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Internet service provider (ISP) Vonage Inc. is offering a mashup of a USB memory stick and a pre-loaded softphone as yet another way of enticing mobile users to sign up for the company's Web-based long distance calling service. Vonage's hot orange V-Phone is as handy as a keychain, comes with a wired earpiece and attaches to a laptop's USB port, allowing users to make Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls via a high-speed Internet connection or WiFi network. The phone masquerading as a memory stick actually has an additional 250 MB of free space for data storage. Selling for $29.99 after a $20 instant rebate, the V-Phone certainly baits potential buyers with its low cost and hip associations, according to at least two experts. The V-Phone's launch last week followed the roll out of Vonage's Starcom F1000 WiFi -enabled mobile phone. "It's convenient and cool," said Jon Arnold, principal of telecom consultancy J Arnold & Associates in Toronto. Another Canadian analyst agrees. "It's a clever and imaginative idea. Your phone and data all on one stick," said Lawrence Surtees, director of telecommunication and principal analyst for Toronto-based IDC Canada Ltd. Both analysts, however, also see the V-Phone's launch as part of Vonage's attempt to be heard above the din of an increasingly competitive market. "The V-Phone is ideal for traveling business people, but it will also possibly appeal to students on the lookout for cool useful gadgets," said Bill Rainey, president of Vonage Canada. The V-Phone can be used on Windows PCs but does not work with the Mac OS X or Linux yet. Rainey said future models will come with one and two gigabytes of memory. "This phone does more than save you money on hotel phone bills and cell phone roaming fees. It can store contact lists, business documents, and even travel photos." He said the device provides "unparalleled portability" because users can keep their phone number wherever they travel and receive or make calls without incurring charges. Vonage's launch of two new products in quick succession stems, in part, from a need to make its presence felt in an increasingly competitive market, analysts say. | 
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