Wi-Fi Phones Reviewed

prostoalex writes "With municipal Wi-Fi taking off and startups distributing free wireless routers for those willing to share their Internet connections, Wi-Fi phones or hybrid phones with both cellular and Wi-Fi access, are attracting interest. Dr. Dobb's Journal runs a review of 6 wireless phone devices available on the market today. The cheapest ones start around $80, but lock you into T-Mobile branded hotspots. The more expensive ones, Sony Mylo in particular, offer support for 3rd party clients, such as Skype, GTalk and Yahoo! Messenger."

Comments

Linux

[bendodge]

How about some much cheaper Linux smartphones! http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT9423084269. html

Joke

[jmorris42]

First off the title of the article is "Wi-Fi phones reviewed" not Skype phones reviewed, not dual mode phones reviewed, not Vonage phones reviewed. None of the models discussed actually support any sort of generic Voip, although I think Google Talk is sorta SIP based so the Sony might qualify if it can be delinked from Google. They ignored the actual standards based WiFi VoIP phones which do exist.

Add in the fact the idiot confused 802.11a and 802.11n(draft) and you really wonder what happened to the editorial standards Dr. Dobbs used to have.

So does anyone have experience with a WiFi SIP phone that isn't a horror story? I have tried a Zyxel and a D-link and hate em both.

Re:Joke

[sipmeister]

Yeah, the best one I've found is the E61 from Nokia. It's a regular GSM/UMTS phone which also has WiFi and a full blown SIP client on board. And you can find it on Craigslist for ~$350.

Much better then any of the crappy Taiwanese "VoIP" phones, or anything that does Skype only.

The SIP client is fully integrated with the contacts, just overall very well done by Nokia. Plus they release firmware updates on a regular basis, which can be done from a Windows PC.

The phone detects WiFi coverage, e.g. home or work, and automatically registers the SIP client.

Since it's SIP, you can use any one of the hundreds of ITSPs (Internet Telephony Service Provider) out there to make cheap international calls, if that is what you want.

Re:Joke

[LBt1st]

Also no mention of battery life, range, ease of connecting etc.. this is hardly a review. More like a PSA or something, "Hello, VoIP exists!". The "review" even says that the Skype phone has gotten good reviews. That's like a definition using the word in it's definition! Not to mention I've read nothing but bad things about this phone. Such as the battery life being nil. From my research, the bottom line is this: These are first-gen phones and they simply are not ready yet. I use Skype, and the service has been above and beyond my expectations (for personal use. Still wouldn't use it for business). I'd recommend shying away from these phones in favor of a PDA or other Windows Mobile device (if that's your existing wifi enabled cell phone then even better). PDA's and such are tried and tested hardware. They also provide other great features. If your going to shell out a few hundred on a device you might as well get a fully featured device (Dell's Axim PDA's are great for example) or a smartphone with wifi.

Nokia E60 - WiFi + SIP

[Renesis]

I've been using VOIP (SIP) at home for a few years now. From the UK I call my girlfriend on her landline in the USA for almost nothing.

I've used lots of different phones and adapters. I don't generally use any "softphones" (VOIP applications that require a PC), nor any of the phones that require your PC to be on.

The absolute best voice quality, and ease-of-use is the Nokia E60 I recently bought. It was about US$300 from eBay (SIM free - i.e. generic, not locked to any network). It's standards-compliant (802.11 + SIP) and connects to both of my current VOIP providers (Sipgate and VoipBuster) without trouble.

Whenever I get home (within range of my access point) it instantly registers with my VOIP provider of choice as well as staying connected to the cell network via 3G/GSM. Whenever I click a contact to make a call it simply asks whether I want to call by "Cell" or "Internet" - and that decides how the call is routed. Incoming calls on SIP and cell work great - so you can have more than one number on your phone at the same time.

The voice quality is superb and it is so totally easy-to-use once configured (configuration is slow when you have to type all the server names on a numeric pad). The only downsides are that I only get about 2 hours of talk time over WiFi (after that I have to plug in the charger to keep talking), and that there is no built-in camera.

There is a review here: http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/Nokia _E60_Preview_The_Candybar_With_Almost_Everything.p hp

It's very stable and reliable, unlike it's N-Series brothers which are a POS. I can highly recommend the phone.

T-Mobile UMA Works!

[imcdona]

First off, the article is flat wrong, I can use my Nokia 6136 on ANY WiFI I want. I am not limited to just t-mobile hotspots. I roam all over the country and latch on to different WiFi networks without a problem. The SSID "linksys" is my friend. I get unlimited WiFi calls and it seamlessly switches to GSM when I leave the WiFi area. One thing nice is, if I start a call on WiFi and roam to GSM, it's still billed as a WiFi call.

Samsung SCH i730

[ArmedLemming]

Although it's abit pricier than the models listed in TFA ($199 with 2-year contract), it does everything those phones do and more. Since it runs Windows Mobile 2003 (or later), it can run Skype to make the calls, it has WiFi built-in, and of course does EV-DO. Add in its bluetooth support and basically this thing does it everything you need (except run Linux I guess)

The downside to this model is its relatively short battery life, but it's even got a slide out qwerty keypad so texting isn't half bad...

Here's a link to it...

Why you don't need WiFi on your phone.

[Freedom Bug]

I blogged about this recently. http://bryan.larsen.st/2007/2/3/why-you-don-t-need -wifi-on-your-phone.

I own a Sharp Zaurus and a Palm Treo 650 along with a WiFi card for both. I never use WiFi. Here's why.

There are several scenarios where you think it'll be useful to have WiFi on your phone, either for e-mail, browsing or VoIP.

At Home or Work

Once the novelty wears off, you will realize that the computer in the corner is much better suited for internet and e-mail usage. If you want to curl up on the couch or wander the house doing chores while talking to your Mom via VoIP, add a $20 bluetooth dongle onto your computer, router or NSLU2 and use that instead; you'll double your battery life.

At a Friend's House

Most friends have computers they'll let you borrow. Extensive surfing or VoIP'ing is antisocial, you won't be taking advantage of that as much as you think you will.

Out on the street

By the time you find a free, open WiFi hotspot, your battery will be dead. GPRS is so much more reliable that once you hook it up, you'll just end up using that instead.

On vacation

I spent two months in Europe and blogged every day for the entire trip using my Treo 650 and a bluetooth keyboard. I brought along the WiFi adaptor and never used it because it was such a pain to find and connect to a hot spot. Instead, I transferred articles from the Treo to computers in Internet Cafe's via the SD card and a USB adaptor. At a coffeeshop to work outside the office

A laptop is so much more usable that you'll end up lugging the heavy thing to the coffeeshop rather than taking along just your phone.

Summary

WiFi is nice to have, but it shouldn't significantly affect purchase decisions. Don't ignore beautiful phones like the Neo1973 or Treos just because they don't have WiFi.

IMAGINE

[viking80]

Imagine that most people turn on a wifi (Like the free Fon mentioned)
Now, just enable these to connect and route traffic automatically
Now,
1. Everybody can now have a wifi phone with free
2. Nobody will need an ISP
3. Nobody will need a phone company
4. Nobody can shut you off
5. Everyone can have a fast connection
6. You do not have to sign a service agreement
7. what else?