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Skype is about to release a wifi enabled phone for mobile VOIP usage.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060720-7308.html

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Skype preps WiFi phones for launch

7/20/2006 10:26:23 AM, by Eric Bangeman

Skype has grown in popularity since its launch, and recent moves like allowing free calling within the US and Canada have served to entice even more users into giving the VoIP service a shot. We've found it useful for communication across the vast expanses of the Orbiting HQ, and I've recently begun using it for some of my own long-distance calls. The limiting factor, of course, is that users are tethered to their PCs or the range of special cordless phones designed to work with the service.

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Skype users will soon be untethered, thanks to a new lineup of WiFi phones. Scheduled for introduction later this month and in August, the phones from NETGEAR and Belkin will come preloaded with Skype software and can be used at any open WiFi spot. While the phones are pricey, starting at US$189 for the Belkin phone, they could prove attractive for those who frequent locations bathed in WiFi like college campuses.

The phones feature integration with your Skype contact list, up to three hours of talk and 50 hours of standby time, and the NETGEAR handset also features support for WEP and WPA, so you're not just limited to open networks.

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WiFi phones themselves are not new. At CES, Vonage was showing off some WiFi handsets made by Audiovox. Vonage's phones can also be used with protected WAPs, as the Audiovox model has the ability to store four base station IDs and passwords. As you might be able to guess, entering a 26-digit hex key on a phone is rather annoying, but once it's in and stored, the phone itself works well. I was able to make calls from within my house and over open WAPs with no trouble, although I found the battery life limiting.

In the mobile phone space, the true holy grail is a handset that works seamlessly across cellular and WiFi networks, and while a handful of such phones have launched, such functionality is nowhere near commonplace. The VoIP handset market could become quite interesting once municipal WiFi networks are up and running, however. With a Skype (or other WiFi phone), some city dwellers might decide to drop both cellular and landline phones in favor of WiFi handsets. Factor in free calls in North America through the end of the year, and a US$189 handset doesn't look that expensive.

Trinity

will this be a clear call in rural ares where even cell service is blotchy?