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Zultys Intros WiFi VoIP PhoneBY JOHANNE TORRES TMCnet VoIP Minute Watch Columnist Gadget lovers rejoice! VoIP product and service provider Zultys Technologies announced today that it will introduce the WIP 2 wireless IP phone. The WiFi VoIP device will be available this September. With this release Zultys joins a growing number of VoIP product and service providers that are currently designing such devices. The device will allow users to take their VoIP service from a stationary PC to a more mobile environment. "Nearly 80 percent of our customers have asked us about WiFi VoIP products," explained Iain Milnes, president of Zultys Technologies. "They tell us they would like the ability to take their desktop IP phone with them rather than have a second mobile unit with reduced capability. Other WiFi IP phones coming into the market today don't provide users with enough features or sufficient battery life. The WIP 2 excels in all areas." The company had announced a desktop version of the WIP 2 wireless IP phone back in March. The wireless device has all of the features and functionality found in the company's desktop version such as open standards, Linux operating system and SIP compatibility. The device also features two call appearances and supports voice encryption, paging, 3-way conferencing, presence, instant messaging (IM), and all other telephony functions commonly found in landline telephone services. The phone's battery life lasts for 4 hours of continuous talk time and 12 hours of standby time. The phone also allows users to access functions like call hold, call transfer, and DND. The device bundles the company's jitter buffer, speaker-phone and full duplex acoustic echo cancellation (AEC). The paging feature is supported on the MX family of IP PBX products from Zultys. The company explained how this feature worked in a news announcement released today. "Using a single button on the WIP 2, a user can initiate paging to a group, thereby emulating "push to talk" capabilities within the enterprise. Such a feature is invaluable in construction areas, medical facilities, or any other organizations where immediate communications is mandatory." The WIP 2 is in trials now with quantity shipments beginning in September. Pricing for the WIP 2 will also be announced in September. Today's announcement goes to show that WiFi IP phones are becoming increasingly popular, and industry insiders have started to notice the trend. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by Infonetics Research titled WiFi Phones Biannual Worldwide Market Size and Forecast, revenue for these devices totaled $54.7 million in 2004 and units totaled 143,000. The firm predicts a strong growth through 2009 as steady adoption of voice over WiFi continues. Other companies that have announced the development of WiFi VoIP devices this season include Vonage (teamed with VTech), Viseon, ZyXEL, snom and Motorola. Zultys Technologies http:www.zultys.com ----- Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit: http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/columnists/columnist.aspx?id=100006&nm=Johanne% 20Torres |