VoIP companies have been fighting for retail shelf space, with Vonage clearly taking the lead. One of the reasons it has been able to sign-up nearly 500,000 users setting a torrid pace. Packet 8, a service of 8X8 Inc, despite being an early entrant has struggled to catch up. But looks like they have help on hand – the biggest retailer on the planet, Wal-Mart, which is shipping Packet8 Broadband Phone Adapter for about $59. The retail giant is also selling the Packet 8 video phone for $499 after rebates.
Packet 8 also introduced a new dual port broadband phone adapter, the Packet8 BPA-410 at the VoN. It has two Ethernet ports and two RJ-11 phone service ports, enabling a customer to activate multiple Packet8 service plans without any additional hardware, and costs $70. Each phone jack operates independently, with separate Packet8 phone numbers and service. The second Ethernet port can be used to connect to a PC or other networked device, and eliminate the need for an extra switch. I wonder how soon the others introduce a similar adapter.
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