Polycom reinforced their leading position in the small and specialized market for voice handsets that operate over wireless LANs and gave the indication they are looking to raise the ante. Polycom is introducing two models, the 8440 and the 8450, which will include a bar code reader. That latter model is clearly a play at moving beyond WLAN voice toward a more functional device that could be used to support communications enabled business processes (CEBP).
At face value you would think that a device that allows users to make and receive voice calls over their wireless LAN infrastructure for almost no cost would be a true no-brainer. However, the voice over WLAN (VoWLAN) market has not progressed beyond a few specialized vertical markets. The more specialized market for dual mode Wi-Fi/cellular solutions has fared even worse. Even in the markets where VoWLAN has found acceptance, in particular health care, big box retail, and materials handling, they have been challenged at the low end by basic cordless phones (if you don't need that great a range in terms of mobility) and at the high end by cell phones. DECT systems that provide local mobile voice independent of the WLAN infrastructure have been a less significant competitor.
For the basic VoWLAN task, the 8440 moves Polycom out in front of the pack as the first such device that supports an 802.11n WLAN interface (Note: An 802.11n interface provides less of a capacity boost in WLAN voice as the radio is limited to one spatial stream [i.e. no MIMO] due to power concerns). We have yet to see an 802.11n-capable WLAN handset from Cisco, Siemens, Motorola, or Ascom. The small form factor (and small battery) Vocera Communications Badge is the least likely candidate for 802.11n. The new Polycom devices also incorporate all of the other features we look for in VoWLAN handsets including SIP-based signaling, 802.11e/WMM QoS, and 802.11i/WPA2 encryption. All of that is done in a rugged package that has been one of Polycom’s hallmarks.
The real eye-opener is the integrated bar code scanner included on the 8450; Motorola does incorporate a bar code scanner on their EWP-series WLAN handsets. The advent of tablet computers has opened the field regarding more functional mobile devices to enable mobile CEBP. For the most part those applications have depended on mobile computers like those from Motorola/Symbol Technologies and Intermec, or pure "Rube Goldberg" solutions like slapping a laptop on a wheeled cart (i.e. a "COW" or "computer on wheels").
As virtually all enterprise wireless LANs are in the process of or at least planning for an upgrade to 802.11n, Polycom's new devices will certainly help cement the company’s position in the traditional market for basic VoWLAN handsets, and will give them a functionality advantage at least in the short run.
The bigger and more interesting question, however, will be how well they capitalize on their ability to build additional functions into the device that will allow them to move up the value chain in CEBP and mobile unified communications. Tablets and mobile computers are also under consideration for CEBP applications in many of the same verticals as VoWLAN handsets, most particularly health care. The VoWLAN market will continue to crawl along, but packaging voice with other CEBP applications on the device could put Polycom on a different trajectory.
