Vonage-to-go: softphone on a USB chip

Stuart Corner
Friday, 30 June 2006 08:34

Business IT - Technology

Vonage has launched the V-Phone, a USB memory stick with an embedded softphone and mike/earphone sockets that, it says, will allow its owner to use their Vonage phone account  from any PC.
The device is pre-configured with the user's ID and each time it is used updates its 256Mb  memory with call details and new contact details. "The V-Phone offers added convenience because phone call history and contacts travel with the V-Phone if customers insert it into different PCs," according to Vonage. It costs $US39.99 plus a $US9 activation fee and comes with a combined microphone and earphone.

Daniel Smires, Vonage's senior vice president of engineering, claimed that the device offered customers "the convenience of making phone calls wherever they are, simply by plugging into any laptop or PC with a high speed broadband internet connection."

However this would seem to be unlikely if the PC in question requires authorisation before it will install and run a new application.

The V-Phone was developed in conjunction with Ubistar and SJ Labs and requires, as a minimum, a PC running Microsoft 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. Vonage has given no indication of any plans for Apple Mac or  Linux versions.