Vonage Softphone Coming to Palm OS

In an interview at Engadget the CEO of Vonage reveals that the company is working on a Voice Over IP softphone client for the Palm OS.

Vonage softphone for Palm OSIn the Engadget interview Jeffrey Citron, CEO of Vonage, details:

You already have a softphone for Windows Mobile, where’s the softphone for the Palm OS?

If the Palm OS were a little easier to work with it might be here already.

Is it a problem with PalmSource? Is it palmOne?

The horsepower to do this isn’t there on many of palmOne’s devices. Much of the Palm devices out there don’t have the capabilities that we would need, and the ones that do have the capabilities we need, that’s what we’re focusing in on our efforts.

Any sort of time frame on when we might see a softphone for Palm? This year maybe?

This year. I think there’s a good chance this year you’ll see an expansion of the softphone client. Not just in the area of being able to run on other operating systems, but I think we’re going to continue to invest in additional softphone capabilities from different vendors, so you might actually see another vendor or two make available. Just like consumers have a choice of devices, you’ll also have a choice of software to go along with the services.

Vonage SoftPhone is a screen-based interface that works just like a telephone keypad. You can make a calls, receive calls, and pick up your voicemails. It also displays Caller ID with Name, Call Forwarding, and more.

Thanks to NumLock for the tip.

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Vo-vo-vonage

dona83 @ 5/24/2005 1:59:44 AM # Q
Cool, I'm a satisfied Vonage customer myself, but wonder if Vonage on my PalmOS will be practical. Not that many public hot spots around here... plus no WiFi available for Treo 6xx...

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Great!... sort of.

areyouwishing @ 5/24/2005 4:24:00 AM # Q
I read a while back the article on engadget to get Vonage to work on Windows Mobile, at first it sounded like a great idea, but ultimately it seems the cost and the hassle just doesn't justify the service yet.

Softphone costs $10 on top of the regular service ($25) for 500 minutes a month. So for $35 a month you can have a home phone, a mobile phone with 500 minutes and be tied to only using it while having wifi access, not a horrible deal, but the ease of use compared to an always on, easy to use cell phone does not necessarily justify the cost benefits.

I do think this is great for international travelers, and I also think it's great that they are working on a palm version, this give legitimacy to the idea of VoIP coming to PalmOS.

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It's About Time!

rogerrub @ 5/27/2005 5:49:32 PM # Q
I've been using Vonage at home and on both iBook and PowerBook laptops (in Japan and Australia). It works fine using a 10 Mbps Airport card. I was reconciled to buying a Vonage W-Fi "cell phone" for using when I was without a computer, but always hoped they would see the light and make a version of SoftPhone for the Palm platform.

Now that I have my Tungsten T3 and Palm Wi-Fi card ready to go, I'm eager to try it out. Does anyone make a headset with microphone for the T3 that will work with a SoftPhone system?

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