I got this news release in email this morning and did a double-take. Here in Washington most of the CompUSA stores (all I knew of) closed. I was under the impression CompUSA was going out of business. Apparently I was wrong if 8X8 is signing new distribution deals with them.

8x8 Signs Deal with CompUSA to offer Packet8 Virtual Office Small Business Phone System and Tango Video Terminal Adapter

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), provider of Packet8 (http://www.packet8.net/) residential, business and video Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services, today announced it has signed a deal with CompUSA, one of the nation's largest technology retailers, to offer the Packet8 Virtual Office small business phone system, now in use by over 9,000 U.S. based companies, and the Packet8 Tango Video Terminal Adapter (VTA).

Beginning this month, customers who shop at any of CompUSA's 103 stores nationwide will be able to purchase the Packet8 Virtual Office hosted iPBX retail package for just $79.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate) per extension and the Packet8 Tango VTA for $99.99 (after $100 mail-in rebate).

"CompUSA is focused on providing complete technology solutions for businesses and VoIP offerings, like the Packet8 Virtual Office hosted PBX phone service, have become popular choices among this price-conscious market segment," said Bob Sayewitz, Senior Director, Business Services for CompUSA. "With Packet8 Virtual Office, our customers can have an enterprise-class phone service on a small business budget."

Packet8 Virtual Office lets small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) implement a distributed, hosted iPBX telephony solution for a fraction of the cost of traditional business phone system alternatives such as premise-based Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs), Key Systems or Centrex. In addition to complete PBX functionality, Virtual Office service plans provide unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S., Canada and eight additional countries for a flat-rate of only $49.99 a month, as well as lower-priced metered plans and international calling at highly competitive rates.

"We are very pleased to be working with CompUSA to offer a simple, cost efficient and powerful solution to the problems small businesses face when selecting a new phone system," said 8x8 Vice President of Sales and Marketing Huw Rees. "Since Packet8 Virtual Office is a complete telecommunications service offering dial tone, hosted PBX functionality and lifetime customer support, subscribers benefit from advanced calling features and flexibility while gaining the ability to focus more on their business rather than their phone system."

In addition to the Packet8 Virtual Office solution, CompUSA is also offering the Packet8 Tango® VTA, a one-of-a-kind broadband phone adapter with a built-in LCD screen that turns any regular phone into a state-of-the- art, full motion videophone. Tango takes the concept of traditional analog terminal adapters (ATAs) one step further with the addition of advanced H.264 video, allowing for significantly better video quality compared to H.263 at the same bandwidth. This sleek 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 1.38" free standing device incorporates a built-in, high resolution 5" LCD color display and 180 degree rotating CCD camera to deliver advanced full-motion video at up to 30 frames per second along with crisp, delay-free audio.

About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc., the second largest standalone VoIP service provider in the U.S, offers internet-based telephony solutions (http://www.packet8.net/) for individual residential and business users as well as small to medium sized business organizations. In addition to regular Packet8 VoIP service plans priced as low as $24.99 per month for unlimited anytime calling to the U.S., Canada and eight additional countries, 8x8 offers the Packet8 Tango Video Terminal Adapter and DV 326 VideoPhone along with accompanying monthly service plans also priced at $24.99 per month. Packet8 Virtual Office, 8x8's VoIP phone system for small to medium sized businesses, is a hosted PBX solution comprised of powerful business class features. Companies subscribing to Virtual Office pay just $49.99 per month per extension for enterprise class PBX functionality along with unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S. and Canada. The Packet8 Complete Contact Center™ is a hosted multimedia call center distribution and management platform that works with any broadband Internet service and provides enterprise class contact center functionality combined with Virtual Office hosted iPBX calling features and business calling plans. Packet8 Softalk Office™, 8x8's PC-based soft phone client, offers high quality voice and video in-network calling as well as outbound calling to the PSTN. For additional company information, visit 8x8's web site at http://www.8x8.com/.

NOTE: 8x8, the 8x8 logo, Packet8, the Packet8 logo, Packet8 Virtual Office, Packet8 Softalk, Packet8 Tango and Packet8 Complete Contact Center are trademarks of 8x8, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Web site: http://www.8x8.com/
http://www.packet8.net/