Here's an article that caught my eye and reminded me of something I saw at the ITExpo.

Wireless VoIP Handsets Taking Off

Posted by Carl Weinschenk on Friday 3 November 2006 at 11:44 am

We know a hot market when we see one, and it’s clear that wireless VoIP handsets fit the bill. An announcement from Cicero Networks, an Irish company, says that its product — cleverly named the CiceroPhone — can be hosted by Nokia’s S60 family of handsets.

Here's where I think people are missing the boat, at least based on what I've seen personally.

All the handset vendors are hot on the heels of fixed mobile convergence. They all want a WiFI VoIP phone that also works on the CDMA or GSM network. They're working on all the technical pieces of handoffs and the nuance of making it work. And, at least from my view, every one of them is missing a key event to entrench as the incumbent. For those who follow technology, we know the incumbent often sets the de facto standard.

I was looking at a couple of these solutions at the Expo, and one in particular struck me. They seem to have the WiFi VoIP phone component pretty much nailed down. Now they're working on the cellular integration. The issue is, if they'd sell me the WiFI VoIP solution today, I'd buy it right now. Not for FMC, but for user experience.

I write a lot about VoIP and unified communications. I do a lot in the broader space of mobility and video too. But people are often surprised when they ask me what my primary VoIP phone is, because for the most part, I don't use one. For the most part, I don't use a lanline wired phone either. My primary telephone is my cell phone. And a big part of the reason is the rich user experience.

I can sit on the sofa watching TV in the evening, and frankly, I don't want my laptop in my lap. So I don't use Skype, Gizmo, or any softphone client then. My landline phone is a feature-poor dial tone appliance. It's next to worthless and service only one purpose. My cell phone lets me keep check on email, peek at the web if I need to, keep current with SMS messages, and take phone calls to. It's a full, rich user experience.

Give me a WiFi VoIP phone that mimics the user experience of current cell phone technology, and I'll have it working over the weekend. I don't care if I have to pick up my cell phone to leave the house. Not today I don't. But I do care about user experience. Give me a fairly priced WiFi-connected VoIP phone with browser, email and SMS capability.

I think if you deploy that, and do it well, you'll have more buzz than you know what to do with when you integrate CDMA/GSM functionality. In my view, you can lead the  way, or trail into the market. The leaders are the ones who will win my business and loyalty as a customer/.


Technorati Tags: VoIP, WiFi, unified communications, rich user experience