Method and apparatus for practicing IP telephony from an Internet-capable radio

A system for facilitating IP telephony practiced from an Internet radio device comprising:

• an Internet radio device having a dedicated Internet Protocol (IP) telephony mode for enabling one-touch initiation and call connection of a wireless IP telephone call to a recipient device;
• a network access station to a data-packet-network, the station accessible from the Internet radio device;
• a directory server connected to a data-packet-network for providing telephony and IP routing services, the directory server accessible from the Internet radio device;
• and
• at least one distributed IP telephony server connected to the data-packet-network for providing dedicated telephony routing services;
• characterized in that IP telephony calls are placed from the Internet radio device into the data packet network through the network access station and are routed over the network first by the directory server and then by the at least one IP telephony server.

A method for placing an IP telephone call from an Internet radio device, the device having a dedicated IP telephony mode for practicing telephony and for enabling one-touch initiation and call connection of an IP telephone call to a recipient device comprising steps of:

• (a) establishing a connection from the device to an IP network;
• (b) activating a mode selection feature to select telephony mode;
• and
• (c) activating one of pre-programmed indicia provided on the device, the activated indicia pre-programmed with at least the intended recipient's call data;