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In the September 2000 issue we reviewed an earlier version of the Komodo
Fone 300 (KF300), a sleek little appliance allowing you to make IP calls
through a regular phone without using a PC. Working with cable, DSL,
fixed-wireless, and other Ethernet connections, the KF300 can be
simultaneously connected to a regular phone line so that users can make both
VoIP and PSTN calls through the same phone. Since then we've had a chance to
try out a newer version, which expands upon the same feature set through the
addition of H.323 support, where the earlier version only supported the
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
INSTALLATION
Installation was not really any different than it was for the non-H.323
model, except for a variation on our part: This time we tried the product
out through the T1 connection on our LAN instead of using it in tandem with
the local broadband cable service. This meant plugging the Komodo Fone into
an Ethernet wall jack via an RJ-45 cable. As in testing of the non-H.323
version, we also plugged it into a regular phone jack so that we could use
PSTN service. Configuration wasn't really any different either. Once you've
pressed a button on the top of the unit, a recorded voice walks you through
various menu options, each of which can be activated through the telephone
buttons. By default, the KF300 is set to support DHCP. In order to confirm
this, we pressed the number five button, prompting the Komodo Fone to read
back the currently assigned IP address. If you disable DHCP you are required
to enter not only an IP address, but also the appropriate subnet mask and
network route IP values.
Although the overall installation was extremely easy, it was during this
process that we first encountered the only real issue we've had with the
KF300: In spite of recommending on the first page of the manual that you
sign up with an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP) who supports
H.323, Komodo does not appear to have made any agreements with such a
provider, nor do they at least suggest the names of any. This leaves you on
your own to find one, which is not as easy as it sounds. After some
hounding, representatives from Komodo eventually sent us a list of
"possible" candidates, at which point it was really too late to
call each of them and ask whether or not they actually support H.323.
In any case, were we to have had an account handy, at this stage we would
have entered the pin and password assigned by our ITSP into the KF300 using
the button-activated menus such that they would be stored in its memory.
DOCUMENTATION
The printed document is pretty straightforward, containing basic
instructions (albeit for the more experienced user) and helpful diagrams.
There is no online Help, as one of the product's biggest values is its
PC-independence. Most of the manual is taken up with brief descriptions of
each of the numerous menu options.
Overall, the documentation takes a no-nonsense approach that included a
lack of introductions, IP telephony overviews, or glossaries explaining the
meaning of terms like "gateway," "gatekeeper," or
"subnet mask." This pretty clearly positions the product as being
for technologically advanced users. One wonders how documentation differed
for the significantly more consumer-oriented Yap
Jack, a private-labeled, non-H.323 version of the product put out by
Net2Phone.
FEATURES
The KF300 is intended to make three types of calls: 1) To a telephone via an
ITSP or other IP telephony gateway; 2) To another Komodo Fone; or 3) To a
multimedia PC running H.323-enabled applications like NetMeeting. The KF300
includes pre-processing features designed to optimize full-duplex
voice-compression, and line-echo cancellation to eliminate noise and
feedback. A "Voice activity detection" (VAD) feature is intended
to save bandwidth by delivering voice as opposed to silence. Several voice
codecs are supported in this H.323 version, including G.723.1, G.729a, and
G.711.
Other features include:
- Dynamic network monitoring to reduce jitter artifacts;
- Out-of-band DTMF signaling for reliable transmissions;
- On-board flash memory for configuration storage and upgrades; and
- On-board controller to establish H.323 and SIP calls.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
Without an ITSP account, nor our own IP telephony gateway, we weren't able
to place Fone-to-Phone calls. We did perform three types of tests though. In
the first, the KF300 called a PC running NetMeeting, providing
average-to-decent latency and good sound quality. In the second we tried the
reverse, with relatively equal results, minus a bit of inevitable PC-related
delay. For the third test we tried to see if the product would act as a
gateway, allowing IP calls initially placed to the Komodo to "hop
off" to the PSTN. We did this by entering the KF300's IP address into
the Gateway field of NetMeeting's Advanced Calling Options screen. This test
was unfortunately unsuccessful.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
There are several issues that, when and if addressed, could make the H.323
Komodo Fone into an even more powerful product. A small issue is that when
calls are placed to the KF300, it doesn't pass off the ring voltage into the
telephone, making its rather small ring difficult to hear. A larger issue,
however, is that if Komodo/Cisco develops the ability to pass IP calls to
the PSTN as described in the section above, the KF300 (or 400, 500,
whatever) could become one of the first IP telephony gateways for the SOHO
market. An even larger issue perhaps is the H.323 question: If Komodo/Cisco
is going to position the product as most functional when used in tandem with
an ITSP, they might consider making such a service more accessible. Though
it doesn't support H.323 and is PC-dependent, Actiontec's
InternetPhoneWizard (see the October
2000 issue of this publication) ships with instructions on how to sign
up with at least four or five ITSPs, and links directly to their Web sites
through DTMF commands once a phone has been attached. With the addition of
these improvements, there would be no contest for an A+ rating.
CONCLUSION
All told, the merits of this product (which are many) have already been
covered in our review of the non-H.323 version. By bypassing the PC
interface, technologies such as this one make VoIP almost as appliance-like
as the telephone and other long-standing household technologies. In spite of
the word "household," this particular version may be most
effective for businesses who either have their own gateway device, or who
have purchased multiple KF300s for remote offices -- such that employees can
place free, long-distance "Fone-to-Fone" calls. That is until more
ITSPs step up to the plate and begin H.323-enabling their services, allowing
the much-touted protocol to become even more of the communications standard
it was intended to be.
[ Return
To The February 2001 Table Of Contents ]
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