase your Skype minutes, which could be a bit inconvenient. You also have to make sure your incoming phone jack and your router are near each other to avoid unsightly wires.

The phone has good sound, an excellent, easy-to-read backlit color display, and a built-in speaker phone. It also has a call log for both incoming and outgoing calls and the usual features, such as call waiting caller ID. You can connect up to four handsets to a single base station.

The price of the phone and base station as a bundle ranges from $150 to $180 online.