Linksys Launchs iPhone
The iPhone has been launched by Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems Inc. Everyone was expecting that Apple to bring out the phone, because Apple widely rumored to be working a cell phone-iPod combination of the same name. Cisco has owned the trademark on the name “iPhone” since 2000, when it acquired the company that originally registered the name, InfoGear Technology Corp. The Linksys phone is part of a family of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) handsets which place calls using internet connections rather than the radio frequency spectrum used by mobiles. It’s also allow users to switch over for traditional landline calling, search the Web and allow users to see when friends are online and ready to accept calls.
Voice applications are at the core of the iPhone family. However, with iPhone handheld devices, consumers can do more than just dial a phone number and wait to see if someone answers on the other end. Products in the iPhone product line integrate popular communication clients, like Skype and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice, to help enable real-time presence features that can allow consumers to see when their friends and family are online and ready to receive a call. With products in the iPhone family, callers can toggle between the free VoIP calling options available from Skype or Yahoo! and traditional landline service with the click of a button.
Since the summer of 2004, Linksys has shipped more than 3 million VoIP products worldwide, including seven phones in its iPhone product line:
- iPhone Cordless Internet Telephony Kit - CIT200 - Price: $79.99
- iPhone Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit - CIT300Â - Price: $99.99
- iPhone Dual-Mode Cordless Phone for Yahoo! Messenger with Voice - CIT310 - Price: $99.99
- New! - iPhone Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit for Skype - CIT400 - Price: $179.99
- iPhone Wireless-G IP Phone - WIP300 - Price: $219.99
- iPhone Wireless-G IP Phone with Web Browser - WIP330 - Price: $369.99
- New! - iPhone Wireless-G Phone for Skype - WIP320 - Price: $199.99.
[Via]Tags:Apple, Cisco, iPhone, Linksys, Skype, Yahoo!
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January 12th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
[…] “This issue is not about money, and it’s not about the phone itself; it is about Cisco’s obligation to protect its trademark in the face of Apple using it without our permission,” said Jon Noh, Cisco spokesperson, explained to BBC. Cisco Systems is suing Apple for trademark infringement in a US federal court, for using the iPhone name. After 30 months and millions of dollars in top-secret development, Apple has launched a sleek new iPod-cellular phone this week, using the name claimed by Cisco. Cisco is asking the court to forbid Apple from using the name “iPhone,” which Cisco has held a trademark on since 2000 and used to brand a line of its own Internet-enabled phones that began shipping last spring and officially launched three weeks ago. […]