Nintendo

Wii getting VoIP'ed

Doug Mohney — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:00:39 -0400

Nintendo rolls out a VoIP phone for the Wii, with the Wii Speak hardware and a bundle with the "Animal Crossing" game expected to hit shelves in Japan on November 20.

Wii Speak is a pretty simple piece of hardware, plugging into the Wii through a USB jack on one end. There's a grey box in the middle of the cable and a microphone unit that clamps on to a video display. Wii Speak will allow discussions with up to four "rooms" between Animal Crossing users.

Initially, Nintendo managers planned to keep Wii Speak and the "Animal Crossing: City Folk" together as a bundle, but have decided to offer both the game and the WiiSpeak hardware as separate items.

According to Wikipedia, there's also a Wii Speak channel for simple chatting; the new channel will supposedly launch on November 16. Users will be represented by their "Mii" avatar and the Mii will lip sync to their spoken words. Users will also have the ability to leave audio messages for other users and add audio comments for stored photos.

For more:
- Tech Radar picks up Wii Speak motion on their screens. Article.
- Wikipedia's most recently updated WiiSpeak entry.

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Sony releases VoIP head sets

Tom Burton — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Sony has released new VoIP headsets with hands-free capability. The headsets are designed to feature a high-enough quality audio speaker to be used for music and games as well as telephony ,for multi gaming, or normal conversation. The headsets come with a flexible, detachable USB microphone and "Silent Cap Design" noise-canceling technology, to reduce sound leakage. Sony has recently built VoIP technology into its PSP and had previously equipped its Playstation console with VoIP capability.

The headphones are available in black/silver and black/metallic orange colors. Many believe the IP hub for most homes will be based around gaming consoles with both Sony and Microsoft trialling IPTV via consoles.

For more:
- Sony adds color and voice to headsets Release

Related articles:
Sony VoIPs out the PSP Report
Mobile Nintendo as a VoIP platform? Report

Ten Mobile VoIP Phones

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:23:34 -0400

The spread of wireless broadband lends itself increasingly to mobile VoIP, which stimulates the market for compatible handsets. FierceVoIP has collected a short list of WiFi-enabled mobile devices that are either VoIP ready or in the hands of users intent on making them so. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so we welcome reader feedback. Know of a great mobile VoIP device? Let us know…

Click here to browse the list...

Also: Vote for your favorite VoIP handset from the FierceVoIP list