Vonage , the internet telephone company, has launched what is surely the world's smallest phone. The V-Phone is the size of a USB stick and is essentially a portable telephone landline.
The phone comes with the pre-installed Vonage Talk software, which makes the phone ready to be used once it's plugged into a broadband-enabled PC (it's not yet Mac compatible). You don't even have to restart your computer, which is handy. There's no battery, the V-Phone charges up from the computer's power supply.
The 250MB flash drive stores all user contacts and call records just like a standard mobile phone handset.
"Our new 'Plug and Go' portable telephone has been designed to offer consumers a flexible, convenient, easy-to-use telephone experience no matter where they are in the world," said Kerry Ritz, managing director of Vonage UK.
"One of the best features of the V-Phone is that customers are not limited to a particular PC or location to make or receive calls; they can now truly carry their landline in their pocket," he said.
A UK landline number is supplied through the phone and users can check their voicemail from any computer with broadband access and send voicemail attachments directly to any email account.
Retailing for £20, the V-Phone makes use of Vonage's flat-rate, full-featured £8-per-month calling plan. Users get free calls to any VoIP phone and low cost international and mobile rates. Other features like caller display, call waiting, call forwarding, voicemail, three-way calling, and calls to emergency services are also included.
The device measures a minute 78 x 21.5 x 15mm and weighs just 18g. It comes with a standard 2.5mm stereo earpiece microphone, which is compatible with many mobile phone headsets.
Our only reservation is the choice of colour - a stylish black or brushed aluminium would have looked so much nicer.
