Psion takes stake in US voice-over-IP firm

Psion has spent $2.2m on a three per cent stake in Quicknet Technology, a US company that sells voice-over-IP products.

Psion has spent $2.2m on a three per cent stake in Quicknet Technology, a US company that sells voice-over-IP products.

Quicknet will work with Psion's modem subsidiary, Psion Dacom, to enable users to make voice calls over the internet using mobile devices such as notebooks and mobile phones.

Stacey Reineccius, Quicknet's chief executive, said that the integration of Psion Dacom's modems and Quicknet's voice-over-IP phone card technology would allow users to send and receive voice calls and surf the internet using current dial-up connections.

"Users can send and receive voice and data traffic using low-speed modems on dial-up connections," he said.

But he refused to disclose when the two companies would start shipping the joint offerings, although he said they would initially develop complementary products that they would both market.

In the second half of this year, Psion Dacom is also expected to ship a voice-over-IP Type II PC card to enable mobile users to make phone calls over the Internet from their laptops.