Vonage is about to launch a WiFi phone. This is the phone I’ve been waiting for! Unfortunately, I just signed up with Verizon Wireless for a two year contract that works in conjunction with OnStar and I’m thinking that will be about 6-12 months that I wish I didn’t have a subscription, but that widely depends on WiFi coverage area which is currently not widespread enough to replace a cell phone. One of my 2005 predictions, however, was wider WiFi coverage including entire cities blanketed with WiFi coverage (Seattle being one specific city I named) and if this comes true, the cell phone carriers better soon starting fear counseling.

The phone, expected to cost about $100, will let subscribers use their Vonage VoIP accounts from WiFi hotspots, but there are a bunch of questions. While this does appear to be one of the first widely marketed attempts at consumer VoWiFi, it’s still not clear there’s really that much demand for this type of solution. Most people savvy enough to want one of these will already have a mobile phone. While it’s true that VoIP won’t eat up minutes the way cellular plans do, most cellular plans offer such large buckets of minutes and free long distance, making them effectively flat-rate as well.

At least in my own case, I disagree with Mike here: I’ve been trying to get away from cell phones and even went nearly three months without one. If not for getting OnStar in our new Saturn Relay and the trade shows this week, I probably would have passed on buying a cell phone for at least another couple months. I am looking for a 400mhz or better processor smart phone to replace the semi-decent picture phone I bought when setting up the account. We also got our oldest son, Jowl, his first cell phone (good chance for him to learn some responsibility on that front).

Speaking of Verizon Wireless and camera phones, I’m on the phone with them (on hold) as I write this because I’m not receiving text messages. 

Money savings tip: if you take a picture and upload it through the phone to Pix Place there’s no sending charge (otherwise it’s 25 cents per picture or a monthly fee for a small number of pictures — ouch). I like how Sprint had unlimited plan for internet and pictures but it seems like Verizon doesn’t offer these type of unlimited plans (They do have one for the internet, just not the pictures).

Did this post make you go hmm?

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