Accton developing Wi-Fi VoIP phone

See correction below

Accton Technology confirmed that it is developing two wireless handsets that allow users to place calls over the Internet using Wi-Fi, and may have them out late in the second quarter.

It will not market them under its own brand, but rather work through globally recognized vendors to sell the handsets, according to David Myers, senior director with Accton.

Wi-Fi handsets put a new twist on Internet phone calling by freeing users from having to carry around a notebook PC in order to make a VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) call. Existing phones designed for Skype and other VoIP services must be connected to a computer. Accton’s phones don’t have to be, although they do require a Wi-Fi signal, which isn’t always readily available.

Both of the Accton handsets allow users to make calls wherever they’re connected to a wireless Internet access point, whether they’re at home, at a coffee shop or some other public Wi-Fi hotspot. The company plans to market the phones in the U.S. and Europe first, followed by Asia, said Alan Ma, a sales manager for Accton Technology

Both phones work with the 802.11b/g Wi-Fi standards and boast four hours of talk time before needing a recharge, or 80 hours of standby time, according to Accton. The company plans to offer a recharge cradle for the handsets that doubles as a Wi-Fi access point.

Myers said that pricing has not been set for the Accton handsets.

Accton’s handsets will compete with a similar Wi-Fi phone coming from Netgear Inc. During last week’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Netgear and Skype Technologies jointly announced a Wi-Fi phone designed with Skype software built in. A Netgear representative at CES said pricing information was not yet available, and gave a general availability time frame of sometime before the end of the first quarter.

Users of Skype’s popular software can make free domestic and international voice calls, as well as chat and hold conference calls with other Skype users anywhere in the world. Calls to regular phones require a small fee.

Last September, eBay agreed to pay $2.6 billion to acquire Skype in a deal the companies billed as a way for Skype to expand its user base.

Correction:

Information about pricing and availability provided by a company representative was incorrect. The story has been revised and retitled since its original posting.