By What’s that? A 4G phone with Android for only $100? If the folks at HelloSoft have anything to do with
it that is exactly what we will be seeing. Today they announced their TriPhone, a tri-mode WiMAX/GSM-EDGE/WLAN reference phone developed with Comsys Mobile and aimed at bringing 4G accessibility to as many people as possible, increasing the mass-market appeal of WiMAX coverage.
With HelloSoft coming from a background in VoIP technologies the phone isn’t lacking in that department either, featuring an optimized VoIP stack and Convergence Client running on a low-power HS100 IP convergence processor. The shift towards using data for voice calling rather than your plans minutes is a move echoed by Verizon and many in the mobile industry, creating more cost effective plans in line with the newer mobile technologies.
While specific release information is not available, the phone was shown off last week at Computex and should be seeing the light of day sometime soon. What carriers it ends up on (if any in the US) remains to be seen.
If this can really be bought for $100, then sign me up! Just need a data-only plan to go along with it. It’s already possible to do this using Google Voice and a SIP VOIP provider, but it’s a bit complicated.
I am hoping this phone comes to market quickly. I would purchase this from any website which makes it available for USD$100 I also hope the rates for calling mobiles or land lines are free or very very inexpensive.