Gizmodo: WIP320

Cisco Responds to iPhone GPL Clusterlovemaking - Open Source Wi-Fi Phone Coming?

Jason Chen — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:15:10 EST

Cisco's iPhone GPL violations may be delicious irony to Apple fans, but it's actually something even better to open source fans. How? Let us remind you of the Linksys WRT routers.

Yes, Cisco/Linksys has had problems with GPL before. From what we heard from the tech industry when that scandal hit (2003-ish), Linksys was borrowing freely from GPL and but not attributing it, a definite no-no. When Cisco purchased Linksys in 2003, they had a source code review and discovered the "oversight". After the obligatory "WTF do we do" meetings, Cisco decided to release the firmware into the open source community. This is why Linux hackers latched on and upgraded their router into a $600 beast.

Cisco is in much the same situation now. Linksys, their devision that made the iPhone WIP300, has borrowed from the GPL without attribution. What does this mean? Well, if Cisco is going to release the firmware for the WIP300 iPhone, that means open source coders are free to hack it to do whatever they want.

The WIP300 is a SIP phone, which is an open source standard for VoIP popularized by SIP VoIP provides and the project "Asterisk", which lets you roll your own VoIP at home with just a linux box. But if hackers get to this phone, they could possibly load it up with Skype, Google Talk, or MSN as well as SIP.

In any case, we look forward to Cisco's next step. – Jason Chen

Open Source Researcher Alerts Cisco to GPL Issue [Cisco]

Linksys Not-Apple-iPhone Details and Photos

Brian Lam — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 01:21:23 EST

In case you were wondering what the Linksys Not-Apple-iPhone looks like, here is one of them, the Wireless-G WIP320 Phone, which is Skype compatible. It's likely going to be functionally identical to the many others we've tested, except with a mode that will let it scan for WiFi access points before completely booting, and larger buttons.

The other is the CIT400, that can hit up a land line or act as a stand alone wireless Skype phone.

Linksys Not-Apple-iPhone [Gizmodo]

Linksys WIP300 VoIP Handset

tgrumet — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 16:37:02 EST

Seems we can look forward to a new Linksys VoIP handset by next week. The WIP300 uses any 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network, includes a POP email facility and has 1.8" color display—but it's going to cost you. The phone runs for $250 (when was the last time you spent that much on a non-cellular phone? 1982?), which Linksys claims it has actually marked down from $300. Thanks a lot guys.

However, the point is that it looks good and supports the SIP 2 VoIP standard while being able to link up with your POP 3 and SMTP servers for email access and delivery. No word yet on price.

Linksys preps VoIP handset pair [Reghardware]

More VoIP phones [Amazon]