ooma versus PhoneGnome

I do not have an ooma.
I do not have a PhoneGnome.
I have a responsibility to convey as much information as I can obtain about both.

Last week, ooma Founder and CEO Andrew Frame was gracious enough to engage in a little back-and-forth with FierceVoIP. One of my questions was derived from the online community of blogging engineer types who know miles more about VoIP technology than I will ever hope to.

When ooma was unveiled in June, it was cooed over by a majority of trade hacks like the cuddly alien in E.T. ooma, after all, looks cool. And let's be honest here. The buttons are the size of dinner plates compared to the handheld things we're all carrying around. What boomer doesn't secretly love that?

Meanwhile, the aforementioned engineer types were saying, "Hey, isn't that the same thing as PhoneGnome?" I had never heard of PhoneGnome, but the level of chatter motivated me to poise the question to Mssr. Frame. He answered, I published, and immediately heard from the designer and proprietor of PhoneGnome, one Mssr. David Beckemeyer, aka "Mr. Blog," aka former chief technology officer and co-founder of EarthLink.

Mssr. Beckemeyer understandably took issue and requested the opportunity to respond to Mssr. Frame's comparison of ooma and PhoneGnome. His response will be featured in the Monday, Sept. 10 edition of FierceVoIP, which will be published from the halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center, where I will be chairing IPTV Evolution 2007. This year's event has some of the most dynamic and insightful panelists in the IPTV arena, and I hope you'll join me for this one-day crash course in a burgeoning industry.

Also, if you haven't already done so, check out my exchange with Mssr. Frame here at FierceVoIP, and feel free to join the dialog.

I look forward to sharing Mssr. Beckemeyer's input with you next week. Drop me a note if you're a white rabbit, a PhoneGnomer, or if you just wish to share your thoughts at dmcadams@fiercemarkets.com. -D.