Electronics giant
Philips
has announced a cordless VoIP phone that connects directly with wireless
broadband without needing a PC.
The Philips Voip841 is the first Dect cordless phone to offer this
functionality, according to Rudy Provoost, chief executive of Philips' consumer
electronics division, who announced the phone at the
IFA
consumer electronics show in Berlin.
The handset will be available from December, but Philips has not yet
announced a price.
Netgear
announced a PC-less VoIP
phone, the
Skype
SPH101, at CES in January. The device works on Wi-Fi networks to which the
user has access and stores up to 200 contacts.
Skype
handsets using USB cables or a Wi-Fi connection have been available from a range
of vendors including Taiwanese firms
Wistron
and Accton.
But they all require software running on a computer.
The Netgear model was the first to allow users to place phone calls without
the need for a PC by connecting directly to a router.
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