A Look Back On a Year Journey from Prototype to Product Release – Skype WiFi Phones

• 8/1/2005: The first information leaked to the public about the Skype WiFi Phone is at here. Jaanus, the marketing guru at Skype, shared the on-going project to build a Skype PCless WiFi phone on Skype.com. There was no pictures, just some simple descriptions. The secret project did aroused a lot of interests in the Skype community.

• 8/1/2005: Bill Campbell @ SkypeJournal blogged about the Skype WiFi Phone prototype. His prediction about the price was under $150. Good prediction, Bill, not on the price, but on the “have a bit of a wait” part. It turned out that “a bit of a wait” = “a whole year of waiting.”

• 11/5/2005: Accton and Skype announced to team up to make Internet free calling even more accessible. See the Attcon press release at here.

• 11/7/2005: Attcon debuted the first PC-less standalone Skype WiFi phone (model name: VM1185-T) at the “Skype Day in Japan” event: Hmm… the baby was born two days after the marriage. Skype and Accton must have done some secret dating for quite some time. See the News in Chinese.

• 1/4/2006: Networking product maker Netgear and Skype unveiled the first WiFi phone designed to work on Skype’s internationally popular voice over IP service, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2006 @ Las Vegas): “We will be able to (multiply by 10) the number of Skype users around the world,” said Netgear CEO Patrick Lo. See the news at CNet.

• 3/9/2006: Accton wins IF product design award in the Consumer Electronics / Telecommunications category: “…contrast to the mass of ‘over-styled’ cell phones currently on the market. The phone’s slim appearance stems from its sleek white cover and the slightly angled, silver-colored rear bezel.” Accton then showcased the award-winning phone at the CeBIT 2006 in Hannover, German. See Torben Nyhuus’ photos (taken at CeBIT) @ SkypeJournal.

• 4/11/2006: Amazon.com announced the availability of the pre-order of the Netgear Skype WiFi phone SPH101. The Netgear Skype WiFi phone is ranked as #1151 in electronics as to the date we write this article (9/16/2006). See the Netgear Skype WiFi phone SPH101 product page @ Amazon.com.

• 5/1/2006: Netgear announced Skype WiFi phone pricing and pre-order availability: The MSRP is $249.99. The pre-order can be placed through Skype store and other e-commerce partners. See the Netgear press release.

• 7/18/2006: Amazon.com announced the availability of the pre-order of the Belkin Skype WiFi phone F1PP000GN-SK. The Belkin Skype WiFi phone is ranked as #15611 in electronics as to the date we write this article (9/16/2006). See the Belkin Skype WiFi phone F1PP000GN-SK product page @ Amazon.com.

• 7/20/2006: Skype unveiled the four vendors, SMC, Edge-Core, Netgear, and Belkin, for the world’s first Skype WiFi phone. See the press release at here.

• 7/20/2006: SMC Networks is the first to deliver certified and tested WiFi Phones for Skype. SMC offers full quantity shipments to its partners across Asia with an initial English Language version. See the press release at here.

• 9/12/2006: Netgear announced to ship Skype WiFi phone in volume. See the press release at here.

• 9/14/2006: Attcon design base Skype WiFi PCless Phone received certification from the Skype UK test lab. See the press release in Chinese at here.

• 9/20/2006: AmperorDirect.com plans to ship out the SMC Skype WiFi phone on this date. See the product page at AmperorDirect.com.

• A more simple milestones list:

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