It takes more than the existance of a LINE port on a device to make it a PhoneGnome. There are various devices out there, often labeled DUAL MODE, that have been confused with PhoneGnome features and capabilities. One such example, is Andy’s reference to rumors that Microsoft will be selling a Uniden Dual PSTN/MSN phone at retail. Andy notes that it looks to be “a possible thrust at the same market that PhoneGnome has carved a nitch [sic] with.”

There are major and fundamental differences between this Uniden WIN1200 phone (and other other such dual-mode devices) vs. PhoneGnome.

For starters, the Uniden phone connects to a Windows Live Messenger PC. It makes MSN calls through your PC which must be turned on. Taken directly from the WIN1200 Owners Manual, among the requirements in order to use the Uniden phone:

To make and receive PC calls, your computer must be turned on and signed in to Windows Live” Messenger.

That’s a pretty big difference from PhoneGnome, a stand-alone device. With PhoneGnome, your computer does NOT need to be turned on to make FREE SIP-to-SIP calls (including FREE PhoneGnome-to-PhoneGnome calls or calls to any of millions of other SIP numbers around the world).

Another major difference between phones like the Uniden phone and PhoneGnome is related to how they handle inbound calls to your existing phone number. With PhoneGnome, VoIP-enabled features like voicemail-to-email work, even for POTS calls arriving via your landline. Typical so-called DUAL-MODE devices like this Uniden phone don’t have the capability for anything like that. They really are two separate phones (thus the dual-mode tag). In contrast, PhoneGnome is a seamless integration of VoIP and the existing POTS service. Calls are calls, whether VoIP or POTS and the same functions and features apply in all cases. One doesn’t have to actively select whether they want to place a VoIP call or POTS call. You just dial and PhoneGnome does the right thing.

The real-world experience of a dual-mode phone vs. the experience with PhoneGnome are worlds apart. The above differences may sound subtlle, but it’s a completely different experience. In one case, the VoIP calls are kind of like a toy, or experiement, totally separate from my “real” calls, whereas in the PhoneGnome case, it IS my “real” phone, my only phone, handling my “real” calls.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 27th, 2006 at 4:39 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.