While the promise of Wi-Fi phones is enticing, many challenges lie ahead before customers and businesses fully accept the products.
For single-mode phones, finding a wireless network to log into could be a headache. Wi-Fi coverage in virtually any metropolitan area is a mishmash of open and closed networks running different standards, and connecting reliably to this could be a major challenge. This is less of an issue for the dual-mode services which can use cellular service as a safety net.
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None of the VoIP services running on Wi-Fi phones currently support emergency calling such as E911, which makes having a Wi-Fi phone as your only phone service a risky proposition. Vonage provides a valuable service, though; if 911 is dialed from one of the Wi-Fi phones using its service, the call will be answered by a Vonage emergency call center, which will help contact the appropriate local emergency resources.
Because of the power requirements of including a Wi-Fi radio in phones, these first-generation Wi-Fi phones can drain a battery in standby mode in just a day, and offer only a couple of hours of talk time. Some power-saving advancements are being made, such as technology that allows certain devices to lower their power consumption when not actively making calls, but things will need to come a long way before Wi-Fi phones can deliver the days of standby and hours of talk time taken for granted with traditional cell phones.
None of these factors may matter much in the long haul if customers and businesses deem the convenience and flexibility of Wi-Fi phones to be worth more than any potential headaches. Add that to the constant improvements in technology and the rapid pace of new phones being released and you may find your next phone is a Wi-Fi phone.
Wi-Fi Phone Comparison
