Bellevue,
Wash. – Carrier T-Mobile will expand its Wi-Fi calling service to Android
phones for the first time when the previously announced T-Mobile MyTouch and
Motorola Defy become available later this year.
The carrier also said it plans to offer built-in
Wi-Fi calling “for a wide selection of Android-powered smartphones” in the
“coming months.” Current non-Android phones incorporating Wi-Fi calling include
the Nokia E73 Mode, BlackBerry Curve 3G, BlackBerry Bold 9700 and BlackBerry
Curve 8520.
The
expansion of Wi-Fi calling is “part of our ongoing initiatives on behalf of our
customers to enhance indoor coverage,” said Torrie Dorrell, T-Mobile’s VP of connected
family products and services.
Wi-Fi
calling for Android phones will be ready to use out-of-the-box for businesses to
make voice calls and send SMS messages from their phone via any 802.11b/g/n
access point or in T-Mobile’s public Wi-Fi hot spots.
For
the home, T-Mobile calls its Wi-Fi calling service the
service, but
that product is no longer actively marketed, and the new Android phones will
not support the home service, a spokesman said.
