Netgear Wifi Phone

For a long time, free services such as Skype have been associated with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) - for example by using your computer and a broadband internet to make long distance phone calls. Basically, what you used to pay before you come for free.

However, the main problem of such a service was, it had to be connected to a computer to make the call, and be there for the duration of the call. A bit like the "fixed" - you can move, but could not leave. So, VoIP, despite its usefulness, is not portable.

Until companies like Netgear, UTStarcom, ZyXEL and Linksys has decided to do something - they have built WiFi phones.

With WiFi phones, VoIP could go mobile. So, no computers no longer needed, and you might move into (or out) while you speak, and always be "online".

WiFi phones are like cell phones. But instead of using carriers like Cingular or Nextel regular, they use Internet-friendly WiFi networks, and open protocols such as SIP, to place your calls.

Unlike a regular phone that transmits voice as analog (which is, without converting them), WiFi phones convert your voice into digital format and transmitted as packets of binary data to a wireless receiver. The receiver then transmits the information on the Internet for the call processor. Throughout the process, the IP addresses are used instead of numbers to start, connect and terminate the call. These IP addresses act as maps direction of your call - as when you connect to the Internet and type a web address to go on a site.

The concept of WiFi phones (and related technologies) is still fairly new. The preference was to use up-Fi laptops and smartphones to connect to a local "hotspot" - perhaps a Starbucks or a city center - and surf the Internet wirelessly. Using a similar system to make voice calls at rates lower than market prices (even free) in an area across the city, is still in its infancy.

But the fact remains that WiFi technology is simple, efficient and economical. It is frankly brilliant. Why? Because he has deep roots in digital convergence - the idea of combining a large number of functions, protocols, services and standards that we chicane, and providing a basic solution to simplify the technology itself Similarly, a need shared by the world today multitasking. And as this technology develops and its benefits to the wells, it is a matter of time before Wi-Fi becomes the de facto choice centerpiece of mobile communication.