3Com has released a new cordless voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone, targeted at business customers who tend to move around the office a lot in their jobs.
The phone uses Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which means it’s compatible with standard networking equipment that a business might already have. It is also compatible with standards-based wireless LAN infrastructure.
3Com expects that such phones will appeal to workers in education, government, health care and retail who spend much of their time away from a desk. Users can transfer calls to other employees, reach a receptionist, listen to voice mail and read e-mail on the phone. They can also customize personal settings such as ring tones and speed dials.
The clamshell phone uses Wireless Protected Access 2 and encryption for security. It is called the 3Com 3108 and is available now for US$415.
Such standalone Wi-Fi phones may compete with converged cellular and Wi-Fi phones that operators are just starting to introduce. The Wi-Fi-only phones could have advantages over some of the combined offerings because they don’t incur any per-minute usage fees and may work better indoors, although users who leave the corporate campus often might have to carry a separate cell phone and number.
3Com is competing with other Wi-Fi phone makers, including networking giant Cisco Systems, SpectraLink and Siemens.
Earlier this year, Nokia began selling its Eseries of phones, many of which come with both cellular and Wi-Fi and support SIP for wireless VoIP calls.
-Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service (Dublin Bureau)
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