Vonage Aims To Stay On Its Growth Path With New Equipment; Firm Nearing 400,000 Users; Company will unveil range of devices at Vegas show; cable firms make gains too.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE

When Vonage Holdings unveils new gear at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, the company should have something to crow about.

The Edison, N.J.-based startup, which sells phone service via the Internet, says it's nearing 400,000 subscribers. Not bad for a company that had just 85,000 users at the end of 2003.

Even so, 2005 could be a challenging year for Vonage. Cable TV firms and others are rolling out their own online phone services, which rely on a technology called VoIP, or voice over Internet protocol.

With VoIP competition growing, Vonage looks to woo consumers with snazzy new equipment. At the show, Vonage and partners will demonstrate a new videophone, a Wi-Fi phone that whisks voice calls along wireless Internet networks, and a new cordless phone with built-in VoIP adapter.

All three products should be available in early 2005, says Vonage Chief Executive Jeffrey Citron.

"Our thrust for at least the first half of 2005 is continuing to bring a large array of products to market that work with Vonage's service," he said.