UTStarcom
GF210 Review
Dual
mode GSM/VoIP mobile telephone
The
much anticipated UTStarcom GF210 dual GSM/VoIP phone has arrived
to the shelves or U.S. retailers in time for the Christmas
shopping season. The initial delay and renaming of the phone
from GF200 to GF210 are attributed to last minute engineering
challenges.
The
mobile phone will be battle tested in the coming months and
we expect to expand this review as new data come in. One thing
is certain -- UTStarcom GF210 boldly follows the footsteps
of trendsetting WiFi VoIP predecessors F1000g and F3000.
What
is so special about this telephone? It integrates two technologies
in one. It is a GSM tri-band mobile phone and a WiFi VoIP
phone in one slick package. Today's smartphones also combine
the two technologies but a couple of things set the GF210
apart.
The
first thing is the price. The phone retails for around $250
U.S. which is half the price of most smartphones.
The
second thing is the integration of the WiFi phone into the
physical hardware. Smartphones require download and installation
of SIP capable clients like Gizmo Project in order to make
calls over the Internet. UTStarcom GF210 does not require
installation of any additional VoIP software. It is ready
to go straight out of the box.
Fixed
Mobile Convergence technology behind this unit allows for
seamless call handover between the GSM and VoIP.
This
is a money saving feature which allows the phone to always
select the least expensive calling option. Let's say you initiate
a call in your office. The call is routed as a VoIP call through
the Internet. As you leave your office and drop the Internet
connection the GSM network kicks in. As you sit down to have
lunch at a coffee shop with free Internet access the unit
switches back to VoIP which is cheaper than cellular call.
You get the picture.
However,
no U.S. mobile carriers offer support for this technology
yet.
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