A VoIP Mobile Phone? Maybe Someday
Andy pointed to this article this morning and I went to do a little digging
Mazingo ICED mobile phone: VoIP, VoIP, baby
You've probably never heard of Mazingo or the ICED mobile phone -- don't worry, neither had we until last month. Up until recently Mazingo has focused on making informative content instead of hardware. The ICED (which stands for Interactive Complete Entertainment Device, sadly) mobile phone will be its first venture into the cutthroat world of mobile phone manufacturing. It's not taking baby steps, though -- it's jumping around like a fully grown phone company.
I studied this article pretty closely and, while it looks interesting, I've got a couple of observations.
They describe it as a mobile phone, yet they say that "they won't let any networks interfere with the VoIP application or the ability to download VoIP applications on to the phone."
My concern is there's no mention of cellular technology in any way. Is this a mobile phone being crafted ti include WiFi and work with the carrier networks? Or is it a mobile WiFi VoIP phone? No mention of CDMA, GSM, 3G networks, SIM cards, or EVDO.
The ICED names stands for Interactive Complete Entertainment Device, and it's clearly hoping to double as a iPod replacement. That's workabel for many of us. I don't own an iPod. never have. I use my Treo, and sometimes my LifeDrive to fill that need.
Other than this one news story, there's very little information available anywhere. Time will tell what this device might really be. For now, it's just another future vision.
Technorati Tags: Mazingo, ICED, VoIP, WiFi
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Comments
Hi Ken
Send me your email address and i will send you the full press release. Your comments are fair, giving the fact you do not have all the facts. However, our ICED Fone will accept a GSM SIMM (from any network) and act as a straightforward Cell Phone. It is also switcheable into a full WiFi handset at a single press of a button. It's basic operation is WiFi because its far cheaper to make calls and to receive all your data downloads ..worldwide, try downloading Video worldwide!!! Also the costs are miles apart, with WiFi calls and data transfers at a fraction of the cost of that of the Cellular Operators. 'Roamers' will love it. ICED is a convergence product with an extremely high specification and is a disruptive technology. Our network is also owned and managed by ourselves so that we can guarantee the voice and data qualities. It is also based at TELEHOUSE, in London, one of the largest switching centres in the world.
Take care
Ray Winter
Chairman
Mazingo.tv
Posted by: Ray Winter | May 17, 2006 3:03 PM
Ray we missed on Skype. I did try calling back and when I saw who the call was from, I did some digging and got your press release from your site rather than yesterday's news story. You can always email me at ken@ipadventures.com. I also sent you info on my new and revised post via Skype IM.
And folks, I'm goign to add another comment. The fact that Ray picked up my post and took the time to comment here and to call me via Skype says a lot about how attuned to success they are at Mazingo. That kind of paying attention is indicative of the kind of company that's a winner. I know I'll be watching Mazingo real closely.
Posted by: Ken Camp | May 17, 2006 3:46 PM
Hi Ken,
First off I'd like to thank you for linking to my article. However, I just wanted to clarify a few details for you.
You say "My concern is there's no mention of cellular technology in any way."
If you read the article again you will notice that I do in fact state "When you're out of range of a Wi-Fi hotspot, the phone will automatically switch back to your GSM network provider (you'll have to provide your own SIM card)."
Hope this clears things up.
Kind regards,
Andrew Lim
http://www.cnet.co.uk/
Posted by: Andrew Lim | May 21, 2006 5:16 AM
Thanks Andrew. As you can saw, Ray Winter caught my error in looking at Mazingo, but he didn't point out that I'd also missed it in your article. Sorry for the faux pas. I really missed a couple key points on this one.
Ken
Posted by: Ken Camp | May 21, 2006 8:29 AM
Hi,
Very nice phone indeed, but does anyone know which operating system runs on the phone?
Kind regards, Chris
Posted by: Christoffer Halken | May 21, 2006 9:13 AM