One of the key devices with traditional telephony is a wireless handset, both in residential as in business use. When it comes to VoIP telephony, cordless telephones are nowhere near as standardized as their analog counterparts. One of the reasons for this, is the standard used for wireless VoIP telephony, or the lack thereof. While it would obviously make sense to opt for WiFi as the cordless VoIP standard, the technology has its issues when it comes to real-time communication.

The range of WiFi access points leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the DECT standard for example, requiring the need for multiple access points which in turn prompts new issues such as roaming between access points. This doesn’t even take into account the QoS requirements for wireless networks.

DECT on the other hand is a strong standard widely popular in Europe which makes the technology relatively cheap. But it’s an old standard and doesn’t provide the same level of flexibility a full IP based connection provides. This may limit the future possibilities of such handsets when new technologies are released.

The last standard that can be used for cordless communication is 3G. The main advantage being obviously that you are not tied to a single location and only need one single handset: your mobile phone. You can use the same technology be it inside the office or outside. The obvious downside to this approach is cost. Since the used frequencies are owned by your operator, you will be billed for usage. Data tariffs on mobile networks are steep, and IP communication uses a lot of bandwidth. Pricing will be the determining factor when considering this technology.

So, let’s have a look at what’s available on the market today. This isn’t a comprehensive list by far. We’ve only included some of the major SIP based wireless handsets. That excludes any Skype handset but also proprietary wireless handsets from manufacturers such as Cisco.

Zyxel Prestige 2000W

One of the first available cordless VoIP handsets was the Zyxel Prestige 2000W. It sports a monochrome, blue backlit display, a 1.5mm headset port, 802.11b wireless with WEP encryption and comes with a base station. It has a built-in web configuration menu and support aut-provisioning, but like any 1st generation product it has its quirks. The firmware is slow and terribly un-userfriendly. It was re-released in a different form factor with the same model name later. Definitely a good shot for a first product, but nowhere near as reliable as traditional wireless telephony.

iPhone

No, not the iPhone you are thinking of, at least not yet. Linksys owns the registered trademark iPhone and was kind enough (?) to share it with Apple. Actually Linksys has two iPhones, the WIP300 a Linux based handset and the WIP330 a Windows based handset. Both are 802.11g WiFi headsets and both are targetted at the consumer market (Linksys does not have any cordless handsets targetted at the business market at this point). Both devices are quite similar, but the WIP330 offers an embedded webbrowser, which allows for web based authentication as some hotspots require. Linksys is also planning to release another iPhone, the WIP310.

Siemens Gigaset

The Siemens Gigaset is a well known brand in the cordless telephone industry. They didn’t hesitate to jump right in when VoIP became the talk of the town. Siemens generally uses IP/DECT technology, which means the base station is IP based and requires a RJ45 UTP connection while the wireless connection with the handset is based on the traditional DECT standard (the Gigaset SL75 is the only exception to this). While this approach allows for a lower price, increased battery life and larger range, it has some downsides as well. You cannot take the phone with you and use it directly on a hotspot. It isn’t an all IP based connection, which sooner or later will become the de facto standard. Current Gigaset IP models are: S685 IP, S675 IP, C475 IP, C470 IP, CE460 IPR, CE450 IPR and the SL75 WLAN.

Snom m3

Snom is a German VoIP phone manufacturer. Unlike the other manufacturers in the list, they don’t produce anything but IP phones. So, when Snom releases their first wireless IP phone it’s time to pay some attention. First thing to note, Snom opted for the IP/DECT approach instead of the all-IP WiFi approach. Although this may seem like a normal step for a European manufacturer, since DECT is hugely popular in Europe, don’t think Snom hasn’t considered other options. Their decision might reveal that other technologies such as WiFi aren’t ready for enterprise VoIP deployments. The phone is quite similar to the Snom’s other handsets when it comes to the web administration interface, and provisioning. It sports an excellent design, but could use a more userfriendly interface at times.

Nokia E-Series

Nokia’s E-Series along with a couple of N-Series models also offer the ability to make VoIP calls, both via WiFi and 3G. This is an excellent opportunity for convergence between a mobile and a fixed handset. No need to retrain sales people to use the fixed handset, instead of their mobile when at the office (which they won’t because all their contacts are stored in their mobile). The E-series offer the ability to automatically switch over to WiFi when at the office, without any action taken. It still suffers from some the same aches as other WiFi handsets, namely short battery life and poor range. When used on 3G the price for a VoIP call can be much higher than a regular mobile call depending on your data plans. The configuration of the device is best left to professionals, but once set up it works quite well. Downside of the complex configuration is that the phone will be harder to use at random hotspots (which might even be a bit intentional).

As indicated at the start of this post, this list isn’t comprehensive by far. There are many no-name WiFi handsets being manufactured in Asia. There is a booming market of Skype handsets that aren’t covered here either. Proprietary VoIP players such as Avaya, Cisco, Aastra, Mitel, etc. all have their (equally proprietary) wireless handsets. It’s interesting to note that Polycom acquired both Spectralink and Kirk Telecom, both companies were active in wireless VoIP. Polycom today still sells their IP/DECT based solutions.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 15:15 CEST and is filed under Hardware, Reviews, Mobile. 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.