....The NETGEAR WiFi phone will make mobile Internet telephony a reality for Skype users. Unlike other devices that must connect with a PC, NETGEAR’s Skype WiFi phone will work wherever a consumer is connected to a wireless Internet access point — be that in a home, office, cafe, open public hotspot, or any open municipal wireless access point being deployed worldwide. ....

http://www.aboutvoipsolution.com/58/skype-...p-mobile-phone/

The netgear will free you from standing in front of a computer, but I see an other problem around.
The netgear is fine around the home or office, but if you travel a lot you'll need to register and pay an other provider any time you'll want to connect somewhere to make phone calls.
Price speaking, the cost of your communication or connection will be similar if not higher than a gsm, and without the same reliability.
I guess it is worth following the developpement of it.

[quote=serge.vbr]The netgear will free you from standing in front of a computer, but I see an other problem around.
The netgear is fine around the home or office, but if you travel a lot you'll need to register and pay an other provider any time you'll want to connect somewhere to make phone calls.
[/quote]

I think it is overstating the issue to say that you'd have to pay each time you want to make a call. It is true that some locations charge for wifi access, but many others are free. For example Fort Lauderdale Airport has free WiFi :-) but Nashville Airport charges :-( and I've never even found wifi at all at Miami :-((. Many coffee shops and sports bars offer free wifi.

I'm not sure what the free wifi landscape is like in Europe, for some reason I'd expect it to better than in the US, but maybe I'm wrong. Comments?

JP

It is good to hear comments from the other side of the "big river" !
In Europe,mainly the wifi is not free at all and when you go to hotels,petrol stations, etc...they charge you hell of a lot, like 10€/1h.
The only free, generally speaking, you can get is when walking down the street you manage to connect via somebody who forgot to secure his wireless modem/router.
There is well a project in Brussel to cover the entire center of the city with free wifi, but it is still a project and it is going to be fun to watch the fight with the other paying providers.
I guess you are better off on your side!! :lol:

Hopefully the roaming co-operation between Hotspot providers will continue/start to grow. As example the Boingo/Skype now 20 000 hotspots at 6,50€ per month.

[quote=jyden]Hopefully the roaming co-operation between Hotspot providers will continue/start to grow. As example the Boingo/Skype now 20 000 hotspots at 6,50€ per month.[/quote]

I do hope so, because so far Boingo has only great impact or/and in the US and UK.
For the rest it is limited to some areas.
Regards

Here in Chicago, the 76 branch libraries have free WiFi access. However, it is understood that noisy talking is not really welcomed there. So maybe phone usage would not be practical.

[quote=urbsenhortos]Here in Chicago, the 76 branch libraries have free WiFi access. However, it is understood that noisy talking is not really welcomed there. So maybe phone usage would not be practical. [/quote]
Same thing here and you have even signs asking you to switch off your phone.
I guess wifi access in libray is meaned to take notes and compare other notes with a laptop, not to use wifi phone

Great, I've been waiting for a product like this.

[quote]I guess wifi access in libray is meaned to take notes and compare other notes with a laptop, not to use wifi phone[/quote]The sideeffect/good about radio waves is that they don't care about signs/'walls'. If your network card can connect outside the library silence area, use it there. I do so on a town square , free access.