Finding Wi-Fi's voice

There's something to be said for playing to your strengths. Leveraging its experience supplying more than 36 million low-powered wireless handsets in China, UTStarcom has launched its first Wi-Fi phone for the U.S. market. The F1000, which already has been selected as an option for Vonage customers, works at any 802.11a/b/g hot spot in the world, as well as in the home network environment. Unlike many similar handsets, however, the F1000 uses a series of power management features to provide up to 80 hours of standby time and three to four hours of talk time. Additionally, the battery can be recharged in two to three hours. But perhaps most impressive is the unit's design, which looks and feels more like a high-end handset than some of the earliest Wi-Fi entries. Just as important, the company is looking at the F1000 as a base from which to expand.

“This is the first step to popularize what many people would say is arcane technology,” said Jeff Paine, vice president of strategic marketing for UTStarcom. “Right away, we wanted to make it as usable as possible.”