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New Phone Uses WLAN or Cel Networks
Reefa writes "Avaya, Motorola and Proxim this week are expected to announce a co-developed handset and enterprise network gear that let mobile phone users roam between cellular networks and wireless LANs to make/receive calls.
The phone uses SIP to make calls when on the WLAN network and switches to using cellular network when out of WLAN coverage and vice versa. The device also supports Push-To-Talk over SIP. BTW, the phone runs WinCE."
The one thing that gets me from the article (yes, I actually read it...go figure) is that you have to use Avaya access points. That right there could be the deal killer because there are already thousands of access points installed around the country. I don't see that many companies tearing apart their infrastructure simply for this functionality. Think of all the national rollout plans (McDonalds, Panera Breads, airports, Barnes & Noble, etc) that would have to redo everything. It would be like starting from scratch for them and for the WiFi companies that installed everything.
Yet, this is an interesting solution to those killer cell phone bills. We're experiencing that right now as we take a large volume of calls on our cell phones. If we were able to use "WiFi airtime" instead of "cell time" while in the office, that could save a company loads of money.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
I think with the recent release of more an more all in one Cell-Phones we are seeing the end of the convergence\divergence debate. It seems that everything all-in-one devices are picking up much more steem than intercommunication devices. This can be seen with the geek-watch reported yesterday, as well as the new ipod phones.