Lotusblog

I was so moved I decided to make a new category.

Anyway, I called a friend (overseas) earlier today, and as always, spent the time before and after the call looking for updated IP Telephony software. It turns out that my telephony provider (Nikotel ) did in fact have a new version of software. But they had so much more than that.

They had this:

Technolust

You can read about it here , but basically it is a phone handset that looks for W-LANs so that it can connect to the internet to conduct calls. I’ll say that again, it automatically detects Wi-Fi hot-spots, and then when you make a call, you are using that network to wirelessly send and receive your voice packets. Did I say for free? And combined with the US telephone number that Nikotel will give you, this means that people can call you anywhere in the world, assuming of course that you’re within a 100 metres of Wi-Fi, on your Californian telephone number.

So that got my pulse going like it was no one’s business. But I was in for a bigger shock, when I came across this:

Technolust Redux

You can some beautiful pictures of it here , and read more about it, but basically, apart from being one of the coolest looking pieces of industrial design on the planet, it’s your standard GSM mobile phone with Wi-Fi built in.
Imagine this… you’re at home. You have a wireless network (who doesn’t?) and you call your buddy. The phone automatically uses Wi-Fi since it is available, and you’re happy, because it’s free. Buddy is telling you about the plot of Caligula and he’s taking a really long time and you have to be on a train in 10 minutes, but that’s OK, because you leave the house and walk to the elevator and just when the phone loses the the Wi-Fi signal from your house it automatically switches over to the GSM network. Seamlessly.