iPhone users will now be able to use a SIP application directly when connected to WiFi hotspots to make free or reduced cost calls over the internet.

This brings the iPhone in line with other WiFi enabled smartphone which have SIP functionality directly available.

Sipgate appear to be offering their free iPhone product via their USA, UK and Austrian websites although, if the software is truly SIP compliant, there shouldn’t be any geographic limitations to its use.

The original question posed is by someone using a Linksys WRT54G wireless broadband router with Bittorrent and other high-bandwidth applications to consider. Unfortunately, the WRT54G isn’t quite cutting it when used alongside Vonage.

Inevitably for Slashdot, there is some gravitation toward open-source products. Open firmware for the WRT54G is suggested by some while another comment mentions that m0n0wall, an open-source firewall VPN distribution, can be deployed on relatively low-end commodity hardware and provides the type of QoS required.

The Jaxtr service appears to involve adding a widget to your website which then allows your website visitor to call you directly, send you a voicemail using VoIP or send an SMS to your mobile phone.

Jaxtr also offer reduced-cost distance/international calling services.

iCall allows you to route your incoming cellular network calls to your iPhone via VoIP when you are connected to a WiFi hotspot. You can also send and receive VoIP calls over WiFi.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Watch the demonstration video for more information.

This will enable others to develop new applications and add-ons for the fring platform.

The fring platform supports mobile devices such as the Symbian Series 60, Sony Ericsson UIQ, Windows Mobile 5 & 6 and the iPhone.

As a network, fring also integrates with Skype, AIM, Twitter, Google Talk and the industry standard SIP protocol.

Andy makes a point that the new Video-oriented interface for Skype 4.0 lends itself to rich-media contextual advertising being piped to the client while they make calls.

Perhaps, in future, you may find yourself watching an advert before you can place a video call.

You can download the Skype 4.0 Beta for windows but a note in Andy’s article references Jim Courtney for Skype Journal saying you should only install it on a spare machine.

This is a regular bug fix version, a complete changelog can be found here.

When deployed, Bria (and presumably other SIP standard) users will be able to dial a four digit number to create a conference on the Quick Conference server.

Quick Conference features web-based administration, IBM Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook calendar integration and remote management via PDA.

Listed and reviewed in the article are Nokia’s own Gizmo, Truphone, EQO, Skype, fring and Yeigo
.

The article updates an earlier review of S60 Voice over IP applications.

Google have previously stated that they do not intent to produce their own hardware, rather they intend to develop the Linux based ANDROID mobile phone software platform for deployment on partner’s devices.

There is further speculation about whether some devices might be available around Christmas time.