One Little IP Phone Issue and a Desired Item for an IP Phone

As I've mentioned previously, I have been saving a fair bit of money by using my Clear USB Modem, a CradlePoint PHS-300, and a Tekkeon MP3750 battery to allow me to have mobile VOIP on my Nexus One using the Sipdroid software and the PBXes.org service to integrate with my Google Voice setup.

All of the above gives me the ability to dial any number (free in US and Canada), receive calls, use GV voicemail to listen or translate messages, and get SMS Text messages. All of this is about $5/month in addition to my Clear subscription. Of course since I use Clear for my television programming, my home phone, and high speed Internet, that means instead of what used to be almost $300/month for everything I'm down to around $50/month.

With all that, you might wonder what I could possibly have to complain about. Well, it's a minor annoyance, but even after using Airplane Mode to conserve battery life (phone stops searching incessantly for a 3G/Voice signal), the lock screen still has a little "(No Service)" message. Really, Google? You create a phone that is designed to let folks avoid being locked in by the phone company, and then constantly complain about it if I don't have a SIM card in place?

This led me to the idea that I'd like to see for a "real" IP phone. Given the current state of batteries and electronics, why should I be able to add a shell or case to my phone that would let me plug the Clear modem into a recessed section, and then let the phone use the modem directly. I could drop the PHS device, and I suspect that the battery of the phone would only need to be souped up a bit since it wouldn't have to create as large a WiFi profile. This would also mean I'd have an IP phone that I could always keep "current" so that when 5G (or whatever the next generation is called) comes out, I just swap USB modems rather than needing a new phone with a fast enough radio, or having to replace the Cradlepoint, or...

If someone out there is a product design maven, consider that almost all Android phones have a USB port of some type (Micro or Mini most commonly) that the sleeve could connect to. So there's a fair sized audience of folks who already have the right device. Plus with T-mobile possibly going away, a fair number of folks who will be looking for a new service, who might prefer just to move to a Mobile VOIP solution. Heck, this might even be the sort of thing you could raise funding with on Kickstarter.

Feel free to thank me with a comp unit :-)