Can I tear out my landline yet?

February 7, 2006 11:55 AM

Is there a wifi-enabled mobile phone out there which can connect to Skype and the like?

I'm not talking about VoIP through my mobile, but through my PC via WiFi. With this we could eliminate the home phone, so why isn't everyone asking for it? Is the technology still too big to fit in a little phone? If so, rough time-frames of when such a product might hit the market would be appreciated.

posted by greytape to technology (26 comments total)

Well, there's EV-DO.
posted by vacapinta at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2006

Your question is very confusing. Are you asking for a phone that can connect to skype without connecting to a PC? And just over WiFi? I don't think there's one of those yet... (at least not that I could find) but I recall reading about up-and-coming ones at Engadget. Can't find em now, of course.
posted by antifuse at 12:21 PM on February 7, 2006

Can you connect to Skype over SIP? If so, check this out.

We've been playing with one at work, and the battery life isn't terrific, but it was quite nice to use on a recent business trip where the hotel had free wi-fi.
posted by schustafa at 12:34 PM on February 7, 2006

A mobile phone that connected to the Skype network through my PC, via wifi. And also made calls and all that jazz the usual way when I wasn't at home or near a hotspot. Apologies for shoddy phrasing.
posted by greytape at 12:40 PM on February 7, 2006

not sure if this is what you are looking for, but engadget mentions this one. At the time of the article it wasn't out yet, but there are some links in there that may be of use.
posted by quin at 12:43 PM on February 7, 2006

http://store.voxilla.com/customer/product.php?productid=16137&cat=252&page=1
posted by psychobum at 12:46 PM on February 7, 2006

Can you connect to Skype over SIP?

No. That's one of the annoying things about Skype.
posted by kindall at 12:51 PM on February 7, 2006

Check out the Skype Store, they've got all kinds of cordless goodness
posted by blue_beetle at 12:54 PM on February 7, 2006

Ive wanted a mobile phone that connects to free wifi to do VOIP in the states for years now. They have been able to do this but will probably never release it here because we are morons who love to spend too much money on too little functionality. Or they will release one but sell it for hundreds of dollars. I wonder if you could import one from asia.
posted by psychobum at 1:03 PM on February 7, 2006

Netgear is planning to release a Skype phone that works via WiFi directly and doesn't need to connect through a computer.
posted by zsazsa at 1:04 PM on February 7, 2006

A mobile phone that connected to the Skype network through my PC, via wifi.

Okay. This is confusing to me, because if it's a mobile phone, then there shouldn't be any need for wifi. And if you have to have wifi, then why the PC, because certain smartphone/pda combos (like the new Samsung) already have wifi capability - I think the new Treo 700W does, too.

There are actually a bajillion offerings for softphones on your PC which will connect to any number of providers for the purposes of making and receiving calls on the PC. And most of them work pretty well. Look in an airline magazine - I have found scads of offerings.

And my company also makes such a solution, but I shan't plug it here. Email is in my profile.
posted by TeamBilly at 1:17 PM on February 7, 2006

The Nokia E70 will support Wifi and VOIP ... but I'm not sure whether the carriers will cripple it, or what the implementation details will be. (What does "VOIP" mean? SIP? Skype?)

Also don't know when it's coming out (if anyone knows Cingular's handset roadmap, I'm willing to negotiate...)
posted by lbergstr at 1:40 PM on February 7, 2006

There's also the Imate K-Jam. It's got GSM and wifi, and runs on the Windows Mobile platform, (which can either be a good or a bad thing).

Installing skype on that would be a click away.
posted by phyrewerx at 1:57 PM on February 7, 2006

And to all the others, yah I can see a market for this out there. It's kinda the best of all worlds. A friend of mine has an Imate (it's also advertised under several other brands), it's a little ostentatious, but it's way more useful than anyone thinks. Especially with the Bluetooth functions.
posted by phyrewerx at 1:58 PM on February 7, 2006

I'm assuming you just want this so that you can make Skype calls when near your home PC/network, correct? If so, there are a few phones either out or planned (using whatever the new mobile Windows is, or phones like Nokia's N80) that have WiFi capability. I would bet someone will create a Skype client for them, then you could directly connect.

Otherwise, why not find a mobile phone that works as a bluetooth headphone/microphone device? Phone->PC->Internet via WiFi seems silly when you could do Phone->Internet or a simpler Phone->PC->Internet using Bluetooth.
posted by mikeh at 2:35 PM on February 7, 2006

Okay. This is confusing to me, because if it's a mobile phone, then there shouldn't be any need for wifi. And if you have to have wifi, then why the PC, because certain smartphone/pda combos (like the new Samsung) already have wifi capability - I think the new Treo 700W does, too.

Imagine this situation:

You're in Panera bread, and since they have free wifi, you have a couple of options:
1. Make a call using your cellphone and daytime minutes. This is the most expensive option, and uses a normal cellphone, obviously.
2. Boot your laptop and start a Skype client, then make your call without using cellphone minutes.
3. Use your cellphone that has wifi capability and a built-in skype client to do the same thing, without touching either the laptop or your daytime minutes.

Option three is completely doable with today's technology, but would cause cellphone providers to lose significant revenue from calls people make while: at home, at the office, at businesses that offer free wifi.
posted by odinsdream at 2:36 PM on February 7, 2006

VoIP = Voice over IP - The idea of routing voice infomation over data networks (i.e. the Internet) vs. a dedicated network for the telephone network (this is called POTS or Plain Old Telephone Service). Utilizing VoIP can be a lot cheaper than the traditional phone networks in some cases.

SIP = Session Initiation Protocol - This is a standard for clients to initiate connections to interactive media (audio, video, screen sharing, etc. This is the "touch tones" for the digital age.

Skype - Is an instance of a VoIP service that has gained a lot of popularity.
posted by mmascolino at 2:47 PM on February 7, 2006

Ooops I screwed up the SIP link.
posted by mmascolino at 2:48 PM on February 7, 2006

SIP also = limited feature set compared to H.323 and is gently killing the proprietary PBX market. But we digress....

Odinsdream - in a strict sense, I agree with you. I guess I saw this aimed more at "power business users" who don't usually have to worry about the cost of their cellphone minutes, which is why I went, "huh?"

Ymmv and all that...

Does Skype allow you to dial off-network?
posted by TeamBilly at 2:53 PM on February 7, 2006

heh ... useful information. but what I meant was: what does Nokia mean when they say the E70 "supports VOIP"? do they mean it'll support SIP? or will it be a locked-down carrier-based sort of service? will it support Skype? etc.
posted by lbergstr at 2:55 PM on February 7, 2006

That certainly is the more important question lbergstr. I think if the carriers are responsible, they will kill off a lot of these features or at least lock them down to the point that their usefulness is not questionable.
posted by mmascolino at 3:10 PM on February 7, 2006

You can get something like this PcPhoneline VTA1000 and plug a regular cordless handset into it. If you get a GE 25839GE3 5.3Ghz handset, I'm pretty sure you can control Skype/VoiP features of the VTA1000 directly from the handset (Windoze only, unfortunately, which is the only reason I don't have one in my home, although I ditched my landline–in favor of my cell–years ago).
posted by maniactown at 3:25 PM on February 7, 2006

we have an answer - it will do SIP, unless the carriers cripple it.
posted by lbergstr at 4:44 PM on February 7, 2006

I have a related question.

I want a wifi enabled phone, so I can hit Google, gmail, etc. for free when in range of a wireless network.

I have no need for VOIP.


I just want to connect to the web in a browser via 802.11.g from my phone. Any such phone exists? For Cingular?
posted by sourwookie at 4:59 PM on February 7, 2006

TeamBilly; this is not really useful for business people exactly for the reasons you mentioned. It is, however, extremely useful for nearly everyone who has an internet connection and a cellphone at home. Yes, Skype allows off-network calling for an extra fee.
posted by odinsdream at 9:14 PM on February 7, 2006

Sourwookie: A quick google search yielded this result and this list of wifi enabled phones for sale
posted by antifuse at 2:44 AM on February 8, 2006