I bought the FR for what I did not have - freedom (was: Re: funny comment from a user, in response to the question of whether FR works as a daily phone:)

[Brian Wilson]

Paraphrasing Michael
> In what ways can you extend the FreeRunner...

I was looking at WiFi IP phones yesterday at Voipsupply.org and they
have some in the $300-$600 range.
They are targeted at "hospitality and healthcare" industry. They are
just WiFi phones, no GSM no Linux.
Both of these apps have staff that are constantly moving around and
don't have a desk phone.

Build an app that caters to these folks and adds together WiFi + GPS + GSM

For a hotel -- from the phone, check status of any room. Use the phone
as a master key for cleaning staff.

For medical staff that are on call, track their locations via GPS and
prioritize contacting staff that are closest to the hospital. Allow
staff to locate a patient from the phone -- eg not in room? might be
getting therapy.

When a phone leaves the building (loses WiFi VOIP registration) switch
to GSM and note it in the server.
This means you can run across the street to the bagel shop on a break
without being out of reach and you don't have to think about it. Just
go.

You might not be able to locate a smartphone accurately inside a
building with GPS but at a large facility you'd know which wifi access
point they were connected to so you'd know what building and possibly
what floor they were on.

There is lots of stuff that goes way beyond what a simple WiFi phone
could do and the hardware is in the same price range. All value added
most of it server based and relatively easy to protect private
information... so while I might not want someone I don't know tracking
my location via GPS if it's part of my job it could be very helpful to
me.

Brian