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Panasonic`s Wi-Fi Phone For Skype

Panasonic Communications Co. Ltd. recently announced that it is planning to offer a Wi-Fi phone for the Skype Internet telephony service. According to Skype, it will be the first phone in Panasonic`s series of products that was planned by the company for the Voice over IP service used by more than 113 million people worldwide. The New York-based Panasonic, a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., said in a statement that the new products follow Internet calling as it enters the mainstream consumer market.

The new phone provides not only voice calls, but also access to Skype voicemail and call forwarding. The device would be able to make calls from public Wi-Fi access points, as well as from a home or office connection. The phone, which will be available in the fourth quarter, reflects the San Jose, Calif.-based company`s push to make its service available through devices other than the PC desktop, where the company launched its service.

Skype is not the first VoIP service provider to work with Panasonic. The phone maker announced in January that it was building a similar product for Skype rival Vonage Holdings Corp. Cellular phones with VoIP abilities started spreading over the market around the beginning of the year. Cingular Wireless, for example, is among the service providers offering Wi-Fi capable phones, as well as , a seller of discounted phone minutes.