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Techedge Announces WiFi Handsets for VoIPTechedge Inc., a vendor of mobile VoIP products has announced it will 'soon' deliver Wi-Fi handsets to VoIP service providers and enterprises. By DAVID SIMS TMCnet CRM Alert Columnist Techedge Inc., a vendor of mobile VoIP products has announced it will soon deliver Wi-Fi handsets to VoIP service providers and enterprises. The TE-200 Wi-Fi phone looks similar to a standard cell phone, but connects to IP-PCS network or standard 802.11b Wi-Fi networks. Because the handset is portable, users can take their phone service from home to office or on the road, like to the beach or surf shop. There arent all that many companies offering Wi-Fi handsets on the market today. But seeing as how Wi-Fi deployment and VoIP services are gaining steam, Techedge is hoping to catch the early wave and ride it to sorry, were listening to The Beach Boys here, its having an effect. Back in February Siemens announced their Gigaset S35 WLAN, a handset pitched as a Wi-Fi based alternative to today's DECT cordless phones and other companies' attempts to supersede DECT with Bluetooth, according to The Register. And just this week, according to The Telegraph, British Telecom launched a new service letting users to switch between landline and mobile networks with a single handset. The handset makes calls over the Vodafone mobile network, and once inside their homes, calls are automatically made over BT broadband. Its been in development for around two years and has cost tens of millions of dollars. Users install a Bluetooth-equipped black box in their homes to route calls made within a 25-meter range over the broadband line. The hub also works as a wireless (Wi-Fi) router which allows the user to connect to PCs, laptops, games consoles and printers wirelessly around the home. BT Fusion will initially be available on a Motorola v560 handset. Another Motorola handset, the RAZR, will be launched later this year. Nokia and Samsung are working on Wi-Fi handsets compatible with BT Fusion which will be ready in around 12 months' time, The Telegraph reports. The TE-200 Wi-Fi phone's features include Caller ID, Call Forwarding, Call Transfer, etc. It weighs less than 100g with 3 hours of talk time and 50 hours of standby time. Techedge expects to start TE-200 shipment in the 3rd quarter of 2005. In May Techedge announced it had been selected by Beijing Taiji Tonggong Dianzi Jishu Co., Ltd. (known to you and me, colloquially as Taiji Tonggong) to provide equipment to build a nationwide wireless IP network in China. Techedge was expected to contribute the access control software, mobile VoIP platform, OSS, and base stations for building the network. Taiji Tonggong is a network builder and holds a 3.5GHz frequency license in China. The new nationwide wireless IP network will enable value added service providers to offer Internet access, email, on-line gaming, entertainment, and location based information services to mobile professionals, travelers, and general Internet users in China. ----- David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles by David Sims, please visit: http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/columnists/columnist.aspx?id=100005&nm=David%20 Sims |