Uniden America Corporation and Microsoft Corp. have announced an alliance in North America to deliver a digital cordless phone that serves as a traditional landline phone and also enables customers to make and receive Internet calls via the upcoming Windows Live Messenger phone.
The WIN 1200, a 5.8GHz digital cordless phone, integrates Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony with a landline, enabling consumers to stay connected throughout the home.
With the WIN 1200, customers will have three calling choices with the solution: free PC-to-PC calling through Windows Live Messenger allowing users to place and receive voice calls; MCI Web Calling offering Windows Live Messenger users a low-cost PC-to-phone outbound calling option; and traditional landline phone service.
As a hardware extension to the Windows Live Messenger service, the WIN 1200 displays the Messenger contact list allowing customers to see their friends’ online status and Messenger icon when logged into the service from virtually anywhere in the house and place calls to those contacts.
This ability to notify a Windows Live Messenger user when another user is connected to the network and capable of receiving communication through the Messenger interface is known as presence technology. The WIN 1200 now extends the reach of presence technology by delivering notification options on the cordless handset, which can be used throughout the home or office, and eliminates the need for consumers to remain attached to their computer for communication.
Using the Uniden WIN 1200, Windows Live Messenger users will also be able to place 3-way Internet conference calls. The WIN 1200 connects to the PC via a USB cord and includes integri.sound for life-like audio, a handset speakerphone, a full color LCD screen, the ability to download the Messenger contact list to the handset phonebook, and a user-friendly interface with soft key menu options and joystick navigation.
Windows Live Messenger, the upcoming successor to MSN Messenger, which has more than 200 million active accounts around the world, is currently in limited beta and expected to be more broadly available later this year.
The cordless phone was shown during the 2006 International CES in Las Vegas, and will be available with a suggested price of US$99.99
