Broadcom Powered Wi-Fi Phone For Skype

• Tweet

Broadcom, a leading semiconductor manufacturer for wired and wireless communications, has announced that Skype software is now available on the Broadcom Wi-Fi Phone Platform and in New Handset From Buffalo. The Buffalo Wi-Fi phone looks to be another me-too Wi-Fi phone for use with Skype.

The Buffalo Wi-Fi phone will support traditional calling to and from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) through the SkypeIn(TM) and SkypeOut(TM) offerings, using IEEE 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity and a high-speed Internet connection. The handset features include a high-resolution color display, speakerphone and Buffalo’s AOSS easy configuration protocol. The Buffalo Wi-Fi phone will be Skype Certified(TM) and available for the Japanese market in November 2006. It is not yet known if or when this product will show up in the US. The handset comes with everything built-in to connect to Skype via any personal, business or free public Wi-Fi access point that does not require browser authentication. As Tom Keating points out though, the lack of a browser for authentication purposes is a real drag.

Overall the Buffalo Wi-Fi phone utilizing the Broadcom Wi-Fi phone platform is nothing original and does not do anything to push forward the innovation in Wi-Fi Skype phones.