UTStarcom Wi-Fi phone + Vonage
= VoIP for everyone
UTStarcom F1000 with VoIP service from Vonage
The product: So far, VoIP phones are for the few, the brave, and the network savvy, but Vonage and hardware partner UTStarcom are introducing a roving VoIP phone, fashioned after a cell phone, to popularize Net calling. The candy bar-style UTStarcom F1000 makes calls via an 802.11b Wi-Fi connection but looks and feels like a traditional cell phone. It adds a few features to the usual cell phone lineup, however:

• Three-way calling
• Low-cost VoIP calling packages
• Call transfer and forwarding
• Unlike most VoIP phones, a long, 3- to 4-hour talk time, plus 80 hours standby time
• Ability to take your home phone number with you when you travel

The price: Pricing through Vonage will be available in spring/summer 2005. UTStarcom will also be forming partnerships with other VoIP providers.

The prospects: For home users, this phone will make the most immediate sense as a replacement for the home phone in houses with a Wi-Fi network. But because it also works--using your home phone number--from open Wi-Fi hot spots (that is, not Starbucks and T-Mobile), it will become more and more useful and popular as Wi-Fi networks grow. Considering the cost savings with a VoIP phone, we expect phones like this to gain popularity quickly.

By Lindsey Turrentine, section editor, CNET Reviews