Japanese speak to the Wi-Fi handset

The Wi-Fi phone market is set to heat up as a maker has announced a handset that can do web browsing and email, in addition to voice.

IP Talk, a subsidiary of electronics firm Mitsubishi Electric, will sell a phone that works on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) only. It will operate only when in the hotspot of a Wi-Fi (802.11b) access point, according to Nikkei Electronics Asia Online.

Networking equipment giant Cisco previously announced it will sell its own Wi-Fi phone, the Cisco 7920 in Japan from July, said the report.

Wi-Fi handsets can be used in zones covered by a wireless LAN access point, such as construction sites, hospitals, offices and warehouses.

The 7920 phone - which lacks email and web features - is essentially a wireless version of Cisco's 7960 IP phone, which uses a wired Ethernet connection to make and receive telephone calls. However, the 7920 will have a wireless handset that uses an office's Wi-Fi network to connect.

Cisco will have plenty of competition when it introduces the 7920, especially from Wi-Fi equipment maker SpectraLink, which sells a similar phone. Avaya and handset maker Motorola also are at work on their own versions.

The 7902G, at about $130, puts the company on par in price with competitors, including SpectraLink. Several analysts, including the Meta Group, estimate that the average price of an IP phone is between $125 and $135.

CNET News.com's Ben Charny contributed to this report.