Linksys has a cool new product on the market that should appeal to owners of the popular Linksys/Sipura line of Analog Adapters and SIP phones. The WBP54G adds 802.11G Wireless capabilities to any compatible Linksys/Sipura device, eliminating the need to run RJ45 network cable to network such devices.

Now you can locate a Linksys Phone Adapter or SIP Phone almost anywhere, without the cost and hassle of running network cables. The WBP54G was specially designed to convert a SIP phone or adapter into a wireless device, so it can connect to your home network without an Ethernet cable. This lets you put your phone where it’s most convenient for you, and not be constrained to the area around your Internet connection.

“To make installation even more convenient, the Wireless-G Bridge shares electrical power with the Phone Adapter, so only one AC Adapter (and wall plug) are needed. To get connected, just plug your existing Phone Adapter’s power jack to the Wireless-G Bridge, and the Bridge’s attached power and data cables to the Phone adapter. The included Setup Wizard makes it easy to configure the Bridge to your wireless network’s settings. To protect your data and privacy, all wireless transmissions can be encrypted with WEP or industrial-strength Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2) security.

UTStarcom has been one of several successful entrants into the WIFI VoIP handset space in recent months. Their initial product, the F1000, set the preliminary standard in terms of usability, feature set and price point. Other vendors including Hitachi-Cable and Zyxel have also brought wireless SIP handsets to market based on the 802.11XX WIFI standard.

The initial crop of wireless VOIP phones all seemed to have their own individual strengths and weaknesses. With the upcoming release of the F3000, UTStarcom seems to have built upon the successful foundation established with the F1000, and have set about addressing some of the limitations and inadequacies of first generation WIFI VOIP handsets.

The UTStarcom F3000 has added support for the current encumbent 802.11G Wireless standard.

The UTstarcom F3000 promises increased security with the addition of WPA encryption, which utilizes the temporal key integrity protocol (TKIP). TKIP utilizes a hashing algorithm to scramble the keys and, by adding an integrity-checking feature, ensures that the keys have not been tampered with.

User authentication, which is generally missing in WEP, through the extensible authentication protocol (EAP). WEP regulates access to a wireless network based on a computers hardware-specific MAC address, which is relatively simple to be sniffed out and stolen. EAP is built on a more secure public-key encryption system to ensure that only authorized network users can access the network.

The preliminary spec we have seen for the UTStarcom F3000 promises to address one of the major factors which has limited the mass-adoption potential of first generation Wireless VoIP handsets, namely Handover/Roaming between different AP and SSID. The ability to “roam” between various access points and SSID within a WIFI network, without losing call connectivity of SIP registration in the process, will seriously bolster the case for WIFI VOIP adoption.

Finally, some aesthetic enhancements are evident in the new F3000, including a larger, color LCD screen and a clamshell form factor typical of current mobile/cellular/GSM phones.