Suddenly Siemens Gigaset popped up on my radar this week, on two fronts at once. To start with Alan Lord pointed out on a post to the Asterisk Users Mailing List that Siemens have released some new firmware that adds a mute functionality to one of the soft keys when on a call.
OK, so the past few days there’s been a lot of chatter about T-Mobile announcing that they intend to offer a new home phone device. It’s been noted variously at CrunchGear and NYT. From the description given, that is a tablet form factor and 7″ touch screen LCD, it would seem a logical conclusion that T-Mobile is likely tapping OpenPeak for their OpenTablet hardware.
After a few weeks of use we’ve decided that these Philips DECT phones we acquired on WOOT.COM have just got to go. At $49 for a set of four handsets they were certainly inexpensive so I’m not all that upset. There are simply too many things about the devices that are source of frustration, so I’m once again shopping for alternatives. I should know better than to make impulse purchases. I’m such a sucker for new gadgetry.
What is the cause our frustration? So kind of you to ask….
Om Malik suggests that Verizon’s shutdown of their VoiceWing residential VoIP service could be the end of Delta three. When I first started experimenting with VoIP Delta Three was flying high, and I looked at their I Connect Here offering briefly. They managed to land some very interesting deals, including Verizon’s ill-fated Voice Wing and a partnership with Panasonic called JoIP.
Since first posting about availability of the new Aastra MBU-400 SIP/DECT system I’ve seen considerable interest in the device, but no-one stepping up with any first hand experience with its use. The device is in fact vaguely related to the snom m3 SIP/DECT systems that I own and enjoy using. Both are based upon reference designs from RTX Telecom.
As an OEM product from RTX Telecom the hardware design is largely fixed, but Aastra has a lot of control over the firmware. I know that snom has made considerable progress with firmware enhancements for the m3 since it was introduced to the US about a year ago.
Apparently Verizon is actually serious about releasing their long promised home phone/information appliance, now known as the Verizon Hub. The device, an OpenPeak design reportedly made by Samsung, combines a cordless phone with a variety of other functions on the large LCD display. I admit it’s pretty, but not as nice a newer OpenPeak prototypes that we’ve seen online.
The phone portion of the device is VoIP based, so no POTS line required or even possible. People living any area with E911 service will be able to port their number to the service to take advantage of the gadget. The device itself costs cost $250 but there’s a $50 rebate initially. The service behind the device is $35/mo with a 2 year contract and includes unlimited calling minutes. Presumably those are US domestic local & long distance minutes.