The Cisco 7920, designed for use in warehouse, hospital and corporate campus environments, is among a growing number of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP ) handheld devices hitting the market to take advantage of corporate WLANs. Users can communicate via Wi-Fi wireless access points, offering the advantage of greater mobility in the workplace.

Portable Wi-Fi

"With this phone we have replicated the typical wired phone features such as conferencing, caller ID and call forwarding for wireless local area networks," Jim Cirincione, manager of product marketing for voice at Cisco, told NewsFactor.

The phone can be used in any site with a WLAN, he explained, enabling workers to use it outside their workplaces -- even in other states or countries.

Commercial availability is expected in June, with the device priced at US$495.

Two from SpectraLink

Not to be outdone, SpectraLink is offering two handsets, the NetLink e340 ($399)and NetLink i640 ($599) wireless phones. Both are compatible with Wi-Fi networks and also are aimed at enterprise customers.

The e340 is touted as a compact wireless VoIP handset for general office use, while the i640 is a more rugged device aimed at hospitals and manufacturing plants. It features VoIP push-to-talk capability with an integrated loudspeaker.

"Enterprises are increasingly adopting Wi-Fi technology, and they want to put voice on these data networks," Ben Guderian, director of marketing for SpectraLink, told NewsFactor. This is the company's second generation of wireless 802.11 phones, which Guderian said have found a following among business customers.

Data Network Complements

Both Cisco and SpectraLink also introduced new fixed wireless desktop IP phones for business users, designed to use WLANs and eliminate wired connections to the desktop.

Wireless Wi-Fi phones are starting to generate some noise in the industry, said Yankee Group analyst John Jackson. He told NewsFactor that operators want to complement their packet data networks with WLAN capability and need new devices to make that happen.

Currently, Wi-Fi connectivity has focused on laptop PCs and handheld devices using aircards, but phones could develop into a profitable market, he said.

"I think we will see some manufacturers coming out with dual-mode wireless local area network and wide area network phones, but the challenge will be enabling the handoff between the two technologies," Jackson explained.

Wi-Fi Goes Beyond Portability

One challenge in creating such products is dealing with the power -hungry nature of 802.11 networks.

Devices such as those developed by Cisco and SpectraLink have limited appeal, IDC analyst Keith Waryas told newsFactor, but show promise in adding mobility to a campus or warehouse site. "This takes Wi-Fi beyond portability to limited mobility" he said. "It could impact wide area network usage in the long term."

Other companies delving into the voice-enabled Wi-Fi device market include Symbol Technologies, which has produced a phone, and Vocera, which offers portable products for certain markets.