Thinking of ditching the geeky microphone headset for a VoIP handset? You may wish to hang off a little longer…
For a new cordless handset that works with both VoIP and normal landlines is on its way from Philips that should make the Windows user’s life easier and desk less cluttered.
The VOIP433 Dual Phone serves as both a traditional telephone and a VoIP phone, allowing users to make and receive Internet calls to their online contacts through the upcoming Windows Live Messenger service, the successor of MSN® Messenger.
The phone - unveiled at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas - enables users to place calls in three different ways:
* free PC-to-PC calling through Windows Live Messenger
* low-cost PC-to-phone outbound calling via MCI Web Calling
* and traditional landline phone service.
Installation consists of plugging the base station of the VOIP433 Dual Phone into the landline and the USB plug into the PC. The colour screen handset has Windows Live Messenger 8.0 pre-installed and is ready to go. An Apple Mac version is not expected.
The new VOIP433 Dual Phone is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in the spring but no pricing details are available yet. Similar dual function phones are already available for Skype users and cost around £80.
