SAN JOSE--Softphone developer Xten Networks announced a deal at the Voice on the Net show here this week that it is bundling its eyeBeam softphone product with GN Netcom headsets for retail distribution in the U.S. and Canada. The deal marks the first retail store distribution of Xten's SIP software, which is used by service providers and enterprises around the world.

"This gives us much broader distribution and puts us on a worldwide playing field," said Bruce Gray, business development manager for Xten.

eyeBeam is a new platform from Xten's that supports VoIP, video and instant messaging. Xten's softphones can be used on PCs or PDAs and integrated into Web pages, Gray said. GN Netcom's GN 500 Series of headsets is targeted at small SOHO users.