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WiFi Phone Announced
igrp writes "Zyxel just announced its Prestige 2000W VoIP Wi-Fi Cordless Phone. It's designed to work with 802.11b networks, implements QoS and IP-to-IP call functionality and uses 128-bit WEP encryption. It also scans for 'available APs in [the] hand set's environment'. War driving just became a whole lot more interesting."
Does it run linux?
I don't know about the rest of you, but the war driving experience only provided about .5 hours of entertainment. After that I just wanted to go out and drink.
with everything going wireless, will we even need to wire houses of the future (well i guess power might be necessary)?
30% Troll, 50% Underrated, 10% Interesting
Score:5, Troll
Maybe my gf will come wardriving with me now...
The Cheese Stands Alone.
Cisco has had the 7920 WiFi VoIP phone out for a good while.. nothing new.
I'd be happy if I could buy VoIP hardware without having to pay 50-100% extra for shipping to Europe. Does anyone know a European retailer of Sipura VoIP adapters?
with the state of today's wireless network configurations, this is kinda like giving free untraceable phone service to anyone wanting to buy the phone initially...
I want one of these as a Pringles can with string
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
is it me or is this a bad link?
30% Troll, 50% Underrated, 10% Interesting
Score:5, Troll
I bet these would be immediately useful on medium to large commercial, industrial and educational campus, for intracampus mobile communication. But to be of much use to the general public, the coverage by WiFi cells will have to become ubiquitous, at least in metropoliton areas.
I really hope this phone doesn't run on Windows Mobile!!! God only knows how crappy the automatic wireless network detection would be on there!!
01000001 01011001 01000010 01000001 01000010 01010100 01010101
Wow, it looks almost exactly like the WiSIP that Jeff Pulver, founder of Free World Dialup, has been selling on Pulver Innovations for about a year now.
"You keep cutting out."
"Yeah, I'm not sure why, but I have a strange feeling the guy outside in the beige '87 sedan, wearing a topcoat and no pants has something to do with it."
-Peter
Here's the Google Cache of the product page.
Are you Corn Fed?
How wise is it to stick a 802.11 transmitter right next to your brain for extended periods of time?
RF Safe
"According to Dr. Brown, the real danger is the proximity to the transmitter because the transmitter sends out the waves that could heat up human tissue if close enough to the antenna. "
"Moving from one inch away to only one foot away from the Wi-Fi antenna weakens the signal by a factor of 100. So unless you're hugging the antenna, or leaning against it, you're being exposed to very little radiation."
D'oh... Better have a "hands free" option so that I can place the transmitter next to my genitals instead of near to my head.
Now it's a matter of time before someone implements a software version of the Cryptophone for these wifi-phones.. I really wonder how LEA's will deal with this. Afterall, wiretapping a phone will be fairly impossible :-)
I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are missing.
First few times I tried it was allready having SQL errors so here's the text:
Prestige 2000W
VoIP Wi-Fi Phone
The Prestige 2000W VoIP Wi-Fi phone, compatible with IEEE 802.11b wireless standard, is a perfect solution for Voice over IP applications. It allows users to make or receive phone calls as long as they are in the coverage of IEEE 802.11b or 11g wireless Access Points. By using the Prestige 2000W, users no longer have to pay expensive communication fees and can enjoy the convenience of wireless mobility.
The brand new application is developed to support open standard SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), which interoperates with major SIP-based call servers, IP-PBXs and various VoIP client devices. It is not only an ideal alternative for ITSPs (IP Telephony Service Providers) to deploy their VoIP services; it can also be the wireless handset, which is applied in corporate IP-PBX centric VoIP environment.
The Prestige 2000W is very easy to use and configure. It allows users to configure with LCD screen menu or web browser. Meanwhile, with the smart auto-provisioning mechanism, ITSPs can easily deploy and manage the VoIP services. Easy-to-use and convenient, the Prestige 2000W delivers high quality voice functionality in a cost-effective way.
Benefits
Open Standard SIP v2 Support
The call control protocol of the Prestige 2000W is based on SIP v2 (Session Initiation Protocol version 2, RFC 3261) open standard, which is interoperable with major SIP-based call servers, IP-PBXs, and other standard SIP-based client devices.
Mobility with IEEE 802.11b Wireless Standard Compliance
The Prestige 2000W is compliant with the IEEE 802.11b standard and interoperates with any existing 802.11b or 802.11g wireless AP and gateway. It may be used as a cordless handset for residential users or for business users in an office environment. The small form factor of the handset is easy to transport and allows users to place VoIP phone calls in public 802.11-based hot spots.
High Voice Quality with Low Communication Costs
The Prestige 2000W is capable of tagging features that support a service provider?s QoS (Quality of Service) planning, such ToS (Type of Service), and DiffServ. It allows gateways or central side equipment to identify and prioritize voice and data traffic. By supporting G.711 and G.729 voice compression technology, the Prestige 2000W effectively reduces bandwidth consumption caused by voice traffic.
Enhanced Power Saving Design for Extended Standby and Talk Time
With an improved power-saving design, the Prestige 2000W can be used for a relatively long period of standby and talk time. With an extended life for each recharge cycle, the Prestige 2000W is available where and when you need it.
Direct IP-to-IP Call and Ad-hoc Intercom Mode Support(Optional)
By configuring a remote IP address in the built-in phone book, the Prestige 2000W provides a direct IP-to-IP call feature when there is no intermediate SIP proxy server available in the network. The Prestige 2000W can also establish an 802.11 ad-hoc network (computer-to-computer network without Access Point), which allows users to use the handsets as wireless intercoms.
Features
Wireless
- IEEE 802.11b support
- Frequency band: 2.400 ~ 2.497 GHz
- Channel: FCC Ch1~11, ETSI Ch1~13, Japan Ch1~14
- Data Rate: 11 / 5.5 / 2 / 1 Mbps
- Output Power: 14 + 1dBm
- Sensitivity: -82 dBm@11Mbps
- Operating range: Out-door up to 300m, In-door up to 75m
- 64/128 bit WEP encryption
- Site Survey: Scan available APs in hand set?s environment
- Support infrastructure (public) mode and Ad-hoc mode (option)
Voice
- SIP (RFC 3261) version 2
- SDP (RFC2327)
- RTP (RFC1889)
- RTCP (RFC1890)
- CODEC: G711, G.729a
- DTMF detection and relay
- G.168 echo cancellation
- Silence Suppression
- Voice Activity Detection (VAD)
- Comfort Noise Generation (CNG)
- QoS support TOS / DiffServ
- Support outbond proxy for NAT Traversal
Won't the person on the receiving end need one of these phones also, or some VoIP technology?
Surely this makes it useless when it comes to regular phonelines?
Patriotism - the last resort of scoundrels.
Can you hear me now?
'No honey! Did you unfilter the MAC address?'
Yes.
'Did you enable DHCP?'
Ah, thats it! Alright, got it!
Cisco has already developed an 802.11 wireless phone for their VoIP networks for businesses. They've developed fully VoIP phones that only need a certain server and a cat5 connection to the internet to function. They can also use TTS(Text to speech) and ASR(automatic speech recognition) commands for the blind people, and the phones read XML for menus. I think cisco's are cooler.
This would probably work well on a LAN, but would this really work well between networks at all Wi-fi hot spots? I'd be concerned about spotty coverage where the Internet connection is slow, such as at a coffee shop or hotel where every computer on the network is sharing one DSL connection.
Also, since Wi-fi coverage is still spotty, even inside of cities, traditional mobile service is probably still the best solution for most folks. Once Wi-fi becomes more widely deployed, then this kind of device could displace traditional mobile techs.
Ha, ha! Nobody ever says Italy.
.. of WiFey's Phone. WiFey's Phone-costs almost costed me my marriage.
You are so right. I've used this device to call across a room. In fact, I found that it even works if you don't have the soup can.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Nokia recently announced the next version of the nokia communicator.
Triple band, edge, GPRS, bluetooth, infrared, wifi, qwerty keyboard,
browser, organiser, telnet, ssh, plays mp3s, 80MB memory, camera, 640x200 colour screen.
A highly desirably toy, though judging by previous communicators there will be a dozen firmware updates and you will need the extended warranty
because they often break.
http://www.zyxel.no/produkt.php?cat=9&prod=72 Click on the link on the rightside called 'Dataark' and you will download the pdf version of the datasheet for the product.
I can't believe more people don't have more VoIP phones already... Something like Vonnage offers. I can have a local phone number, travel to Hong Kong, and still have a local number to my home town. Having a wireless option makes it that much better. Telephony service costs too much already, and this may help more people switch to VoIP phones, too... thus making it even more inexpensive. As timothy pointed out, this certainly does take wardriving to a whole new level. Sweet.
Hi there! What planet are you from?
Cisco has had wi-fi VoIP phones for a year. A friend uses them at work at they are rather nifty. I think there might be some handover issues since mobile IP isn't really fit for fight yet.
Here's the product page.
If you google for wi-fi phone you'll find there are some others as well, but coming from the PDA end of the spectrum.
Plus Nokia's latest phone/pda has wi-fi as well, but I don't think you they are available in stores yet.
Now I can surf BBSs with my Apple IIc wirelessly, using an acoustic-coupler modem.
Paleo-wardriving, here I come!
When these phones can get around the need for a central server if both parties are behind NAT, things will get real exciting. As it is right now, though, if both parties are using NAT, there's no direct way for them to connect unless through a central server, which is not a good idea for numerous reasons. Maybe with the new IP protocol...
Funny, I just tried out a Cisco WIFI phone yesterday.
It's shaped a bit like an older Nokia cell phone - relatively big by today's cell phone standards. And, of course, it's VoIP.
My office is all VoIP (with Cisco VoIP phones at each desk), so a WIFI version would be a great benefit to those of us to scurry around the facility. Especially considering the poor cell phone reception in the area.
The real beauty is the possibility of taking this phone home - I could use my office phone on my home network (and broadband ISP). Then again, I don't want work calls when I'm home.
What kind of battery does this thing use? Or do you have to plug it in?
What I want is a phone that can switch networks (seamlessly would be nice)from private to public. A handheld that used 802.11b(or g) when available and GSM or CDMA 1xRTT when I hit the road...
But I also want world peace, so don't hold your breath...
~8^]
no, not that product - but how we have 100 comments even when that link is wrong/bad. this a slashdot specialty?
lol.
Obviously it's maximum throughput is limitted to 11Mbps, as indicated by the underlying tech (802.11b)
VoIP on mobile devices is not that new, is it? PocketPC based devices have been pulling this off for a while now. You can even get one with a built in laser! check out www.intermec.com
"I like to play music to my girlfriend on the phone."
How much do those 976 numbers charge for the time to play all of "Ina Godda Davida"?
Like what?
All of those pay-to-play Wi-Fi APs in coffee shops and airports need to talk to a browser to authenticate your NIC. It's not clear how you can do that with a phone.
Fuck you, cookie monster.
Has there been any discussion on the feasibility of a public network where devices such as these use an operating system capable of routing IP traffic (such as embedded Linux), and using something similar to OSPF, route among each other? I have heard it said before that everyone in the U.S. is something like four people removed from knowing everyone else (I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows that person). Granted distance becomes a factor, but could this principle apply to a certain coverage area?
They've had Wifi H.323 phones out for a while. Whith the correct firware they directly support Cisco and Avaya PBX's without a gateway in between.
I work in the engineering section of one of the leading cordless phone companies. A couple days ago, I asked why we weren't developing a voip cordless phone. He said that aside from the cost and complexity of implementing this, the battery life is also a huge issue.
I hope they can pull it off. I think it's a great idea because it means that your cordless phone has coverage over your whole wireless network rather than just when it is in close proximity to your base station.
Bush [...] very high. [...]
That explains something.
~~~
How about the defecit? Bush has made it very high.
:-)
Wow, I bet everyone in the debate club admires you.
"Wow, I bet everyone in the debate club admires you"
Just noting that there is a certain problem with a Bush policy, and Kerry wants to make this problem much worse.
This is not the VoIP equivalent of a cordless phone, not a mobile/cell phone. It's a nice side-benefit that you may be able to use it on networks other than your own.
I read this as a 2000W VoIP phone, not a model 2000W. At first, I was thinking, what, a range of about 20 miles on this baby, battery life of almost a minute. Not only that, but you turn it on, and you lose bladder control, and suddenly can't turn left. Free guide to microwave induced cancers included, get them all and you win a discount on the next model!
Seriously though, this looks like fun, I'll have to ask the Zyxel people for one, they make cool WiFi stuff.
-Charlie
I wonder what the result of having already ubiquitous cell phones acting as ad-hoc-mode repeaters to extend a cell would be.
Of course, users of such a system would need backpack-sized batteries to get through the day, still cells could be extended in an almost "natural" manner. Maybe the repeater mode would only work when plugged in.
Something to think about, anyway.
Any generalization is a stupid one.
My local has an access point.
That "someone" you are refering to is, along with his like-minded predecessors, the root of the problem.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
The original flash mob.
"That "someone" you are refering to is, along with his like-minded predecessors, the root of the problem."
No, he is not. He is doing nothing but improve the situation.
"Prestige 2000W VoIP Wi-Fi Phone"
At 2kW this will also double as a microwave oven and stun gun?
When I went to zyxel.com all I got was this. Somebody must have hacked their servers.
/www/share/zyxel.com/global/content/inc/config.php on line 7
/www/share/zyxel.com/global/content/product/model. php on line 9
....
Warning: mysql_connect(): Too many connections in
Warning: mysql_select_db(): supplied argument is not a valid MySQL-Link resource in
Oh goody, it uses that ubreakable WEP stuff :-)
...the question that I have is will it work with existing VoIP providers like Vonage, VoicePulse & Packet 8? If not, then wouldn't I need to have some sort of SIP gateway sitting somewhere in order to use this thing? Sounds great if you're a corporation who could afford that kind of thing. But if you're a corporation, are you really going to expose your SIP gateway to the Internet?
Or am I just being dumb?
Key to financial independence: Spend less than you earn. Save and invest the difference. Do it for a long time.
For one thing, you can use one of these to heat your coffee and keep it warm.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Just not for people in his country.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
my company is planning to give every employee a ip phone to be used in the office. our company network is behind a NAT. we can dial using the ip phone to anyone that is directly connected to the internet. but if the receiver ip phone is also behind a NAT we can dial but no voice can be heard on both side. i find out later that this is a very common problem if the NAT for both party are running on a symmetric firewall NAT which is most common for most sme network. can anyone have any solution to this problem? i would be most grateful if this is solved. thanks a million.
Cicsco 7920's are sweet. I have one. * is the bomb yo!
The Skinny/SCCP protocol has some support in Asterisk 0.7.x now. I haven't had a chance to test it myself as there is no way I'm paying that much for a portable phone with very limited coverage at the moment :)
This means that we don't need cellphone or mobile network operators anymore in order to provide ubiquitous voice networks. Anyone can set up a cell by setting up a Wi-Fi access point connected to the Internet. The phone vendors like Zyxel can still make money and people selling Wi-Fi access points can still make money. But people charging per-minute fees to make voice calls using their cell transmitters no longer have a business model.
It will take a few years to unravel, but the writing is now on the wall.
How is that off-topic? Jeez. It's called sarcasm, you idiots.
Expecially for the people of this country, he is improving things. Better ideas, better policies.
So does anyone know of any SIP gateways out there that are suitable for a home or SOHO application.
It would be cool if this phone could be made to work with Vonage or simillar service like that.
So can anyone say killer ap? Cell-Phone companies beware... Blanket wireless would have paying customers...
It's actually just a BCM WLAN600 (from a Taiwanese manufacturer) that's rebranded. ZyXEL develops very few of their products themselves.
I could see this being neat in perhaps a corporate area or somewhere at home, where in either case you or IT has some sort of control over the WAP settings, but this whole "wardriving" nonsense (using WEP) wouldn't work.
WAP Clients need to use a matching WEP key of the AP, therefore if this roamed to someone's AP, they'd either have to change to that person's WEP key, or disable it. Plus, what about coffee shop / BBSM / Nomadix type solutions that require authorization with a web page redirect first? Someone with this phone who WANTS to pay for internet at these wouldn't be able to.
DrPascal: Not the language, the mathematician.
I don't totally understand,
1.) earlier phones and pda's provide wifi support for internet connectivity. This phone provides voip support right?
2.)If so why isn't it cell phone shaped? I mean the applications of this thing as a cell phone are pretty obvious, most urban areas have unsecured nodes.
It keeps saying I.P. does it support dns?
Is wireless flexible enough that I can move from one unsecured node to another with little or no appreciable lapse in signal?
Doesn't this whole wireless thing make it ridiculous to try and secure any information anymore? If I run an unsecured node will I get sued by the RIAA for someone downloading Jay-Z over my network?
Soo confused.
Yes... this is nothing new... www.pulverinnovations.com
They don't do WEP or WPA encryption, and you have to wait about 6 weeks before you get your order, but it works nicely, also behind firewalls... Probably WEP is not such a idea good for latency as well...
WiFi surely is interesting :)
But I guess I'm biased.
But the 2.4GHz spot in the frequency spectrum in a typical household is so crudded up already. I mean, I already have these in use in that space:
o 802.11b network (2 APs, 4 clients)
o Cordless phone
o X10 video camera (for baby monitoring)
o Microwave oven
The X10 camera goes mostly unused nowadays due to interference from the APs. The telephone has some very annoying pops and clicks when the microwave is in use. I'd be hard-pressed to shell out many buckazoids for one of these until I was certain it worked better than my existing phone that's using that spectrum.
Assuming there's enough recovery for corrupted packets when interference is occurring (tried to read the article to get more info, but can't get to the site as usual), I can see where it might work better than my existing phone in the presence of such interference. But I won't be in a big hurry to go buy one just yet.
- Leo
You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right.
It's called a Pocket PC, a WiFi adapter, and WiFive
Wifive can connect to other wifive users or netmeeting, and if you have an IP-PSTN service, you can place calls to regular phones as well.
Cool though that someone made an actual phone to make the process easier
no comment
I had this crazy idea the other day of a blackberry type phone with wi-fi and cell access that had all the blackberry features plus jabber IM and presence.
Of course in my fantasy land this phone is super tiny with flexible display so that it can be unfolded along the vertical axis to double the screen width, has 30 day battery life, wireless headset support (the headset has 24 hr talk-time battery life), 40GB of removeable media (ok, ok, I'll settle for 10, but expandable to 100!), oh and the blackberry-style keyboard retracts into the body.
Mmmmm, tasty fantasy land.
When I first read the article title, I interpreted as a "Prestige 2000 Watt VoIP Wi-Fi Cordless Phone"
I certainly wouldn't want 2000 watts of 2.4 Ghz RF near my melon.....
Me and a friend did this a while ago, I was using my Palm PDA with WiFi and he was using his WiSip.
It really works: you go near a hotspot, tell the phone to search for an AP and a few seconds later you are talking on the phone.
It is really sweet, and with the local Telco/DSL provider covering the city(Monterrey) with APs, soon you will be able to get a signal almost anywere here.
adl
My boring ramblings
For example, I have Vonage as a current VoIP provider for my local service. This seems to be a wireless phone, which is capable of getting an IP address. OK, cool, but who do I implement this? Does the hardware have a configuration that selects who your carrier is? Is this intended for commercial use, as opposed to personal?
It seems that the way that Vonage has the setup is pretty straightforward, and ties easily into an existing infrastructure.
I do like the idea of having just the wireless router in place, but I would want to see more of the implementation (currently unavailable) before I praise it.
think before you write, it'll save me moderator points.
I could definitly see some uses for this for large organizations with a fair number of people and lots of space. Could be great for college campuses and organizations who already have extensive wireless coverage. Instead of having a cordless phone that reaches to the end of the hall, it now covers the entire lot. Could cut down on cell phone costs a good bit.
// Dumps core here
..still waiting for wireless token-ring. :-(
I want to use my cell phone as a modem for my craptop, not use my craptop as a ISP for my phone.
unless you are on the same localnet, appears you still must register, and log into a SIP provider.
definitly must loginto a SIP provider to bridge onto the POTS lines we all use today. (or run your own, which ties you back to your POT line, that I assume you already had access to without this tech.)
mod parent funney, I think was their intent.
What kind of battery life does it have? 2000 watts is a lot of power for a handheld...
If you wardrive and get on another network, the phone will send out packets tagged with 5 in the TOS field, but the network you got onto is almost certainly not going to honor the field, whether it be TOS in the packet or DSCP in the frame.
Also, QoS in wireless as a whole in an incomplete field. Cisco's AP still can't change the underlying "time on the air" algorithm of 802.11b and thus, you can get into a priority queue on the backside, but if there are too many people associated to the AP, you aren't getting any QoS over the airwaves. This problem is being worked on.
What if manufacturers (or rogue programmers) made a program for Windows or Linux (or what have you) that you can plug a headset into your laptop (or plug a regular phone into your desktop) and dial a call over the same network? If I could do that, just plug the a stand-alone phone into a power socket, or headset into a computer and it sets itself up automatically, I'd be pretty interested.
Does this violate CA's laws against driving with a computer at the use of the driver? Sounds like it, at least technically.
Seriously, but what OS does it run? Can I write apps for it? Any phone that isn't a computer is already outdated.
Think I'll check out Zultys...
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat, Never drive a car when you're dead
With a typical 3V 1800mAh NiMH battery you would have a talk time of 2.7 milleseconds.
Do you have to have a VoIP service to use this phone or can you use it over any LAN?