The VOIP Provider Guide

With the Apple iPhone unleashing on the market this week to bouts of acclaim and a few derisive voices pointing out its data streaming flaws, other companies are quickly jumping forward to announce their own super-multimedia platforms. What does that mean for the world of Mobile VoIP? A whole heck of a lot we hope.

The one thing that rampant competition tends to do for new technology is force it to evolve very quickly. The home PC race was bolstered immediately when Jobs and Gates went at each other and now the world of mobile VoIP might get a similar boost as companies are scrambling to create phones that could possible compete with the super sleek, universal appeal of the iPhone. 

The iRiver
First up, is South Korean company iRiver. Right out of the gate, this company has always tried to compete with Apple and their handheld multimedia devices. Their range of MP3 players were comparable even if they didn’t get nearly the sales or word of mouth delivery that the iPod did. They’re at it again though with their new iRiver W10.  

The W10 though is a bit more impressive because it directly integrates a VoIP phone with an internet browser, FM radio, MP3 Player, and e-book reader, among a few other interesting tool choices. The internet connection feature hopes to offer more than simple browsing by doing a pinpoint, GPS style mapping display for any user also using the phone.  

Similar to the iPhone, the iRiver offers a huge three inch, touch screen display and a 4-8 GB hard drive for music files. The price is still up in the air, but the possibilities are very interesting as the product would likely be cheaper than the overpriced Apple offering and not attached to the confines of an AT&T contract, meaning WiFi and VoIP access would be almost immediately possible.    

Nokia Jumps in As Well
A company that has always offered interesting and well designed phones has been Nokia. Unfortunately, their phones have always been directly attached at the hip to the mobile phone companies, meaning you had to sign up for a plan to get your phone unlocked. However, with their new E-series phones they have decided to unlock them and let users decide how they will function, a direct push it would seem at users interested in VoIP service.

The move is partially the result of AT&T bumping the E62 phone from its list, a move partially prompted by incredible iPhone hype. Their phones though are still number one in Europe. They produce quality phones, even if Americans have yet to catch on.  So, with the release of the E61i, E65, and E90 (mini-laptop), Nokia will be allowing third parties to start selling them such as Dell and Gateway. They’ve done this before with N series phones, but the E series are much more exciting as the phones offer full Wi-Fi support and a bevy of VoIP options. 

It looks like Nokia will soon be going head to head against HP and their iPAQ VoIP solutions. Either way, it’s good for consumers as more and more phones are hitting the market with unlocked interfaces and immediate VoIP capability.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 28th, 2007 at 9:54 am and is filed under VOIP Product Reviews, VOIP News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.