Linksys will ship a new, slimline standalone VoIP handset next week, according to at least one US e-tailer which this week said it was accepting advance orders for the product, the WIP300. The device operates across any 802.11b/g Wi-Fi network, includes a POP email facility and sports a 1.8in colour display.

The WIP300 doesn't come cheap: VOIPSupply is offering the handset for $250, but it claims that's marked down from $300. For your money you get a mobile phone-like unit that supports the SIP 2 VoIP standard and can reach across the WLAN to your POP 3 and SMTP servers for email access and delivery. If your ISP supports it, the handset will receive SMS text messages too.

According to the e-tailer, it expects to begin shipping pre-orders on 16 February, three months after the results of Linksys' regulatory testing of the handset's radio was published along with photos and a copy of the manual on the US Federal Communications Commission's website.

Interestingly, those documents have the device down as the WIP330, which has a slghtly different design, incorporates an antenna stub, has a speakerphone facility and sports a larger, 2.2in 240 x 320 display. The user manual contains pictures of the handset's UI that would be immediately familiar to anyone who's used Nokia's Series 60 interface - though that's clearly not what the Linksys machine is running. ®