The D-Link V-Click is an unlocked GSM phone with built-in WiFi that essentially paves the way for mass market phones like, drumroll please, the iPhone. D-Link isn’t in the “business” of making and selling phones, obviously, which is what makes this tri-band device so interesting. It costs about $599.99 and can receive email, has a web browser and a single button for switching from GSM to WiFI.
While I’m almost certain this thing will disappear in the dustbin of electronics history – there’s just no demand for this phone outside of certain business applications – this, along with Nokia’s efforts at sneaking their GSM models into the market by avoiding carriers entirely, means that cellphones are no longer tethered to a service plan and that slowly but surely the America will figure out that phones aren’t the things you get at the T-Mobile store for $29.99.
D-Link are just a re-seller of somebody else’s phone and at $599.99, and an expensive one.
Another unlocked, facilities rich, SIP based WiFi/GSM phone is to be found at http://www.mazingo.tv and is available at $440.00, using your exisiting GSM SIM card and for around $100 less if you sign-up for a new account from your independent retailer of cellular phones.
Advantages: WiFi VoIP calls are substantially cheaper than GSM especially if you travel overseas and you can also receive your data and TV channels directly to your handset at zero cost via a local hotspot, something GSM cannot offer and charges an extortionate price for.
With the high quality of VoIP calls today, the Mazingo Voyager handset can pay for itself extremely quickly if you have to make and receive calls when overseas.