Vonage and UTStarcom Liberate Consumers from their Traditional Phone Lines with Launce of Portable WiFi Phone

Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005
by PhoneDog LLC,

 

Holmdel, N.J., and Alameda, CA December 13, 2005 – Vonage Marketing, a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp., a leading broadband phone company, and UTStarcom Inc., a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services, today launched the F1000, a portable Wi-Fi handset manufactured by UTStarcom and configured with Vonage’s Voice over IP (VoIP) phone service. This product, which will offer mobility across 802.11b networks, is now available at vonage.com for $129.99 with a $50 instant rebate for a total of $79.99.

“Recognizing the need for consumers and small businesses to have numerous options when communicating with family, friends and business associates, Vonage is excited to offer its subscribers the UTStarcom F1000 Wi-Fi handset, which will enable them to make unlimited local and long distance calls from any open access Wi-Fi hot spot,” stated Louis Holder, executive vice president of product development for Vonage Holdings Corp. “With the rapid increase of open access points around the world, this is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to take advantage of the affordability of VoIP service and also enjoy the convenience of mobility. The UTStarcom Wi-Fi handset bundled with Vonage’s service represents the leading-edge of VoIP service worldwide.”

The F1000 Wi-Fi handset is well designed for both state-of-the-art features and high value. It will be configured with Vonage’s standard call features: three-way calling, call waiting, repeat dial on busy, call forwarding to user assigned number, call hold/resume, voicemail, call rejecting/redial/mute and Caller ID based on phone book entries. It will also include phone book favorites with distinctive ring options including: silent, vibrate and selectable ring tones. Users will be able to configure and save Wi-Fi profiles for ease of connectivity. Equally important, the F1000 supports a robust battery, with up to 5 hours of talk time, 50-100 hour standby and the ability to recharge in 2-3 hours.

“We collaborated very closely with our partners at Vonage to customize our F1000 Wi-Fi handset to the look and feel Vonage subscribers are accustomed to,” said Bill Huang, chief technology officer and senior vice president of engineering at UTStarcom. “We believe the affordable price point and extensive features of the UTStarcom F1000 offered through Vonage will be a disruptive force in the telecommunications service marketplace. Consumers with Wi-Fi access in their home can replace their traditional home phone with the F1000 and start reaping the benefits of wireless VoIP phone service right away.”

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