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In a series of joint press announcements at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Vonage Holdings Corp. announced a number of new partnerships with leading providers of telephone devices.
VTech Holdings Ltd., a manufacturer of corded and cordless telephones, announced a 5.8GHz phone that has a built-in terminal adapter that connects to Vonages VOIP (voice over IP) service via a home broadband connection. The ip8100s base station plugs directly into a broadband router and distributes the Vonage VOIP service wirelessly to up to 4 phones, and eliminates the need for a separate terminal adapter.
In a second joint press release, Vonage announced a partnership with UTStarcom Inc. to provide portable Wi-Fi handsets. Expected to be available to Vonage subscribers sometime during the spring or summer of 2005, the UTStarcom F-1000 Wi-Fi Handset enables Vonage subscribers to make VOIP calls from Wi-Fi networks.
The F-1000 is expected to be bundled with the Vonage service and will be available at retail outlets.
Finally, Viseon Inc. announced the next generation of its VisiFone, designed to enhance VOIP telephony with video. Leveraging the consumers broadband connection, the VisiFone enables consumers to preview voice mail on screen or route calls to voice mail. The integrated terminal adapter eliminates the need for a separate piece of hardware.
Viseon will be demonstrating the new VisiFone both in their booth (8202) as well as Vonages booth (36163).