Does Anyone Need VoWiFi-Cellular Combos?

from the how-big-is-that-market? dept

In the last few months, there's been a lot of talk about combined VoWiFi/cellular phones with the idea that you could use voice over a WiFi network, where available, and cellular connections where WiFi is missing. Even ignoring the point that most of the devices that have been announced combining a cellular phone with VoWiFi have been hideously crippled by their manufacturers to barely work at all the way you would expect (and the way they might be useful), some are now pointing out that maybe the market really isn't so big, something we've suggested before. There are potential innovative uses combining VoIP and WiFi, but this insistence on "cheaper" calls doesn't make much sense in a world where most people have a zillion minutes and no long distance fees. Also, the eWeek article oddly spends way too much time focusing on how VoWiFi could be useful in hospitals, without ever bothering to note that hospitals are now changing their policies and allowing mobile phones, now that they've shown the phones don't interfere with most medical equipment.