Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Motorola unveils a Wi-Fi phone

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 12:41:32 -0400

Motorola unveils a Wi-Fi phone
July 27, 2004 9:21am
CNET Networks

Handset maker Motorola on Monday introduced a new phone that it says
will switch calls seamlessly between cellular services and wireless
Internet networks, potentially offering business customers big savings
if the technology works as promised.
A representative said the CN620 Wi-Fi cell phone is expected to be
commercially available by fall or early 2005, making it among the first
entries in a new class of mobile communications devices that could roil
the cellular industry by reducing the number of minutes billed to
customers.

The phone has been in the works since last year, when Motorola struck a
deal to use chips from Texas Instruments designed for the purpose.

"This will bring voice and data-rich services to people where they are:
at home, in the auto, in the world, or at work," Motorola Chairman Ed
Zander said in a statement.

Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and NEC have all announced products that
promise to let business customers move calls from cellular carriers to
their own networks using short-range wireless technology known as Wi-Fi.
Once on the corporate network, callers are connected using voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP), a fast-growing technology that's shaking up
the wired telephone industry by bypassing much of the traditional
network and its many layers of fees.

Support from carriers for hybrid Wi-Fi cellular phones so far has been
less than enthusiastic. Among the many challenges facing such devices is
how to ensure customers are billed properly as calls move between
different types of networks, analysts say.
Motorola has not yet struck a deal with a carrier to support the CN620.
Because the phone uses the GSM cell phone standard--the most popular in
the world--carriers AT&#38;T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile
USA, which provide GSM service in the United States, are likely
candidates to sell the phone.

Despite the challenges, such hybrid devices do provide a tantalizing
view of the future. Armed with the appropriate software, such gadgets
could eventually use a home's Wi-Fi access point to make VoIP phone
calls using the Internet rather than a traditional home phone line.

Wi-Fi phone proponents say the combination makes sense. Wi-Fi is fast,
has a 300-foot range and can be used for downloading large amounts of
information. Meanwhile, cellular networks stretch for hundreds of miles
but can usually only manage download speeds of about 50 kilobits per
second to 500kbps.
CNET News.com's Evan Hansen contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2004 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved

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