Vonage Releases New Dual VoIP / Wi-Fi Phone

Vonage customers will be able to make and receive calls in Wi-Fi covered areas with their new dual VoIP / Wi-Fi phone called the F1000. The new VoIP / Wi-Fi phone will retail at $79.99 after an instant $50 rebate according to Vonage.

The Vonage F1000 is intended to allow customers to roam freely without the need to be wired into a network to make calls. By wirelessly connecting to internet using Wi-Fi hotspots the user is able to make a VoIP call as usual. Vonage say that the F1000 handset is compatible with Wi-Fi hotspots in restaurants, coffee shops, homes and campuses. The F1000 will be configured with call waiting, three-way calling, call forwarding, voice mail, caller ID and other features. It can be customized with various ringtones and can also be set to silent mode and vibrate. Vonage claim that the F1000 handset will be capable of 5 hours talk time, between 50 - 100 of standby and is charged within 2 hours.

“The idea is to give customers more choices to go with their Vonage service. It’s like a portable phone - they can put it in their pockets and walk around,” said a Vonage spokeman.

Certainly if you live in an area well served by Wi-Fi then this would be a good phone to buy. However, customers in areas without good Wi-Fi coverage will find that they are limited in where they can actually use the handset. However, with cities moving towards offering full Wi-Fi coverage this type of phone will surely become much more popular.