VoipCheap includes more countries for free calls

Voipcheap has included more countries in its list of unlimited free calls. Apart from United Kingdom, Ireland and United States which are the free countries till now, calls to regular phones in Australia, Italy, Monaco, Taiwan, Germany,Spain, France, finland etc are now free. In all one can now call 21 countries for free. A subscriber needs to buy 10 pounds credit to enjoy this unlimited free calls. For more information visit www.voipcheap.co.uk.

Google testing click-to-call for advertisers

Google is testing a "click-to-call" function that would let Google connect keyword advertisers with searchers immediately on the telephone. This kind of format is believed to be the best antidote against click fraud. Report has it that this kind of service has been available from AOL for about a year in europe allready.Greg Yardley, blogger and director of operations at Root Markets, says "Google's testing this new advertising format because innovative pioneers like Ingenio have already proven that the format works - advertisers with call-center infrastructures in place are willing to pay a premium for online pay-per-call because it results in more leads and better-converting leads."

Qualcomm and Royal Philips incorporates WLAN into Mobile Headsets

Wireless technology provider Qualcomm working with Royal philips electronics has incoporated WLAN capability into headsets. The integrated system will connect to WLAN networks as well as existing cellular networks, featuring compatibility with 802.11b and 802.11g protocols on CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) networks. The WLAN system will enable mobile devices to use high-speed wireless local area networks when available for connections of up to 54 Mbps. WLAN technology supports VoIP apps, voice calls with simultaneous data transfer and other data-intensive apps. Combining Royal Philigs electronics highly-integrated, low-power WLAN solutions with the industry-leading QUALCOMM MSM chipsets brings a new level of mobile functionality to wireless users. For more information check out www.qualcomm.com and www.semiconductors.philips.com .

Links Page

Below are a list of recommended VoIP and related Sites:

Asterisk Card Provider

VoIP Headsets

Business Telephone Systems
Get a great quote on business telephone systems from the UK's leading telecom solutions provider.

Call Center Software
Drishti offers Call Center Software contact center solutions having expertise in contact center technology, and IP Contact Center, IP Call Center.

Phone Cards - Phone cards and prepaid calling cards with low long distance rates. Get your card PIN instantly! We also offer discount Mobile and Cellular Phone Cards.

Developing Telecoms

21st Century Views
Current views on information security.

oDesk – the Marketplace for Online Workteams

VoIP 2.0 - The next generation of VoIP

I have been reading some interesting articles about VoIP 2.0 and the exiting new features we will get from it. VoIP has come to stay and has changed the way we communicate. The future of VoIP is VoIP 2.0 where the focus will be more on services and not on cut-rate pricing. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Skype are now providing primarily free service but we are seen them coming up with paid service but with new useful features that subscribers are ready to pay for. According to Rich Tehrani, publisher and editor-in-chief of Internet telephony, some of things to expect from VoIP 2.0 include VoIP peering, Just in time communication, VoIP E911, Voice communities and IMS. I will give more insight into these features in future posts.

eBay named Henry Gomez to head Skype North America

A major change has been anounced in Skype. Skype new owner eBay has named Henry Gomez to head Skype North America.Before his appointment he has been the senior vice president of corporate communications and government relations at eBay Inc. He his now to report to Mr. Zennstrom,the CEO and co-founder of skype. eBay considers the North America market very important and see the appointment of Gomez has a way to better serve this market. I for one still expect to see more changes in skype. I think eBay need to better manage skype and be more proactive. They have to keep coming up with new and interesting features to keep people using skype because there are lots of viable competition out there and they really have to watch it so that their 4.1b investement into skype dont turn out to be bad business.

Samsung Launches new WiFi mobile phone

Samsung korea has announced the launch of SPH-V6800, their new multimedia WiFi mobile. Based on CDMA2000, it has a 2" QVGA TFT display, 1.3 MP digital camera, This CDMA2000 slider features a 2" QVGA TFT display, 1.3MP digital camera, MPEG-4 video recording, MP3 / AAC audio playback, voice recognition, video-on-demand, TV-output, EV-DO and with a form factor of just 96.8 x 47 x 24.5 mm. Of particular interest to us in the voip community is the built-in WiFi wireless 802.11b LAN which enables internet connectivity over wireless LAN and one can use his/her favourite voip application to make telephone calls.It will be made available to KTF subscribers for abount $477 and should be around the world soon.

Hitachi - Wireless IP 5000

This nice looking WiFi IP Phone from Hitachi is really great for the office environment. It supports the Session Initiation Protocol(SIP)which is required for muiltimedia communication. It also support the latest IP-PBX systems and existing PBX systems, including IP-Centrex offered by telecommunications service providers. The Wireless IP 5000 can be easily introduced to existing office communications environment, reducing communication and administrative cost and improving communications efficiency both inside the company and out.

Click to call with CallinSearch.

Using skype and a small browser plugin called callinsearch you can now click to call phone numbers that appear in your search results. You dont need seperate Podcast directory, phone directory or even yellow pages anymore. You can just simply use tools we already use on a daily basis? Use Google, MSN or Yahoo to make calls, listen to a Podcast or stream a video. All this is possible with this small browser plugins for search engines.CallinSearch is available for firefox, internet explorer and flock.

Affordable SOHO IP PBX System from Switchvox

Switchvox has introduced SOHO IP PBX system costing an affordable price of $995. Its a full featured and easy-to-use IP PBX solution. Built on open source standards and designed to work with all SIP compartible hardware,software phones and analog handsets. Calls can be sent over the internet to VoIP providers worldwide and directly to remote branch offices by peering switchvox systems using the SIP or IAX protocols. Advanced features include:Conference bridge, busy call rules, unified messaging, extension groups, voicemail forwarding, call API, call center statistics, paging and intercom. If you have a small office/home office and want to migrate to IP then check out www.switchvox.com for more information about the SOHO IP PBX System.

VoIP and IP telephony. What's the difference?

One of my readers sent me an e-mail today asking to know what is the difference between VoIP and IP telephony. After replying his e-mail i decided to make a post here about this topic. These two terms are use frequently interchangeably but they are in fact different. VoIP describes the actual method of transmitting voice over an IP network while IP telephony describes telephony devices that use IP as the native transport for voice and call signalling. IP telephony needs VoIP to send calls over the network but VoIP does not nee IP telephony. This blog is about these two amazing technologies that is changing the way we communicate

Gizmo project getting better!

The current version of Gizmo project has been really great in terms of audio quality. Call out rates are also really cheap and the quality is fine. I also like the map it feature. With conference call, chat, P2P, call-out, call-in and call forwarding features Gizmo is really trying to live up to the skype killer status it gave itself sometimes ago.

Skype vs VoipBuster

After using the newly introduced P2P feature of voipbuster with great success i was moved to compare thess two applications again and give an insight into who might win the race in the long run. I am doing this basicaly based on my perspective as a user of both applications. For some time now skype has been my default application for P2P while voipbuster is for PC-to-phone. Both has very good audio quality in these domains. Voipbuster solve one surprisingly difficult problem for me, that of getting the people i know to sign up for skype. It was really difficult, for months i tried so hard to get most people i know to sign up for skype with very little success. But as soon as i discovered voipbuster i dont have to do that anymore because i just call them on their normal phones for free and the audio quality was so good that they simply didnt notice any difference. Automatically voipbuster then became my application of choice for PC-to-phone and i only use skype with my pals on skype i.e pc-to-pc. In terms of audio quality this two applications are almost at par, with voipbuter having a slight edge over skypeout (pc-to-phone). With the introduction of P2P into voipbuster with superb audio quality i found myself using more and more of voipbuster and less skype. In terms of custormer support for paying customers skype is very well ahead of voipbuster which simply does not have a customer support service for their paying custormers. Maybe this might change with the coming of sipdiscount, netappel, and voipcheap with are just different variation of voipbuster with a little customer support service. Skype also have call forwarding which is still missing in voipbuster but when it comes to call rates voipbuster is the king. The pc-to-phone rates of voipbuster is simply the cheapest in the market. In all i am of the opinion that if voipbuster can introduce call forwarding, chat, customer support for their paying customers and more promotion through affliate programs or the like, they will beat skype in no distance future.

VoIP Providers Comparisons

I got this from a post on one of the forums of VoIPpark.com, one of the fastest growing online community of voip users. At myvoipprovider.com one can compare several voip services providers based on the cost of their services. The is a rating of the voip service providers on their main page, while not 100% accurate its a good eye opener. The only down side to me is the fact that the comparison were made based mostly on the cost of the service they render but i think the quality of the services, customer support,features and application should be taken more into consideration. There is also a list of over 500 voip suppliers. I really think that its a good place to get some information about the several voip service providers and suppliers out there.

The really big International VoIP Marketplace

For all those interested in the VoIP technology, the place to be in January 24-27, 2006 is Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The world's largest international VoIP marketplae, the Internet Telephony Conference and Expo will be taken place at the Broward County Convention Center during this period. There will be sessions for Service Providers, Enterprise/Government/SMB, Developers and Resellers. The Keynote speakers will include: Tom Ridge, Former secretary of homeland security Charles R. Protor, Senior Vice president, Cisco Systems, Inc Richard Tworek, Vice President, Nortel Charles E. Hoffman, President and CEO, Covad Jorge Blanco, Vice President, Avaya Mike Matthews, Head of Product Marketing, Aculab James H. Keegan, Vice President, IBM Corporation William Rich, President and CEO, Pingtel Corp. Charles Rutledge, Vice President, Quintum Shawn M. McGorry, President and COO, Expedient For more information visit www.itexpo.com

Google experimenting with Free WiFi

Report has it that Google is experimenting with providing free internet access via WiFi hotspots. They will be able to generate revenue by showing ads to WiFi users based on their physical location. This has a huge advertisement potential because it will allow for example restaurant to advertise to people within working distance, theatre to reach WiFi user within some few miles away on a saturday night etc. If they succeed it will trigger a wide adoption of of Free WiFi all over the world. This will also be great news for VoIP users as they will be able to use their voip application on their laptop or pokect-PC to make free calls to loved ones while on the move and dont have to pay for the internet connection too.

VoIP has come to stay and its growing!

Some few years ago VoIP or internet telephony is seen as a way to save some few cents while compromising a lot in terms of voice quality. But all that have changed, it is now a technology that is here to change the way will communicate for the better. Good audio quality, free pc-to-pc calls,free or very low rates pc-to-phone calls and several other wonderful features not available even with traditional phones are now the hall mark of VoIP technology. All the players on the internet and the telecommunication industry are now falling over each other to enter the VoIP market. This fact was confirmed at the Internet telephony conference and expo held at Los Angeles Convention Center last month. With abount 7000 people in attendance.The exhibition hall of the Los Angeles convention center was full with industry leading vendors promoting their latest VoIP products and services. In those early days of VoIP who would have thought that world's largest ISP, the world's largest software company, the world's leading Web site, and the world's largest networking company would all be in one place addressing the audience on the subject VoIP.

Still lot of Free Calls with SIPDiscount!

All the user of voipbuster will notice that lots of countries has been removed from the free calls list, left now are just the landline of about 12 european countries and united states. Two other variation of voipbuster namely netappel of france and voipcheap of uk has also emerged with free calls only for some countries but one has to buy 10 euros credit on each of the different variations to enjoy these free calls. Another variation of voipbuster has emerged with free 1 minute calls to about 39 countries. Called SIPDiscount it allows anybody to test free 1 minute calls to all the 39 countries and when you subscribe and buy 10 euros credit you can enjoy unlimited free calls to 19 countries around the world and very low rates to other countries. Unlike Netapel and voipcheak, sipdiscount does not have its own user interface but could be configured on any SIP softphone. I configured it on X-lite and it worked very fine with audio quality as good as with the original voipbuster. X-lite can also be downloaded free from Xten website.

VoIP Cost savings driving growth in WiFi Telephony, WiMAX and Dual mode phones coming soon

The cost savings on phone calls occasioned by VoIP technology is griving growth in WiFi telephony. With hotspots now becoming common people can now use voip on the move to make free long distance and international phone calls using their laptop or pocket pc thereby increasing the demand for such hotspots. WiMAX is still in its infancy but WiFi phones are comming out better. A new addition coming soon is the dual mode phones, these are phones that can be used both as a home phone and a mobile phone and the ability to make voip calls using such phones will be the principal growth driving factor.

AOL lauches TotalTalk VoIP Service

AOL has begun the roll out of a new VoIP service called TotalTalk. TotalTalk basically transform any high-speed internet connection into a quality phone. It is really simple and affordable with a saving of up to 40 percent off monthly phone bills. Subscribers to AOL internet phone will be upgraded to this new service automatically. Total talk include a softphone, free PC-to-PC calls and PC-to-Phone calling capabilities, unified voice, e-mail and instant messaging, enhanced voicemail and call management capabilities, and the ability to make and receive call on a home phone line. Also subscribers will get other nice features such as call waiting, caller ID, 911 emergency calling, star codes, voice mail integrated with e-mail and Three-Way calling etc. A web based Dashboard provides flexible, easy to use call management features. TotalTalk makes it possible to manage and retrieve both voice and e-mail messages, anytime, anywhere from any touchtone phone or web browser. Pricing is based on a monthly subscription plan and low per minute rates.

Microsoft acquisition of Teleo.

In August this year Microsoft acquire Teleo Inc,a provider of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software and services that enable people to place phone calls from PCs to traditional phones while delivering this technology in unique ways through a variety of software and Web applications.Teleo has many peer-to-peer features similar to skype, infact Teleo has been in the peer-to-peer thing before skype but focused on pc-to-mobile phone and pc-to-phone calls. Also Teleo is integrated with microsoft outlook and internet explorer which enable click-to-call dialing of telephone numbers that appear on screen such as within a web search or e-mail message. It is believed that this acquisition will allow microsoft to build more VoIP services with the MSN Messenger. This underlines the important of voice to the instand messenger platforms and shows that the big players on the internet knows that VoIP has come to stay and its the future of communication.

eBay/Skype , Things to come!

A lot of us has been wondering what will come out of the skype/eBay deal. To skype users we want to know what will change in skype by virtue of this deal. Will it be an improvement or otherwise?, how will the customer service look like now? are the rates for the skypeout going to go up or down?. On the other hand eBayers want to know how eBay will use skype to enhance their shopping or selling experience. Though we are still waiting for answers to these question words going around shows that eBay will in near future provide buyers and sellers with a free skype account , tied-in with their existing user names. The eBay community will be able to conduct voice communications with each other at no charge. This will surely improve the business experience of eBayers. Also eBay/Skype will soon release an internet explorer toolbar that will let you effortlessly dial numbers that appear on search results or web pages, and provide integration with microsoft outlook that will allow you to initiate Web calls to your outlook contacts. Other applications said to be in development include web presence which creates click to call links in member profile at social networking websites and voice marketplace.In my opinion i think this deal might not have so much of an effect on skype users but for eBayers its going to improve their buying and selling experience considerably.

New Voice Quality Enhancer from GIPS

Global IP Sound (GIPS) has launched a Voice Quality Enhancement for ATA. The module cancels echo and noise by adjusting speech levels, thereby improving voice quality in low-complexity ATA box systems. The demand for VoIP equipment has been on the increase over the years and is expected to explode over the next several years as home users adopt the technology and chip makers and ATA manufacturers are anxious to bring their products to market quickly. VQE for ATA technologies include Network Echo Cancellation integrated access device, noise cancellation, noise suppression, automatic gain control, voice activity detection, and comfort noise generation. Global IP Sound has also inked a deal with Skype recently whereby GIPS will provide Skype with components of its voice processing technology not only for use in the companys software for PCs but also for pre-installed versions of Skype on certain hardware devices.

New version of VoipBuster!

Th new voipbuster 2.07 build 235 released of recent came with more features. Of note is the fact that one can now search for users. Also i noticed an improved voice quality and more importantly my call in number which has not been working before has now started working with the new version. There was some problems with the setup program initialy but this has now been resolved and can be downloaded free from voipbuster web site. I am looking forward to them including more features such as instant messaging and call forwarding.

Polycom Inc delivers SIP-Based Attendant Console

The Pleasanton, California based Polycom Inc has recently delivered a full-featured, SIP-based attendant phone console for executive assistants, receptionists,secretaries and administrative assistants. Named SoundPoint IP 601 SIP desktop phone, it allow users to accept, screen, dispatch, and monitor up to 24 concurrent calls and supports up to six lines. It gives the familiar push-button interface as traditional PBX and key system attendant console solutions and through SIP deliveres expanded capabilities that were not available before.It normally comes with 3 IP Expansion Modules which auguments the user interface of the soundpoint ip 601 with a high resolution graphical LCD and 14 illuminated multi-funtional keys that can be automatically configured as a line registration, call appearance or speed-dial/DSS. The SoundPoint IP 601 desktop phone has a whole lot of other functionality and can improve the phone attendant productivity and performance and thereby custormer satisfaction.

Wavigo-Bringing everything together!

All in one is the best way to describe this nice application called Wavigo. Developed by CommV Communications Inc. It consist of free internet calls, instant messaging, sms-text messaging, conferencing, file transfer, podcasts etc. Of particular interest is the fact that its instant messaging plaform now interconnects with yahoo, skype, msn, aol, icq and google. Great insnt it, but i think it would be more interesting if one call somebody on skype, voipbuster, jajah etc directly from Wavigo.