We reported on this a couple of weeks ago, and it looks like Cisco’s new WiFi phone, the 7290, is finally out. Although it’s aimed at companies with voice over IP phone systems and meant to be used on “coroporate campuses,” eventually you should be able to use the 7290 anywhere there’s a WiFi hotspot:
[D]own the road Cisco wants to build a virtual private networking capability into the handset so that the phone will work at public hotspots. Using a VPN lets you connect back to your corporate network over any Internet connection while encrypting the traffic to prevent eavesdroppers and network snoops from seeing your data. What it would allow in this case is the potential for the Wi-Fi network at an airport to become a connection for a Wi-Fi handset—again allowing you to make and receive calls as though you were at your desk.
