Motorola unveils a Wi-Fi phone

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&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.

[CDWilliamsUSCA]

About Time

I work at a HelpDesk, and we work over a large area and make office visits. It would be so nice not to have to carry an IP phone as well as a cell phone. I would even buy one privately to use off site as my personal phone, and then as my work phone onsite. Its about time this technology came about.

[jacomo]

With HotZones it will Dominate

The PDA with a WiFi and Cellular capability built in (and not a smartphone with WiFi) will dominate this space both for Commercial-RoadWarrior and Consumer MultiMedia applications. They will require very high speed access, processing power and a real world display. Battery Life is critical.
Combine this product with the emergence of the new HotZone (Metro Area WLAN)being proposed by these new Service Providers (ILEC/CLEC etc) who own the last mile Wireline services, you have a winner. Then add in the capability to deploy a VoiceIP service in the HotZone and then roam to the 3G cell networks you have a winner here.

802.16 (WiMAX) systems (combining Point to MultiPoint and Mesh)and the PAN based on UWB will rule this WiFi space as well.
Meanwhile the big carriers will be trying to cost justify their Narrowband 3G services (paid big $$$ for licensed spectrum).

Jacom

[LANjackal]

Good concept, but stillborn

Great concept. It'll be a failure. Why? Consider your experience with your current provider. If you love your cellphone company, their terms and your contract, you're probably masochistic.

Mobile providers have always seemed to be bent on screwing the hell out of their own customers with ridiculously restrictive plans, contracts, and upgrade options. I can't help the feeling that I'm being robbed and raped by my provider. I mean, they charge for INCOMING calls - ridiculously unfair, but industry standard so the consumer has no choice (in some foreign countries, cellphone companies are rightly prohibited from charging for incoming calls).

With that in mind, which cellular provider is going to sell a product that reduces the revenue from their captive callers? The providers have already sunk (or they claim to have) millions of dollars into their ancient networks. It's not likely that they'd allow WiFi to cannibalize the business done on the former. Even if they do offer it, the phone won't be cheap - it'll be sold at a higher price to make up for the perceived lost revenue. A $1000 phone? 5-year contracts? I predict it. The hellborn providers wouldn't have it any other way.

Good luck finding a seller, Motorola.