World's Best WiFi SIP Phone

[wardmundy]

http://nerdvittles.com/index.php?p=228

 

[titodj]

Very nice indeed....
Two things, do you need to take out the sim card to place sip calls? And if no, can you use G3 to call?

Mhhh and a third...

Why to disable WiFi Access Point scanning?

Best regards, and congrats on a great article.

 

[ricoche]

Indeed Great Article. Thank you!

Another question. Do you need to have the Nokia N95? I checked the prices on that phone and it's quite expensive. The Apple iPhone is half the price I believe and it can also use SIP with 3rd Party applications if correct. I may be misinformed about that though.

I am curious why you chose the N95 has a feature phone for your article and whether other phones may exist that can do the same thing. I am very interested in a WiFi Sip enabled phone without a carrier to make calls around the world. Currently I'm in Japan and tied to my Aastra. The Nokia is not here, but the iPhone just arrived. Thanks!

Jim

 

[lopaka]

Nice, but a little expensive for me. Are there any lower price range phones that can accomplish similar functionality?

 

[wardmundy]

1. No need to remove the SIM to use SIP.
2. Can't use G3 to place SIP calls. They'd sound lousy anyway.
3. Disabling scanning keeps the phone connected to WiFi.
4. You still can click on Scan Network on face of phone when you need it.
5. Not available for iPhone... at least yet.
6. Does work on a number of other phones. Search for yours at Gizmo Mobile
7. Also works on Nokia 770 Tablet for under $200

 

[krzykat]

Something to keep in mind here with Ward showing off the Nokia N95 is that these phones have native SIP built into the phone. Although there are other phones that can do SIP such as WinMobile phones, they are doing so at a cost to the CPU on the phone. The N95 was made with the SIP client as an integral part of the phone. There are a number of other Nokias that have this ability as well right now. They include:
E61, E71, N80ie, E65, E66, E61i, N95, E90, N95 8gb, E51, N81 8gb, N82. For updates, please consult the chart at: http://www.forum.nokia.com/main/res...ce_over_IP/voip_support_in_nokia_devices.html and you want VoIP Rel 2.0 or greater.

Side Note: BUYER BEWARE ... I purchased an N82 off of Ebay, ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170250303067 ) and it just came in today ... It's a FAKE !!! means no WIFI (it even said WALN scanning turned off instead of WLAN). No GPS working either.

 

[ricoche]

Side Note: BUYER BEWARE ... I purchased an N82 off of Ebay, ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170250303067 ) and it just came in today ... It's a FAKE !!! means no WIFI (it even said WALN scanning turned off instead of WLAN). No GPS working either.

Would anyone happen to know where I could purchase a Nokia N95 that would be genuine and unlocked with all the necessary features in this article? I checked Ebay, but like the above post I am unsure about what could be fake and what is not. Also I checked Amazon but someone mentioned that they are not an authorized dealer. I need to be able to have this mail ordered online. Any idea would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[wardmundy]

Watch for sales! We picked ours up off CompUSA a couple weeks ago for $397 with a $20 rebate which we already have received. If you buy off eBay, make sure the ad says that the phone has WiFi, GPS, etc. and pay with PayPal.

 

[krzykat]

This is the red beauty that I believe Ward moved in on: http://www.compusa.com/applications...EM106&cm_mmc=Email-_-Phone-_-COMEM106-_-Phone

It was one HELL of a good deal. An extra word on using Ebay ... yes, use PayPal, and "B" make sure you use it in conjunction with a credit card. This way if PayPal gives you a hard time, your credit card company will be more friendly and back you up.

I've bought a couple Nokia E65's on Ebay, and they have all been legit and at good prices (around $200 each as of late)

 

[ricoche]

Yeah, that red one was a great deal. I've been looking around and the only half way decent "genuine" deal I've been able to find is from the same company but in black.

http://www.compusa.com/applications...?EdpNo=3323669&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs

It's about 70-75 bucks higher in price.

 

[jdaustin]

There are a few wifi IP phones on voipsupply:
http://www.voipsupply.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=wifi+sip

 

[wardmundy]

Different league! I've got several if someone would like to buy the lousy stuff at half price, I'd be delighted.

 

[krzykat]

EXACTLY. Listen - the Zyxel wifi works great too for a $100 device, but what it does comparatively is night and day.

 

[phinphan]

Newegg has the E71 (full qwerty keyboard) with an 8 gig sd card for $399 or so. You can also sign up for cash back with microsoft live (www.live.com) and get 2 or 3 % cash back on the purchase if you go to newegg from live.com.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875205116

You can couple it with an at&t pre-paid sim and add unlimited medianet 3g for $19.99 per month and use skype, gizmoproject, fring or trumobile to make nearly free calls over 3g when you are out of wifi range. If you have tmobile, you can add unlimited internet to your plan and also get all the tmobile and starbucks wifi hotspots for wifi calling. That is around $20 per month.

 

[ricoche]

Does the E71 mentioned above have all the VOIP goodies that the N95-3 has? The E71 looks tempting. Thanks!

 

[wardmundy]

Looks like it has all of the goodies. I'll let you know when the UPS truck arrives.

 

[phinphan]

Many Best Buys with the new cell phone sections have the E71 for you to look at and feel in your hands. It is incredibly small and thin, on par with a Tmobile Dash but much nicer.

 

[phinphan]

I could not resist and went down to Best Buy and bought an E71 to try out. It is incredibly slick to use. I could not figure out the sip setup or how to configure the stun server but I used fring instead and now have it registered as an extension on my system. I was able to use it pretty well over at&t 3g. By using Fring I was able to take advantage of my skype unlimited minutes for calling out as well. The phone is quite small and has a good keyboard. The email client is not up to par with the Windows Mobile 6.1 client so I am not sure I will keep it. Can't wait to see how Ward configures it.

 

[someguysname]

Not being able to sync to exchange is a deal killer for me (maybe I missed this feature somehow?). Windows mobile might not have the best battery life, but it fits the enterprise so much better that I am willing to overlook it...

On that note though, my Tilt gets about 3 days worth on one charge using internet, syncing to exchange, tons of text messages, and moderate talking. I dont use wifi (or bluetooth) though. I've never really had a need for it on my phone with 3G coverage /shrug

 

[phinphan]

It syncs with Exchange just fine. It has a mail for exchange client that syncs mail, calendar, contacts and tasks. It would be mostly useless for me without that function.