IPEVO TRIO USB Speakerphone a worthy tool for satisfaction

Introduction:

The TRIO is indeed designed with flexibility in mind as promoted by IPEVO. With its economic value and acceptable speaker phone quality it stands as a Skype conference phone Solution.

A single button enables users to switch easily between handset and hands-free mode, users can use an as a Skype USB phone with no difficulties. Travelers can put the IPEVO TRIO into the carrying pouch (this is also included in the retail package) and bring it on the road since it has a smallish footprint. The IPEVO TRIO package includes:

• IPEVO TRIO handset
• Carrying pouch
• USB extension cable
• Quick installation Guide
• Installation CD

It’s Appearance:

The IPEVO TRIO has a stylish outline and it suits all office environments comfortably with its blending colour, and the painting on the case it durable enough to pass any finger nail test. The ability of the IPEVO TRIO to be stretched down on a table to provide convenient access in a multi-speakers condition or be placed upright at a single user to achieve unbeatable voice quality only shows that IPEVO took into consideration real-situations and experiences in the design of the IPEVO TRIO.

Functions:

One of the distinguishing features of IPEVO TRIO is its recording function. This is enabled by the FreeRec software that is installed along with the driver; the software is also included in the package. Saving a conversation entails that the user clicks on, the red circle recording button, on the phone while calling. FreeRec allows the microphone volume level to be set as auto-adjust. There does not appear to be any limit as to recording time except for the HDD Capacity; however the recording time could be lowered by simply reducing the sampling rate.

The recording has a time delay in between pushing the button and the starting of the recording itself as the computer needs some time to up load the software into the system. Because of this it is advisable for users intending to record a conversation to initially run the FreeRec software manually before the call.

Other functions of the IPEVO TRIO include:

• Volume up and down,
• Call
• Hang-up and
• Microphone muting and these functions can be easily accessed using the buttons on the phone. Those buttons carry icons showing these functions. The green "S" button on the phone allows for users to snap between different phone operations, such as "Call Phones", “Contacts", and "History", on the computer screen.

Voice Quality:

IPEVO TRIO conducts Skype calls in 2 major modes:

1. Handset mode and
2. Hands-free mode.

The modes are changed by pressing a button on the side. In handset mode, the voice quality is commendable but nevertheless it does not meet up to Skype's highest 16 KHz standard as its sampling rate is 8 KHz. However this difference is not obvious as its voice quality stands at par with a USB phone with 16 KHz sampling rate.

Using the speaker/ Hands free mode, it is more enhanced than Netgear SPH200D and GE 28310EE1, in the same mode which are desktop Skype Phones and proves to be indeed a solution to conference phoning.

Considering the cost of a Polycom Communicator (MSRP: $129) and an IPEVO TRIO (MSRP: $79), relative to the sensitivity of the microphone of both products, The IPEVO TRIO is a far more worthy buy than the Polycom Communicator which acts as a major rival.

Recommendation:

It is with no doubt that the IPEVO TRIO is a solution to present day conference phoning. However, it would be much more appreciated if users can select Skype contacts on the computer screen using a button on the phone rather than having back to the keyboard and mouse to pick contacts to call. And largely it would be of great satisfaction if all operation could be carried out without having to use the keyboard.

Conclusion:

IPEVO TRIO acts as a very convenient business tool to both small business owners and business that are intending to minimize expenses and at the same time have quality access to conference phoning.

Nevertheless it has been a pleasant experience testing the IPIVO TRIO and each time I take a look at the extension cable, the pouch in the package and the English manual, I am convinced and re assured that someone somewhere in IPIVO is thinking of my convenience in conference phoning. I am very much impressed to see an Asian Vendor provide such a qualitative product that meets international standards and carries the best interest of the end users. Well Done to the TRIO design team and as for IPEVO Thumbs are up for you, Keep It Up.

IPEVO TRIO is available on Skype's Online Store.

New iSkoot Services for Blackberry (Beta Client and other Services)

For over two months there has been no visible pathway for Blackberry into Skype. And a minimum of 3 offering have been received on the scene interim; Up until now Mobivox and IM+ have been reported on Skype Software .Considering that VoIP on wireless data plans is neither economical nor resourceful and other reasons that I have related in the past, I recommended that the best alternative for mobile Skype was to provide voice communication using an IM client and use underlying wireless protocol (GSM, eVDO and their 3G counterparts).
The Co-Marketing Agreement announced last August between Skype and iSkoot stands as the platform upon which iSkoot's mobile solution for making and receiving Skype calls on mobile devices would be certified by Skype. iSkoot's initial appearance was as one of the many services offered in the U.K. last fall by 3 Group's X-Series service; Served by Hutchison Whampoa the service is now offered in seven additional countries. With their service, the Skype client is pre-installed on handhelds such as the Nokia N73, and others from LG and Ericsson.
Previously a beta of iSkoot 1.1 mobile application was launched on Monday by iSkoot for Blackberry and this provides a Skype on Blackberry experience including voice communications and IM (presence/chat). As with IM+ for Skype Software, iSkoot has extended the reach of Skype out to Blackberry users. The Skype client is displayed on the right; it provides both voice calling access to all your Skype contacts and IM.
Four familiar icons are hidden by the bottom of the menu through whose selection you can view all your contacts; or either of your Skype or SkypeOut contacts. . The icon on the far right (fourth) allows access for chat sessions and the red marker stands chat session(s) that are yet to be viewed. A Clicking on Blackberries' five-way Trackball opens a pop-up menu from which management of your status and your contacts and other Skype activities as shown can be selected.
This week's announcement makes iSkoot available such that it becomes carrier agnostic and still remaining carrier friendly as it uses circuit switched wireless minutes. Also iSkoot's server earlier side ran only on 3 Group's servers and their own servers have now been installed and have established in over 40 countries a worldwide network of points-of presence to provide local access to their service.
You are plainly given a phone number when you sign up that is nearest your "home" area code and this allows for local connection to the iSkoot servers. Initializing a Skype/SypeOut call entails calling the given number.
A Skype instance is created simultaneously with this call and login data is transferred (encrypted as with all Blackberry data communications) and your Skype/SkypeOut call is launched. The Skype instance goes away on conclusion of the call, without trails on the server. iSkoot or its servers do not store any of your Skype login data.
Roy Erez, iSkoot's Vice-President Business Development, related with us on the product’s service:

• Their experience involving thousands of users With their Hutchison Whampoa (3 Group), they have come up with notable proficiency in handling the Skype instances necessary to send voice calls, especially as it regards load balancing issues and scaling.
• iSkoot and Skype are presently working together to build up a mobile-based service through which users can gain access to their Skype account using wireless connections.
• The main advantage to building carrier relationships is to offer an ongoing billing mechanism parallel to that of 3 Group charged at £5 per month for its unlimited use plan. Also Handsets come preconfigured with the iSkoot client.
• Although plans are stirring to also link into the Blackberry's native address book iSkoot now acts as his address book on his Blackberry. Plans are also stirring to extend the service being delivered to Windows Mobile platforms and Symbian.
• The service is not yet suitable for Roaming nevertheless considering the current architecture, calls made from outside your local calling area to the service's POP previously designated could attract wireless carrier charges. However, changing your base phone number can change the local POP connection.

Earlier Dan reports on iSkoot that they are currently in beta and are working out matters concerning smoothing out the connection process, identifying other challenges in delivering this service as well as keeping presence status current and, holding the best news to the last, he concludes that the service is presently free of charges.

Court Ruling on Vonage and Sprint

The legal battle between Vonage and Sprint Nextel Corp has reached its climax just as a US federal court passed its verdict. From the decision of the judiciary Vonage might not be having it so easy. Vonage seems to be found guilty of the lawsuit Sprint filed against it over Sprint’s patent infringement of the former.
Although, non of the two parties could be reached immediately to shed more light about Vonage’s predicament, it is possible that Vonage might have been stopped to provide services or pay patent extortion money to Sprint.
Already, Vonage had been booked to pay the sum of $ 58 million for violating the version’s patents and it is to pay another $65.5million to Sprint for using its patent. The blow is beginning to hit on Vonage; its shares’ trading was halted on the Nasadaq after sliding 7.7 percent to $1.81.
However, all hope is not lost for Vonage it may find a company that owns some VoIP patents and acquire them thereby saving them from the mess it found itself.

New Media Gateways Released by Dialogic.

A set of new applications that uses a standard rack-mount server running on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 has been made available by Dialogic. The Dialogic Media Gateway Series otherwise known as DMG4000 Gateways include DMG4060 DTI Media Gateway and DMG4120 DTI Media Gateway have been programmed to connect Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 to the existing PBX systems and PSTN Networks. This set of gateways described by Dialogic as a basic-hybrid gateway has been developed to provide both the media gateway function and the Mediation Server role of Office Communications Server 2007.
What makes Dialogic to be unique lies in the fact that it is a perfect integrated system that unified the mediation Server and the Media gateway subsystem as single 1U rack-mount units. This implies that there is no need to install a Mediation Server on a Separate Windows Machine in order to use the Office Communications Server 2007. This is because Dialogic4000 Media Gateway Series come with pre-installed Mediation Server.
Because the 4000 Gateway series Support T1/E1 and supplementary Services on ETSI-DSS1, QSIG and other TDM protocols it allows for call services such as call transfer, call hold, MWI and call party information which can be extended to VoIP environment.
Addition, DMG4000 can support several IP endpoints registered to Office Communications Server 2007, because the two integrated turnkey configurations support up to 60 or 120 channels of unified communications traffic between legacy networks and IP network.
It is compatible with popular PBX manufacturers like Alcatel, AvagalTenovis, Ericson, Siemens, and Lucent etc.

Ixia Unveils IxLoad Bulk VoIP SIP Testing Tool

Being a leading innovator and a global VoIP services provider of IP performance test systems, Ixia has come a long way to contributing immensely to the growth of VoIP services. And recently, the company has unveiled a new product, IxLoad (TM) SIP solution, which is the first VoIP test platform to provide both functional bulk VoIP testing. This new product would create an atmosphere of real-world triple-play that would accurately models live network environment.
It is hoped that the constant difficulty experienced in VoIP networks because of stress conditions would be addressed by lxLoad SIP, since the it would provide networks equipment manufacturers with a test solution that is needed to perform bulk VOLP testing on a wide range of SIP and RTP-based devices and this include session border controllers (SBC), security appliances and IP based PBXs.
According to Victor Alston, the senior vice president of product development at Ixia, “IxLoad is the complete solution for VoIP and triple-play network testing because it addresses all aspects of voice delivery in a multi-service network, along with the video, internet and infrastructure traffic that accompany voice”. Recognizing the importance of IxLoad SIP, the vice president of the Engineering unit Deltacom (which is one of the largest facilities-based competitive communications providers in the Southeast), Eric Douglas said that “Ixia let us to be on the offense rather than the defense when it comes to network performance and reliability”. He also pointed to the fact that Ixia is paramount in terms of ensuring network stability.
By using Ixia’s testing platform and the IxLoad SIP 3.40 solution, a single test chassis can emulate millions of realistic calls, IxLoad SIP allowed for the construction of default configurations and state machine for any lifetime scenario. Also message contents may be customized to such settings that allow subscribers to receive flawless video, high-quality voice calls and high internet connectivity.

Rok out with conferencing calls

Watch out because Rok is at it again. If you can remember, Rok is the company that brought mobile phone TV to you. They have just soft-launched another package known as Rok Talk. Rok Talk is a Symbian app that can allow mobile phone users to make cheap conferencing calls.
Rok Talk is a combination of GSM, VoIP and text. It can be used to make a simple GSM or voice call, and then its servers can now connect many other parties using VoIP technology. Rok’s marketing guru, Bruce Renny, believes Talk takes like about 5 seconds to invite about 30 more people to the same conferencing call. One of the main benefits of Rok Talk is that it is free to receive a mobile phone call from a Rok Talk user. Also only one person needs to run the Talk app quite unlike Skype, where absolutely everyone needs it.
Though the service is presently in beta, it is expected to go live in about five weeks time. For those of us that are very fast, you can sign up to the free trail. All you have to do is to indicate the INQ in the comments box of the application screen.
Rok Talk is simple to use. On starting up the application, it reads in all the entries in the address book of your handset. You can now mark up the numbers you want to connect to. It does not necessarily have to be a mobile phone, fixed line can be used too. After this you press Start. When this has been done, the handset can now make a call to Rok's servers. The next participants will now receive a phone call and a text asking them to join in the conference call. When you press 1, you will be hooked up. As far as the INQ can tell, the voice quality is good.
Rok Talk is network operator friendly. Like EQO and not Truphone, it does not expect any carrier blocking it from operating. They want ordinary people to sign up to Talk. Signing up will cost about €3 for every month and you will also have to include the cost of calls to fixed lines. Take for example the Old Farts Drinking Club, every member of the club will be able to use Rok Talk to speak at the same time. With this, they can now play Mornington Cresent and decide which of the pubs they would want to meet in.

Mobistar introduces VoIP in its ADSL Network

A Belgian service provider known as Mobistar has just launched a fixed line VoIP service known as ADSL Voice. It is a service that is delivered into customer¹s homes through the Mobistar Livebox ADSL router. It is also a SIP-based telephony service delivered over a dedicated channel. The good thing is that calls made over Mobistar ADSL Voice can always be uncompressed so as to provide a real end-to-end, or peer-to-peer service with a higher signal quality.
All the standard features you will find in a VoIP service such as caller ID, call waiting, voicemail and the use of short numbers to access services like 5000 for customer service, 5555 for Voice Mail and so on, can also be found in Mobistar’s VoIP service. Also, their customers can port over their current fixed line number without continuing their subscription with their historic operator.
With its "plug and play" design, people will not need to install any new telephony hardware in their houses. Then the DECT phones will connect to the Livebox "out of the box." People will now have the option of surfing the web and be able to make VoIP calls through a WiFi router whenever they want.
The internet access allows you a download speed of 4 Mbits/second or 384 kbits/second upload, a total volume of 15 GB per month, a mailbox of 250 MB size and finally a Web space of 50 MB. With a Livebox you can connect up to four computers and/or game consoles and wireless surfing using WiFi technology.
According to a press statement, Mobistar said it hopes to steal some fixed line customers from Belgacom, the main phone service provider in Belgium . Presently, about 50,000 people subscribe to Mobistar¹s AtHome residential services.
There is enough room for Mobistar to move into this market. From a market research done, about one third of all Belgians don’t use a fixed line anymore, while another one third wants to keep their fixed line for domestic use and yet another one third wants to give up their fixed line.
The monthly subscription for Mobistar ADSL Voice include 40 hours of call credit to fixed numbers in Belgium, international calls at a highly competitive rate, Livebox rental and two DECT phones.

Jajah Roam Home service Launched by Jajah

If you will recall back, you will remember that I had once mentioned something about European Union deciding to bring down mobile roaming costs by 75 percent in all its member states. Based on that, any mobile user in Europe will have to pay only 34p per minute for any call.
When it comes to low cost and innovative VoIP service, the name Jajah comes to mind first of all. Right from the beginning, it has always devoted its time to doing research on cheaper VoIP applications and what it has to offer. Now, Jajah makes international calls much cheaper than the EU-prescribed price.
The Austrian based Jajah recently put in place Jajah Roam Home service, a kind of international phone roaming service which allows users to make about 1.7 per minute call from their hotel using landlines. Jajah Roam Home service is also available in countries such as France , Italy and Spain , which are leading EU countries.
It is very easy to use Jajah. With it, computer users can make free calls. It will also reduce the cost of phone calls. It is made possible by using VOIP without headphones, microphones, software downloads or even high speed Internet connections. From all indications, the target audience for Jajah Roam Home services are travellers. To use it, all you need do is to register at Jajah website, and then you enter the phone number of the hotel you are staying in and also the room extension before departure. After this, you can now call the desired number through a web-connected computer or alternatively, Symbian based phones.
In an interview with Computeractive, Jajah, co-founder Roman Scharf. He stated, “Whilst it is understandable that mobile phone providers need to make their money back from the licenses they have had to pay for in each country it is not fair to charge consumers over the odds”.

HearMe® Surpasses 25,000 Meeting Attendees

As Desktop Video Conferencing Continues to Gain Traction with Business Community, HearMe®, a leading provider of web-based video conferencing and online collaboration solutions, today announced it has exceeded 25,000 total attendees to virtual meetings hosted on the service.
"With more than 25,000 total meeting attendees, HearMe is demonstrating the viability of desktop video conferencing and the demand for affordable conference rooms, flat-rate pricing and unique features," said Hannah Rothman, Senior Marketing Director of HearMe. "As we continue to grow our business, innovation will be a key focus. To move the industry forward we are creating tools that enable people to communicate when, where and how they choose, on their terms. We see this as a milestone for both HearMe and the desktop video conferencing industry."
This milestone comes only nine months after the HearMe launch in January 2007. HearMe conferencing rooms promote scalability and are able to accommodate an unlimited number of participants at a time, while simultaneously running video. Prices start at $29 per month (unlimited usage) for a 5 person meeting room including fully integrated voice, desktop video and document sharing.
For more information about HearMe, visit www.hearme.com.

Vyke Reaches the One Million Subscriber Mark

Just within the first half of the year, Vyke has been able to leave a landmark in the VoIP community by witnessing a rapid downloads of its digital VoIP client. The Norwegian-based mobile VoIP has earned a name for itself when it revealed that it has registered more than one million paid customers who are using its innovative VolP services on their mobile phones. Vyke has been offering its customers with cheap long distance and international calls that are accessible from both the computers and data-enabled mobile phones. This is quite an achievement as far as mobile Volp application is concerned; imagine a company which has its Aim-listed stock increased five times within the last six months. Little wonder Vyke’s Chairman Tommy Jensen is quick to admit that his company has experienced a strong increase around the world with particular reference to Asia and Middle East despite the high charges there.
Vyke mobile is another new service that will soon be announced by Vyke. It is an improved version of its MVoIP application and it will able its customers to make and received Volp calls from their mobile handsets even if the operates block the network. More info about Vyke service are available at www.vyke.com.

T-Mobile Introduce The New BlackBerry Curve 8320

T-Mobile is introducing to the market the new BlackBerry Curve 8320. This new BlackBerry may turn out to be “the bomb” especially since the BlackBerry 8820 from AT & T has failed to live up to expectation. The New BlackBerry is combining the BlackBerry Curve camera phone with the ability to make calls over 802.11b/g Wi-Fi networks. With this 8320’s Wi-Fi calling features, subscribers would be able to make unlimited calls from Wi-Fi connected areas and they have to pay only a token charge of $10 per month to enjoy the service.
Also the Wi-Fi feature on the BlackBerry can be used for sending and receiving e-mail and the web services can be accessed through it which has been programmed to work well with slow networks.
BlackBerry has never been smarter like the Curve 8320, considering that it combines phone features with excellent mailing and good video and MP3 options. what is more? The 2-megapixel camera, AOL, Widow live and yahoo has made its cost which a two years contract at $249 worth its value.

Gordon introduce a new 911 bill

In an effort to stop emergency communication systems from collapsing, Barton Jennings Gordon has brought out a new 911 Bill known as 911 Modernization and Public Safety Act (H.R. 3403) . This Bill was compiled to give VoIP providers authority to directly access the 911 system and have large scale deployment of emergency 911 services to customers. With this bill in place, VoIP players will have complete access to the components of the 911 infrastructure, so as to be able to route emergency calls.
According to Mr Gordon, “We saw how our emergency communications systems collapsed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and after Hurricane Katrina. We need a more robust and reliable system that will be available to those who are facing a life-or-death emergency.” He further added that, “When Americans dial 911, they expect the call will go through regardless of what technology they use to place the call. But that’s not always the case. Roughly 98 million Americans live in areas where Internet phone providers do not have access to the 911 network.”
Telephone companies are not too comfortable with the new bill. They feel the VoIP 911 bill gives too much right to VoIP providers. With this, they are calling for the amendment of the Bill stating that the Bill enables VoIP providers more access to 911 infrastructure than wireless carriers possess.

ClickandBuy creates a new San Jose office to add to its North American Operation

Recently, ClickandBuy, made known to the public its wish to add a new office in San Jose , CA to their U.S.-based operation. ClickandBuy was established in 1999 as an ePayment provider for digital content and services. It is an electronic money institution regulated by the Financial Services Authority in Europe . It presents a large variety of services and features that relates the financial security of banking world with the speed and agility of the Internet.
Since its inception, they get thousands of new registrations every month. They also provide over 45 desired local and national payment methods around the world. Its hosted e-Commerce platform makes it possible for merchants to outsource all or part of their back office, or to make payment processing functions to ClickandBuy.
From the services of ClickandBuy, merchants can quickly have access to the latest markets. This will in turn help them to expand their own market share. When you come to the Europe for instance, you will see a lot of different payment methods running in their hundreds. This is because every country has at least about four or five different payment methods. You will find out that it now becomes very difficult for merchants that wish to do any form of payment transactions in Europe . With ClickandBuy in place, they can now do transactions in 23 European countries, even North and South America with only one interface.
ClickandBuy are used by merchants for processing payment, and doing critical back office functions, such as, multicurrency capabilities, detecting fraud, live customer care, eCommerce consultations and numerous billing options. It is used to process, handle and manage digital, paid and web-based content for songs, games, movies, streaming video, podcasts, VoIP calls, television and publishing. Some of the brand names that use ClickandBuy for digital payments are,AOL, Apple iTunes, Electronic Arts' EA Link, Skype, Habbo Hotel, iVillage and SanDisk
According to the CEO of ClickandBuy, Mr Norbert Stangl, "Our new office space meets the needs of our company's fast growth and testament to our growing market share in the United States . The San Jose office is another positive step for ClickandBuy an important milestone for us as we grow our business worldwide." To locate the new ClickandBuy office in San Jose go to 2033 Gateway Place, Suite 520 San Jose , CA 95110 . Their phone number is (408) 573-3648.

Pingo gives over 5 Free Hours of International Phone Calls

While seeking for greener pasture, we all have to move a lot to find better careers. In so doing, we still need to contact families or even friends we left behind. It will mean setting aside a lot of money for taking care of phone bills which has become higher. But now, you can heave a sigh of relief because Pingo has just released phone card international, which is quite cheap and affordable. It comes with many other exclusive offers in addition to the low cost international call rate.
The phone card international comes in two different forms namely- family and business form. By using them, you can save up to 90% for any international phone call you make. Note that it also applies to domestic calls. So by using it to make both domestic and international calls, you can save a lot of money. Once you sign up with Pingo, you get 5 hours of free international call and a bonus of $5. The benefit that comes with these cards is just too much. But first of all you have to check the most recent charges for international calls that you might want to make, using their Rate watcher.
With phone card international, you get the best. There is nothing like a broken and disturbed network. No extra fee charges are placed on the calls you make, only the cost of the call. Also the costs are quite low when you call India or other countries in the world. Another thing is that you don’t have to enter any pin number before dialling a number. Phone card international has a very convenient and reliable service to use to save costs. So what are you waiting for, sign up and start getting the benefits.

Betamax let you send 500 text messages for 5 euros using smsdiscount

The people at betamax are just playing around with their voip application naming it whatever they like and launch as a new application after the removal or addition of one or more free destinations. What i was not expecting is that they will launch another application for sending text messages since text messages can be sent from all of their other voip applications. But they have done just that by launching smsdiscount.
With smsdiscount you can send 500 sms to anywhere in the world for just 5 euros, that translate to 1 cent per sms. That is pretty cheap but do they have to launch a new application to offer that service. Anyway, if you are the type that send lot of text messages you might want to check out www.smsdiscount.com.

Ooma Technology offers free calls via Ooma Hub

Perhaps the statement made by Ooma technology on its Web site is not exaggerating after all considering its new offer to the users of telecom Services. It stated that “Ooma is the only company in the history of the telecom industry to offer users the opportunity to own their dial tone”. Supporting this statement is the fact that Ooma technology has started selling a new telephone box product branded Ooma Hub. This new device from Ooma provides its users to place free calls within the US for unlimited period. Although the box itself costs $ 400 and after the initial installation that connects the device to a broadband router, you can enjoy the unlimited calls just as you want.
Ooma has also incorporated the second-line feature which allows users to receive calls on a second handset when the first line is busy. The call screening feature functions just like the conventional as answering machines making it possible for users to disallow calls they are not prepared to answer. Other features include the online access to voicemail messages, three-way conferencing and a very cheap rate of international calling.
The devices exploitation of existing phone lines make it possible for it to route its calls, over the internet and later uses the local user’s phone services to deliver the calls to its final destination.
Patrick Monghan, a Yankee group analyst, in a telephone interview has sited an instance that for an Ooma phone in L. A. calling new York, it will make a VOLP call to an Ooma box in new York and exploits the users land line to finish the calls, he however, expressed the security and the pricing saying that some people might not see sense in paying for it & 400 considering the collapse of sun Rocket. However, Ooma stated that the Ooma Hub has seen engineered to detect thwart third-parties from being able to listen in one calls. Also the economics of the system has been described as straight for forward enough because customers could recoup the cost of the hub within a year to 18 months.

Google is set to Announce New APIs

Google has come a long way to contributing immensely to technology as far as the internet is concerned and its journey seems to just begin in the telephony industry with the much more awaited Google phone. And again, it is set to release its new set of APIs in order to facilitate the uses of its services and enhance usability by both end users and developers. The release of these APIs is good news for developers since it will equip them with necessary instrument to build applications that will run with Google Talk, Gmail and other Google services.
They may not have to wait for long because from all indications, the APIs will be made available by early November and the company has chosen to start with their popular and personalized home page iGoogle and Orkut from where it will be extended to include other services.
It is anticipated that this innovation will open some of Google applications to developers who have eagerly waited for such opportunities and consequently it will afford them the chances to build and develop applications that will improve those services. As it is Google may be on the verge of making their GT to be SIP-Compatible and possibly bringing to reality an authentic PSTN termination for Google Talk that can compete with that of Skype and Yahoo.
With the new APIs, third-party developers would be able to make other services off such as Google Talk-calls more configurable, manageable and measurable and there is also the possibility of providing diagnostic tool for each call made. It is possible that they can also enhance Google’s Orkut social network searchability and build directory for all the numbers of Google Talks and Gmail’s addresses.

Free International Calls with Jaxtr

Jaxtr VoIP service let you make and receive free international calls regarless of the country you recide. To use these service the first thing you have to do is to link your phone to jaxtr. You could call & receive calls upto 100 free minutes per month within the 51 high traffic countries mentioned on their website. The total number of free minutes depends on the country you reside, that means if you are not living in any of those 51 countries you will receive less than 100 free minutes per month depending on how much it cost to call your country.
Jaxtr is very easy and convenient to use, first you register on their website by entering your e-mail address and your name, pick a username and password. Secondly you verify your e-mail address in order to activate your account. Once your account is activated you can log on to it and enter your phone number in the manage phones section of your account. To verify your phone a verification code will be issued to you and your phone will be called, answer this call and enter the verification code and you are set to go.
To place a call with Jaxtr use your jaxtr link, a screen would display on your webpage (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera),enter the phone no. you wish to call in the box place and your phone and the number you want to call will be instantly be conected. Place the small jaxtr widget on your website, blog, social networking profiles or your e-mail signature and your friends will be able to call you for free. You can invite your friends to also join the jaxtr network so that you can call them for free also.
Call quality is great and connection is achieved without delay. To try out Jaxtr vist www.jaxtr.com

Earthcaller VOIP resumes Free USA Calls

Earthcaller VoIP service, the free USA Calling Service is back to business and better than before. Their website has been down for sometime now. It is possible somebody messed up their Network Enhanced Telecom by changing the DNS settings. Anyway, these are all speculations on my own part, they are in a better position to know what actually happened. Well, the good news is that you can now call your family and friends in USA again free of charge since they are back in full.
Amongst other free VoIP services, Earthcaller stands out. Why, you may ask. It is easy to use. All you need to do is to type in a US number without the +1 dial code off course, and then call the number. Another reason is that it has light weight Active X control, which means you can download only one time. It also does not allow big file downloads or soft phones to run. In other words it actually lowers memory consumption. It is browser based and works only on Internet explorer.
Want to try out earthcaller?, visit www.earthcaller.com.

oneFone VoIP service, a New Package introduced by WiFiMobile

Are you one of those people that can no longer use their most recent WiFiMobile phones to make calls at a cut-price with VoIP because your network operator has disabled it? Well, there is good news for you right now.
The new service is known as oneFone VoIP service and has just been introduced by WifiMobile, the leading mobile VoIP player. This service is a standalone proprietary application. It gives you an infinite number of VoIP calls to countries that supports it. It is worth noting that calls made to countries that do not support the service are automatically routed through your carrier. With this, you don’t have to worry if the number you are calling is supported or not.
One good thing WiFiMobile does is that it uses its own client instead of depending on the carrier. This way they can easily provide VoIP services even if the carrier has disabled it. It came at the right time especially now that a large number of network operators are disabling the VoIP service from handsets. Earlier in June, OMTP (Open Mobile Terminal Platform) made a statement that operators can only apply this on the subsidized handsets at the contract period. Then after the contract, people can get their handsets unlocked. With this, WiFiMobile will surely ginger other related services to produce applications comparable to theirs. That way it will work even when an operator has disabled the service.
oneFone VoIP service can easily be downloaded on your cell phone. It is presently accessible to people on the Nokia ESeries and NSeries phones. For you out there with an unlimited data plan, you can also make your calls over 3G. People in the US as well as in the UK can use it just by dialling a local number to key in the number they want to reach. According to WiFiMobile, their service works perfectly well on handsets crippled by Orange and Vodafone.
The target people for this service are mostly heavy users since most of the places oneFone supports for its free calls are “VoIP countries”. These countries can be called for free or at a cheaper rate by using other providers such as Jajah and Rebtel. These two providers can be used to make a call without using a PC at a very low cost. On the other hand if you make a lot calls to countries that support WiFiMobile, and you don’t have access to a PC, oneFone is the answer.
For subscription to the oneFone VoIP service, you will have to pay $15.99 or €11.99 a month. A free trial of 14 days is also inclusive to help you assess the service first of all. It is not contract based so you can easily withdraw your subscription, if by chance you don’t like the service. But I bet you it is wonderful.

InfoWorld’s ''Best of Open Source Software'' Award goes to Digium

Digium’s popular Asterisk VoIP telephony platform just won InfoWorld’s "Best of Open Source Software" Bossie Award for 2007. It was actually announced on the 18th of September 2007.This is one program I would have loved to watch but missed, quite unfortunately. From a news release, Digium was the only open source VoIP provider to be shortlisted for the award. For them, it should be a great achievement.
According to the CTO and founder of Digium, Mark Spencer, "Asterisk is indeed taking the VoIP world by storm. Receiving this industry recognition from IDG and InfoWorld is not only a win for Digium, but the entire open source telephony community as a whole. Digium is committed to taking Asterisk to even greater heights and developing new ways for businesses all over the world to experience cost savings and flexibility never before possible with proprietary VoIP solutions."
A lot of credit has to be given to Mark Spencer and his team, for this great achievement. The whole idea of Asterisk open source movement was conceived by him. We also need to thank him a lot for the open source telephony industry he helped create, not to mention the whole ecosystem of Asterisk-based products. Very ingenious!
As for me, I still need to check Digium's new and better office digs since I missed the main show.

Pizza Hut introduces VoIP to its Pizza Chain

With the year 2007 and many pizzerias using VoIP, will the world's largest pizza chain, Pizza Hut join the trend? To know if Pizza franchises can survive or not depends largely on their being able to answer phone calls for pizza orders as fast as possible. This is because if a customer is on hold for too long or gets a busy signal, they might eventually hang-up and call another pizza restaurant. You will now ask how local pizzerias increase their call handling efficiency? A large percentage of them have 2-5 analog lines installed. If its like say $20 per line or month, providing several additional lines that will be used only during peak load will be quite expensive. So what has been the best solution?
Hear how a Pizzeria has handled this issue efficiently.Pizza Pizza, a considerably large Pizza chain has been running 350 restaurants across Canada, since 2005. They use VoIP, plus other home-based agents, in-house agents and outsourced agents. It allows them to have agent flexibility and also be able to ramp-up or down the number of agents that rely on call volume.
A reliable source reported that Pizza Hut has engaged the services of VoIP along with hosted agents that will answer incoming pizza orders for local chains. This will help them save costs from the cancellation of most of their analog lines since their VoIP-enabled franchises pays for 3 analog lines. Eventually, they cancelled 2 out of the 3 analog lines leaving just one emergency line. With hosted VoIP and hosted agents, they now have an unlimited call capacity such that there are no more busy signals that occur when all the 3 analog lines are tied up. Think of the busy pizza ordering period like Superbowl Sunday and you will appreciate this. I was also told that the Pizza Hut is controlling Level3’s backbone, the one in the US for now.
This is how it works. When a customer makes an order, the hosted call center agents who are professionals take the order and can "upsell" the customer on specials, toppings and so on. This will replace a normal 17-year old inexperienced teenager who would have answered the phone. Once the agent takes the order, it is sent down to the local Pizza Hut through an IP connection, which now shows on the screen.
The advantages of using VoIP services are numerous. Most importantly is that a local franchise owner would not have to pay somebody to answer the phone all the time. It will help reduce costs and bring more profits for them. Another one is that it is not difficult to build in redundancy. For example, if by chance anything happens to a particular site, calls can be quickly switched from one site to another smoothly without customers noticing.
Just like other chain places, Pizza Hut charges a franchise fee to the owner of the chain. This yields revenue to Pizza Hut Corporate. Apart from this, they also make money from the food or supplies they sell to each chain. In addition, by offering hosted VoIP services with professional call center agents, they can easily charge the local franchise for this service to yield more revenue.

PIKA Unveils Its Appliance for Asterisk

In an effort to building out its product offering so that its customers can choose the right tool set for their applications, PIKA Technologies Inc has unveiled PIKA Appliance for Asterisk. The unit provides developers with an out-of-the-box embedded computer that allows them to deploy Asterisk with traditional and next-generation telephony features, optimized for the SMB environment.
The PIKA Appliance for Asterisk brings application developers the functionality of a KSU in a smaller-sized and lower-cost reliable computer appliance. Compatible with both VoIP and analog trunks and telephones, the solution comes with a feature set optimized for the telephony needs of small- to mid-sized enterprise. By incorporating Asterisk, the open-source architecture of the Appliance enables application developers to more effectively deliver their solutions to their SMB customer base. In addition, developers can private label the device, enabling them to build their own brand awareness and increase profile in a crowded market. According to Terry Atwood, the PIKA’s vice president of sales, marketing and customer care, and business development manager “PIKA Appliance for Asterisk is unique in so many ways. There is nothing else quite like it on the market today and In addition to the flexibility offered by Asterisk, the Appliance provides developers with the unique ability to private label the device, giving them the tools they need to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace”
As it is, The Appliance’s package features include a power-failure transfer, audio input for music-on-hold and audio output for paging. And as mentioned earlier it works with both VoIP and analog trunks and telephones. On the VoIP side, the appliance can accommodate up to a combination of 100 trunks (FXO) and telephones. Each unit comes equipped with one analog telephone (FXS) port for portable phones, fax machines and answering machines, and can be expanded with up to eight additional analog ports to be used for either trunks or telephones.
Because the appliance has been optimized for the SMB environment, Unlimitel, a VoIP service provider has partnered with PIKA with a view to introducing its Appliance for Asterisk to its customers on the SMB market.

T-Mobile to Sell Apple’s iPhone in Germany

The Deustche Telekom’s mobile unit has disclosed plan to extend its sales of apples iPhone outside the US and its new catchment’s area for its market is targeted at Europe , and will be making its debut in Germany . The choice of Germany as its starting point for the sale is quite understood, the country being the largest economy in Europe and the home base of Deutsche Telekom. This is a calculated business strategy on the part of T-Mobile team.
This multimedia gadget combines three devices into one - a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and a mobile Internet device - all based on Apple's multi-touch interface and software that allows users to control the iPhone with just a tap of their fingers. This will enable iPhone users in Germany to have access to Apple's latest music offerings on iPhone including the recently launched value added services as offered in the US .
T-Mobile has already mapped out plans to extend the sales to other European countries later. It has chosen02 Uk and Carphone Warehouse to bring the iPhone to Britain , while France Telecom’s Orange will be handling the French part of the deal. Commenting on how this device will fair in terms of competing with rivals devices from Samsung and Nokia, the T-Mobile chief executive, Hamid Akhavan said that “I think what Apple has done is way ahead of the competition...This is not just a phone, it's the best iPod they have ever made”. He further added that “We are convinced that we can get our customers excited about experiencing the mobile internet with the iPhone I am proud that Apple and T-Mobile have become partners. The best mobile device currently on the market will soon be operating on the best network in the country."

Skypecast Powers KanTalk Learning Sessions

KanTalk, a language learning forum based on Skypecast for people interested in learning languages has been making tremendous impact since its launch earlier in the year. With about 2000 users from over 40 countries as at March 2007. The whole concept is beginning to take a new dimension as a result of its success so far.
Started by a Chinese who immigrated to US and in his ordeal experienced frustration of not being able to understand the dynamics of English language. During group sessions it was difficult comprehending the language and his colleagues were too busy to correct his errors. With the appearance of Skypecast last year, he set up sessions solely with the aim of searching for people who wanted to learn English in public and less stressful environment. Two facts where participants experiencing and sharing their learning motivation were that
Non-English speakers quickly became nervous or intimidated when speaking to "native" English speakers. Starting from simple grammar and vocabulary, and talking with others who had the same language learning issues, they could gradually build up to understanding more sophisticated comprehension and use of English through the self-reinforcement that this approach provided.
Participants, considered as peers in this forum, were much more accepting of mistakes and ready to help correct them. Having developed to a full site for language practice, KanTalk, Skypecast as been integrated on the site, so no need to exit the site during a session. This has led t it growing rapidly and developing into a business model as either : (i) as a social network for those interested in learning new languages and (ii) as an infrastructure platform from which (local) independent language teachers can build their own businesses worldwide (possibly incorporating e-commerce and other infrastructure).
Managers at KanTalk are still monitoring and logging responses to its current offering with a view to improving its services, making it more efficient and effective. Such features would include giving moderators control in managing participants durng sessions in order to avoid background noise for example , which can interfere or interrupt the discussion. Also there would b provision for a session’s host to reassign the host status when logging out through a smooth transition
Have'nt used Skypecast yet?. Then Click Here to download the latest version of Skype now.

Call Skype And Blackberry Contacts Using IM+ 2.5

With a quiet launch of IM+ 2.5 by Shape Services, a whole lot of features have been integrated into the older 2.5 version. A very unique feature which allows you connect to your calling phone number f choice, either Skype or Blackberry contacts.
To further elaborate using a case scenario of ": (i) my mobile phone number, (ii) my PSTN office number and (iii) my SkypeIn number. I can activate one of these locations to be my “calling” number and make a Skype call through IM+, unlike before when the call would return my mobile phone hosting the IM+ application.
The advantage is that f I leave Canada, , I normally pay Rogers C$0.95 per minute to make a call from anywhere in the U.S. and C$2.00 per minute for calls from Europe to North America (Canada/US). With IM+ I can purchase a prepaid SIM for, say, Cingular (woops, AT&T) or my visited European country, replace my Rogers SIM chip, create a new IM+ location associated with the SIM's "local" number and make calls based on SkypeOut rates plus "local" prepaid mobile rates.
I can also forward my mobile hone numbers to my SkypeIn number for receiving calls, to enable me use SkypeIn number to accept calls.
This feature is also possible for Blackberry contacts. Thus providing a very flexible way of accessing both Skype and Blackberry contacts with excellent quality

RIM Launches Blackberry 8820 Smart Phone

In response to shareholders questions to how the RIM management felt about the launch of Apple’s iPhone, at its annual general meeting. Research in Motion’s Co- CEO, Mike Lazaradis simply replied with a comment that it was a welcomed development due to the awareness and increase in expectation by smart phone users. He was quoted as “Hats off to Mr Jobs for growing the industry”
The meeting provided a platform for Mike to highlight what seems to be a likely business version of the Apple iPhone with features such as Thinnest smart phone design, full QWERTY keyboard, 320 x 240 display, trackball navigation (as on Pearl, Curve and other 88xx devices) ,Dual mode: GSM/EDGE and WiFi with UMA support for UMA based carriers, UMA = seamless handoff between WiFi and EDGE .WEP, WPA and WPA2 WiFi security , 64MB Flash embedded memory; expandable to 32GB via microSD memory cards ,SD to 2GB, SDHC to 32GB (when available) ,GPS with support for A-GPS interfaces ,Voice-activated dialing, conference calling, speed dialing and call forwarding, Media player ,Roxio Media Manager for Blackberry , Allows full management of media files via PC , Stereo audio output (supports Bluetooth stereo audio profile) , Video management with automatic video transcoding. Advanced conversion options and full screen mode. Email support for up to 10 email accounts, 1400 mah battery
It is viewed as a business version of iPhone because it combines both the above features with that of Blackberry’s business ecosystem like. Push email, Over 100,000 Blackberry Enterprise Server installations, Blackberry's inherent full security, only approved wireless device for secure government communications use in U.S., U.K., Canada, NATO, amongst others, Secure WiFi access to corporate networks via VPN's. Open development platforms (no hackers required) ,over 500 third party business applications , several thousand personal applications ,over 125,000 registered developer downloads of developer environment .New Blackberry Mobile Voice System allows single number access to any mobile or fixed device with simultaneous ring, seamless switching (based on technology acquired via Ascendants Systems acquisition) .Supported by 300 carriers in 140 countries .Focus on quality not only of hardware but also of user experience.
Mr Lazaradis also made known that "The Blackberry 8820 is an extraordinary business phone for people who really care about mobile communications and productivity. It features all the renowned power and usability of the Blackberry platform with executive class styling and unprecedented connectivity features, including cellular, Wi-Fi and built-in GPS," said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at RIM. "The Blackberry 8820 complements our carrier partners' cellular networks with the added ability to stay connected via Wi-Fi at home, through hotspots and corporate campuses." Other features include
Managed battery life for longer times between recharges, apparently they have experienced up to 5 hours talk time on a WiFi connection, Ease of use , It just works as expected of a phone: no frequent freezes and reboots!
While answers are needed for questions such like if the Blackberry 8820 supports YouTube Video, if carrier plans for supporting UMA, and why both RM and Apple are holding 3G capability.
For now only AT&T in the US and Rogers I Canada will be providing this services.

Nokia 6120 Evaluation

The 6120 offers quite a whole lot of goodies, like a microSD slot , 35 MB of free storage, 64MBs of RAM, 369 MHz ARM11 CPU, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP/AVRCP support, a 2.5mm audio jack, miniUSB, 2 MP camera with flash, QVGA video-call camera, a Li-Ion 890 mAh battery and an FM stereo radio. It uses a bright and beautiful 2’’ QVGA screen. The entire pack has a batter, charger, user manual, USB data cable, CD-ROM and a stereo headset. Though there was no microSD card included. Right in a class of its own the Nokia 6120 is a qual band GSM and dual- band 3G phone. The 6120 model supports the 850 (mostly suitable for use with AT&T in USA) and 2100 MHz 3G bands, while the 6121 model supports 1900 and 2100 MHz.
Trying to set a record of being the smallest symbian phone ever weighing 89 gr and is very easy o fit into little spaces, it surely will appeal to people who like a small phone but with added features. The two soft buttons require that the whole thumb presses unlike finger pressings which might pose some adjusting for people with large fingers. On its side only the volume and camera buttons are placed there.
When tested performance was excellent. It processed at a fast rate, reception and voice quality were excellent. Its speed even beat the much acclaimed N95, with a unique battery life of 11 days o standby and 5 hours of talk time. Is camera can take pictures in QVGA format, plus QCIF 3GP video. Its ‘video editor’ is breathe taking, it allows you to place different videos and images I n sequence to be able to ‘direct’ a larger video right on your phone in 3GP format.
With little S60 applications such as Calendar, Calculator, PTT for Europe, J2ME 2.0 (Opera Mini runs crazy fast), GPS apps, Quick office viewer, Adobe PDF, Converter, Music player, Real and Flash player, IM, MSN support and more, some internet connecting applications are also present in it.
One feature I think should have been added was dial up because it had SIP/VoIP configuration and server-registering support settings. For $290 I think it’s just great.

Nokia announces Nokia E51, a business-minded phone

For those of us that are crazy about Nokia phones, brace yourselves for this news. Well, Nokia has just released another phone known as Nokia E51. It is already marked for sale worldwide in Q4 for a total of $485 or approximately €350. No contract whatsoever has been made on this sale.
Nokia E51 is shaped like a candy bar. It was created with emphasis on the suits since Nokia always boast of their ability to integrate tightly with PBX, which are corporate telephony systems that functions through Nokia Mobile Unified Communications solutions.
The screen of the phone is about two-inches long and has a resolution of 320 x 240.It has a video streaming or playback that supports H.264 and Real codecs, a device that codes and decodes electronic signals. A two-megapixel camera is present. It also has a video calling capability, an integrated 802.11g, FM tuner, a 2.0+EDR Bluetooth, a mini USB, IrDA, GPRS / EGPRS and HSDPA compatibility. Its memory size is up to 130MB. A micro SD expansion slot is also present, not to talk of a quad-band GSM and WCDMA 850/2100 support. You can get up to 4.4 hours of talk time and also 13 complete days on standby.
Click Here to if you did like to see how the Nokia E51 looks like.

MyToGo Enables Skype on your Mobile Phones

Skype the online peer-to-peer voip service keeps improving with each passing day. A Skype extra called MyTogo is one of such improvements. It was developed so you can use skype on any type of mobile phone. MyToGo let you dial into your SkypeIn and use Skype to call out.
Apart from calling people with a Skype ID, you can also call anybody with other phone services. The only thing is that it is only people on Skype you can call free of charge. For other contacts apart from Skype contacts you use SkypeOut. For example, if you want to call PSTN numbers, you will have to use SkypeOut minutes
The down side of MyToGo for Skype is that it can only run on windows. Another thing is that Skype and the Skpe Extra has to running on your PC before MyToGo can work. Lastly it reaquire lot of manual setup to be able to get it to work.
I am of the opinion that there are better ways to make voip calls directly from your mobile phone but if you have used MyToGo and you feel differently just voice your in the comments. More info about MyToGo is available Here.

Review Of Skype Desktop Sharing Options

With reference to the forthcoming desktop collaboration options by Skype Extras. I decided to give a review of the three different options and the criteria for the review.
Convenos meeting centre : similar to the conference board room along with a slide projector, video monitor and display adapter with a screen. A major feature is convenos “persistence” capability allowing you to enter and exit the conference when you choose without loosing any data.
Unyte : This brings desktop sharing as complementary real time conversation mode to Skype’s conventional voice, IM and video modes by a single click. Also included is the “Remote Assist” for giving customers presentation and support to or evaluating documents with both Skype-enabled and non-Skype enabled contacts.
Yugma skype: this was designed for Mac and Linux users, providing full cross platform sharing (Windows, Mac and Linux). Simple swapping of shared desktops and a free offering of up to ten-participant sessions.
The criteria for evaluation include: * User interface * Remote viewing: browser-based or independent window * Session setup and scheduling * Operating System, Web Browser flexibility * Extent of Skype integration * Sharing Modes * Refresh/update speeds at remote participants' desktops * Session/conference persistence * Approach to handling different screen sizes

Free International Calls By AdCalls

By involving businesses by providing incentives like personal user info, a California ad based firm is offering free international calls by just watching ads served by them. Also supported are CRM features for business class VoIP companies.
Adcall have improved on an earlier attempt by globe7 to offer similar service in the past that never worked out, this was achieved by a change in strategy by offering other value added services knowing that one cannot really support the VoIP calls by merely watching videos or ads. By providing user info, it expands the scope of the use of the service to other sectors such as insurance, banking, finance companies that are always looking for potential clients.
Although other sensitive data like credit card details will be collected and shared with advertisers. A move that may not go down well with users, because about 99% of users do not spend time to thoroughly go through the TOS before agreeing to it.
Picture having made a call to China and sequel to it you receive calls from various travel firms about your potential visit to China.
Good intentions indeed, but we hope it ends up serving the customers and all parties. More information at www.adcalls.com.

The Thomas Howe Company and Sylantro Systems Challenge Top Developers in Competition to Build the Best Telephony Mashup

The Thomas Howe Company and Sylantro Systems, the leading provider of multiplay application feature servers are gearing up for Sylantro’s Global Summit 2007 by hosting a mashup contest where winners will have the opportunity to present their new applications before an audience of potential customers at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
“Mashups are changing the landscape of technology with voice and telephony landing right in the middle of it,” said CEO Thomas Howe of The Thomas Howe Company. “We are in the business of creating very interactive voice-and-data solutions for our customers and thought the mash up development process would translate well to the conference attendees by showcasing how they solve a customer problem that exists today.
The contest opened on Sept. 7 and has already attracted top developers at the cusp of web and voice development. The finalists will have the opportunity to demonstrate their ideas at the Global Summit to CTOs and CEOs of top ILECs, PTTs, IXCs, CLECs and other service providers. The winner will be chosen by a panel of senior executive judges among the contest sponsors.
Finalists will be judged with a 50/50 weight based on presentation of technology and a business use case. Contest entrants must use the Sylantro API. Use of other suggested APIs including Voxeo, Amazon Web Services, and OutboundMessaging.com are optional. Entrants must be able to demonstrate that their application will make businesses faster, more efficient or create happier customers.
“We are excited to partner with Sylantro,” said Howe. “They are the only players in the Application Feature Server space who understand the tremendous impact that an open Web Services API and innovative developer community can bring to a market.”
“The Sylantro Global Summit has always been about vision, innovation, and rich idea exchange from the very beginning,” said Shirish Andhare, Director of Product Marketing at Sylantro Systems. “Reinventing Voice is our theme this year so we’re hoping that this contest results in new, cutting edge applications and ideas that realize on the true value of rich IP based communications.”
Sylantro’s Synergy platform and Synapps Web Services provide a carrier-grade, feature-rich, web services-enabled common capability for creating new converged experiences for business and consumers. The Synapps Web Services enable mainstream web developers to leverage voice as a key enabler in their applications.
The Sylantro Global Summit is an annual gathering of service providers and communications executives from around the world focused on addressing carrier transformation. Attendees will hear the latest on hosted voice, mobility and Web services from service providers and Sylantro partners and see the latest in applications and listen to real world case studies all in an intimate, high touch atmosphere. For additional information on the Sylantro Global Summit, please go to http://www.sylantro.com/gs2007/

Voxeo Customers To Get International DID Numbers

Voxeo Corporation, a provider of hosted VoIP and IVR services, premise VoIP and IVR system, recently announced that a primary carrier Voxbone has been chosen to supply International DID numbers, making Voxeo customers to receive calls via dedicated direct local number.Voxeo maintains a very active voice application customer and developer portals worldwide.
Voxbone known for leasing international VoIP Virtual Phone Numbers and global origination services through VoIP firms in America, Europe and Asia. It provides high-quality call origination and gives the global infrastructure that allows its subscribers to spread to international markets at a quick rate effectively. Using DID, clients might get cheap locally dialed calls, while standard VoIP hardware, customers use the web portal for the setting up of the acquired DID’s and to select the IP appliance diverted calls go to.

Securing SME’s VoIP Networks

John Edwards of VoIP News was quoted as saying "many cost, efficiency and productivity benefits" pointing out the need for small and medium enterprises (SME’s) to give VoIP security top priority as a computer data network.
He even stressed the need to ensure that “ironclad authentication and encryption tools are in place" like a VPN or a hosted PBX as an alternative.
These have the ability to maintain a safe VoIP connection, more so if firms compare security policies of several VoIP providers, to ensure they select a dependable service.
He noted that "Users do all sorts of things that open the door to potential attackers, such as using unauthorized hosted IP telephony technologies like Google Talk and Skype," he said "While these services are relatively safe in a stand-alone consumer environment, they can introduce significant risks into an enterpriseVoIP system as they search for ways to reach the public Internet though firewalls and other security barriers." While highlighting the major risk to VoIP services by its users.

InteleCom Increases Customer Base In China Through Partnership

With an aim to penetrate the untapped VoIP telecoms market in China, estimated to be about 1.1 billion users.InteleCom, a firm that provides internet and telecoms service has gone into partnership with two top Chinese firms: Panda International and Shanghai NUI Telecom, with the aim of using their platforms to market its products and services.
Shanghai NUI Telecom, a subsidiary of KD Ontime Holding Corporation, which offers VoIP service and support in China, Japan, Canada, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and USA.
While Panda International Information Technology Company, an arm of Panda Electronics Group Company, a household name in China for more than 20 yrs and occupying a spot on the top 100 largest electronics information enterprise in China and notably the first Chinese firm to break into the international market.
Chairman of InteleCom made known in a press statement that "Together the companies form a formidable marketing team in China where there are 170 million Internet users, 372 million landlines, and 508 million mobile phone users,” and that “All of these subscribers are potential VoIP customers through InteleCom's remote calling feature.”
While acknowledging that the 170 million internet users, 372 million landline and 508 million mobile phone users are a vibrant market for the strength of the two firms. With a view to expanding, plans are on with Sakal group in Israel to market Intelecom’s products and services using its distribution network in other countries.

iPhone unlocking software

iPhone new application promises to “wreck havoc” with the unlock. This iPhone unlocking software developed by the iPhone development team is a new innovation that would make opening up of iPhone to any GSM carrier simpler. It is now officially available, automatic and free for anyone who cares to own it. This is good news to iPhone users since they would be able to have access to this service themselves. The Dev Team offered that users would only have to copy this new version over the phone and execute the application automatically, and this can be achieved within five minutes. This unlocking software can be downloaded from Here

IPEVO Releases SOLO – A Skype Desktop Phone

Skype users are soon to enjoy an out of computer box service being offered by IPEVO through the product branded SOLO. It is their first contribution to move Skype conservation beyond the use of PC but through a desktop phone that connects the device to a router or cable modem. The IPVO SOLO box package comes with a base unit, handset, Ac adapter, graphical hardware installation guide, quick setup guide, user manual and a 6ft network cable. This unique device storms the market with its eye-catching LCD display the screen is not only beautiful but also large in size thereby making pictures to appear very vivid and the phone operation easier. Imagine a Skype phone that present fully the long Skype ID to scroll mode so as to allow users to view their full name, and also enable them to find the correct contact name displayed on the screen without wasting time. The design is such that it has a version of Skype software developed by Skype incorporated in it and this has made the Skype’s incoming and outgoing calls as speed – dial and call to routed through it without the need of a computer. It can also perform other functions such can stay firmly on the magnetized base unit. Although the voice quality can be improved it is quite satisfactory. The WAN port and LAN port at the back of IPEVO SOLO’s base unit make it easier for users who have only one Network connection to be able to stay connected using their SOLO and PC simultaneously. They do not need to waste money to buy an extra switch/router. At the moment, the product is currently available in some Asian countries and will soon reach the VS. More information is available at www.ipevo.com and Skype's Online Store

VoEX Inc changes name to IntelePeer

VoEX™ Inc., a major VoIP managed-services provider, announced today it has renamed itself IntelePeer™ Inc. to better reflect the company’s comprehensiveness in next-generation communications services.
IntelePeer’s phone-number-to-IP address registry, global IP peering infrastructure, media transcoding and routing intelligence allow carriers, cable companies, wireless and other voice services providers, universities, call centers, enterprises and eCommunities – such as AIM, Yahoo! and MSN – to reduce their communications costs dramatically. Its infrastructure allows participating peers to send traffic around the world without making costly interim hops to public switched telephone networks, and to build and run intelligent voice-and-data communications applications from end to end.
“We felt we needed to change our name because ‘VoEX’ implies that we’re simply a voice exchange service using VoIP,” said company CEO F. Terry Kremian. “We needed a brand name that better reflects the broader range of our communications offerings and future direction of the company.
“We chose IntelePeer because it stands for Intelligent Telecommunications and Peering,” he added. “Many of our would-be competitors offer voice peering and minutes exchange, or registry services, or gateway functions, as well as long-haul IP trunking services. We differentiate ourselves by offering all of these services combined with the infrastructure to develop next-generation intelligent communications applications.” Kremian said he could foresee, for example, such applications as location-aware (or presence-aware) enhanced person-to-person interactions.
Leveraging industry standards, IntelePeer’s intelligent peering navigation technology assures that every call is delivered in the right format across the most cost-effective, highest quality route possible – providing one-stop shopping for state-of-the-art IP services at a fraction of the cost. These services incorporate:

• Intelligent Least Cost Routing – maximizing quality and cost savings across all networks;
• SIP-based Session Management – reducing termination costs and eliminating payments to long distance and local carriers;
• Any-to-Any Network Interoperability – real-time transcoding, protocol translation and media conversion between disparate networks;
• Phone Number Mapping – linking phone numbers to IP-based addresses using ENUM and other protocols;
• Device Discovery – dynamically analyzing network traffic and call statistics to determine the best route and method to deliver calls while reducing the complexity of building device-specific applications.

“These are the core services that define IntelePeer and will drive future growth,” Kremian said.
He called IntelePeer’s SuperRegistry™ capability – the addressing database and routing algorithms essential to the peering community -- a key differentiator, because the wide number of destinations it reaches makes the company a “one-stop shop” for realizing the many cost and Quality of Service benefits of VoIP and direct network-to-network interworking. It also sets the groundwork for support of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and other IP-based applications.
The IntelePeer SuperRegistry combines its open-standards carrier ENUM directory technology with a global carrier-grade IP peering and TDM interconnect routing infrastructure. Together, this enables customers to originate, terminate and share calls or sessions for mobile, fixed and broadband communications.
In addition, the SuperRegistry platform will allow service providers to create new sources of revenue by deploying innovative SIP-based services such as video, presence and location-awareness.

VoIP Doubles Size of National Network Infrastructure to Accommodate Additional Customers and Growing Traffic

VoIP, Inc. announced today that it has doubled the size of its existing national network infrastructure to accommodate additional customers and increased traffic. Additionally, new expansion includes the further build-out of the Company’s own facilities, which replace and expand uncovered areas in the U.S thru adding four additional states. This has enabled the Company to enhance market penetration, improve quality of service and reduce its overall cost of goods for products and services sold by as much as 50% through new vendor relationships and enhanced pricing and terms on existing ones. Additional expansion is expected to continue throughout the year, ultimately enabling the company to offer services in 21 additional states thru use of its own network to more than 200 million subscriber and enterprise lines.
“We continue to expand our Network, driving and supporting increased revenue and improved margins,” said Shawn Lewis, Chief Operating Officer of VoIP, Inc. “We have also begun to build new network deployments in four additional states which have demonstrated the next highest volume of traffic, which should further decrease costs once completed and drive new business.”
The Company recently announced that revenue for the month of August, 2007 from its continuing Caerus (VoiceOne network services) business exceeded $1 million. Revenue increased by approximately 17 percent from the month of July, 2007 as a result of increased utilization of the Company's network, and higher margins associated with the revenue. Revenue from continuing Caerus business for the first eight months of the year has now nearly equaled the total revenue generated by Caerus for the entire 2006 fiscal year.

FaceBook Users offered Voice Mail by Free World Dialup

Free World Dialup has revealed a new Voice Mail service for FaceBook users. It is known as FaceMail and it is a great first effort by them to add voice mail to FaceBook. First was iotum’s Conference Calling feature which brings people together in a collaborative manner within FaceBook.
This new invention, FaceMail is good for people who spend all their life in FaceBook. But it is not yet portable just like Skype voice mail. This simply means you have to go to another place to listen to more messages as against having all of them i.e. Grand Central, CommuniKate, and Ring Central in one place. This has been the mantra of those in the unified messaging space for years and not "diversified messaging" which both FaceMail and Skype Voice Mail are part of.
FaceMail needs the following in order to function properly. Firstly is an RSS Feed for messages that come in. It ensures that those who use it always get alerted. It will be a great tool for inbound call centers or group support teams. Then secondly is the ability for the message to be fed to GrandCentral. This is essential with Google and GrandCentral set for the focal point and with so much going on in the world of mashups. Another thing is a presence feature, which can read my status ala iotum and then route the call via GrandCentral to anywhere I want to be called. After listening to the message I receive, I can then talk to the party that left the message. The next one is Playback where once a message is in GrandCentral, I can play it back and hear it when I call in. I can also drop a reply message in FaceBook or call the person back in real time. Another feature required is an Audio Attachment which is sent with email. It is only for people with new Blackberries or Windows Mobile devices who can play audio attachments. It is no use having a message when you know you have to surf to get it. It is meant specifically for those who need it now. Finally it needs to inform the Twitter crowd in the same way it hits logged on IM clients that a new FaceMail is available.
To be very honest, I'm getting tired of all the collaboration applications that puts an additional barrier up, when they break another barrier down. It is not actually collaboration in the real sense because it is a different way of doing something that already exists. In my own opinion, it is a waste of time to have places where voice mail messages should be left. Instead, fewer should be put in place and more ways should be introduced to get messages to the intended recipients efficiently.
FaceMail is indeed a great first effort by Free World Dialup to add voice mail to FaceBook, but to be much more useful, it needs to move beyond its walled garden by offering much more functionally. For instance, FaceMail is just like another me i.e. like the same me offering the same service but only at a different place. On the other hand, iotum’s Conference Calling app crosses that line, and actually brings people together in a collaborative manner, in and out of FaceBook. It does not depend on anything but a phone of some sort, IP, PSTN, Mobile or something to be invented in the future. That's “me different” or in other words doing something new. A perfect analogy you would say.

Call Several Countries for Just 0.5 cents Directly from your Regular Phone using Dialnow

Betamax is launching new products or simply duplicating their existing products faster than anybody can catch up with. I completelly miss this until one of my readers sent me an e-mail to tip me off. Dialnow is a new betamax service that has a slight modification to what they offer in other products. In this case there is nothing to download and now direct callback feature, you make the calls directly from your landline or mobile phone. No free destinations but rates are extremelly low for the popular destinations costing just 0.5 cents per minute for about 40 countries and rates for other destinations are quite cheap too.
To use Dialnow you just need to register at www.dialnow.com and buy a 10 euros credit and you are ready to go. To make a phonecall using dialnow, just dial the low cost access number from the country where you live, followed by the complete international number you wish to call. Its that simple!.
Right now access numbers are available only in some select countries but i hope more countries will come on stream as time progresses. To see the list of countries with access numbers and to register for the service visit www.dialnow.com

Convenos Meeting Center, a Conference Board Room on the Internet

Can you imagine a conference board room on the internet! Well it is possible. Lets just say you entered a typical conference or board room, you will find audio-visual devices within the room: a slide projector, a whiteboard, a video monitor and probably a display adapter with screen. Now picture that in the internet.
What the Convenos Meeting Center actually does is to move a typical board room to the Internet. It is so good that you can even enter or leave the board room anytime and still re-enter to find all your shared content exactly the way you left them. This internet board room serves as a complete conference sharing collaborative environment idle for ad hoc and scheduled meetings on the internet.
It can also be used as a virtual meeting room for "persistent", project-dedicated business activities like key account sales strategizing or product management support.
To show how effective it is, is the fact that it is being adopted by enterprises requiring up to three figure numbers of licenses. The convenos tab bar's tittls shows the reall essence of convenos as illustrated below:

• Slides: This is a full presentation slide manager i.e.PowerPoint, PDF and MS Office files and so on.
• Web: Co browsing or sharing links of web pages.
• Draw: i.e. a virtual whiteboard with the normal annotation capabilities.
• Media: embedded Windows Media Player for sharing full motion video.
• AppShare: an application sharing environment for either your full desktop or a single desktop application window

Apart from displaying these basic services, the Convenos Meeting Center session displays sidebars that facilitate and support management of the meeting.

The 2007 Skype Mashup cup goes to PamFax

A mashup is a software application or service that combines data from different sources into an integrated experience. Two or more songs can be merged to produce something very new and cool using the software. For example combining Christina Aguilera’s vocal track, "Genie in a Bottle" and the Strokes’ "Hard to Explain".
PamFax from Germany-based PamConsult has just emerged the winner of Skype’s 2007 Mashup competition. The competition was judged based on the following criteria- Skypeness, layout, stability, usability, coolness, usefulness and flair. The judges were Paul Amery, Antoine Bertout, Lester Madden, Damon Williams, Adam Trachtenberg, Phil Wolff, Jim Courtney, John Musser, Jack Dorsey and Julian Bond.
The wonderful news is that the winner, PamFax, will allow you to send a fax to any fax machine in the world and easily pay with your Skype credit. (I realize the previous sentence used the word "fax" three times. Sorry about that). No prepayment or registration is needed before you can send the fax. But if you want, you can get fax status notifications through Skype chat, SMS or email. You can also use Google Maps to locate the recipient.
Paul Amery, the head of Skype Developer Program, made the announcement of the winner. To get more details on this, please check Jim Courtney’s excellent extended mashup competition post on Skype Journal.

In-Flight, Air-to-ground broadband to be Available in Virgin America Flights

The application of wireless internet technology will finally make in-flight interaction more exciting. Recently, Virgin America gave out details on its partnership deal with AirCell, an in-flight wireless broadband provider, on how air-to-ground wireless internet will be made available to all in its flights "sometime in 2008". According to them, it will be offered in two ways: BYOD (bring your own device, laptops or pdas or whatever), and also through an inflight entertainment system known as Red. AirCell also made a deal with America Airlines on the same air-to-ground wireless internet.
Below is a clip from a joint press release issued recently by AirCell and VA:
Customized for Virgin America, the system is anticipated to allow guests to connect to the internet with the AirCell Broadband Service, using either their Red™ seatback video screens or their own WiFi enabled portable gaming devices, laptops, PDAs or Smartphones. As such, in addition to the many entertainment choices currently offered by Red™ guests will be able to check and send web-email from their seatbacks through Red™’s TALK -- the airline’s onboard chat system -- using popular instant messaging services such as MSN®, Google® talk, Yahoo! ® Skype, and AIM®. "We believe that broadband connectivity on our planes will help enhance the inflight experience for our guests," said Charles Ogilvie, Virgin America’s Director of Inflight Entertainment & Partnerships. "Whether it’s IMing with your friends, updating your blog, getting a stock quote, sending photos from your trip to friends, watching a movie or sending a work email, we plan to make it all available on a Virgin America plane."
From what I could make out from the press, two things make Virgin America distinct over the America Airline on the deal made with AirCell. The first is that, every single Virgin America (VA) plane will have the connection, not just a selected few. America Airline (AA) on the other hand may be planning to do the same thing later, but VA is committed to doing it right from the beginning. Secondly is that through using the system “Red”, VA will be able to offer a fleet-wide, airborne social network where guests on one plane will be able to interact with other guests on that plane and with flyers on other planes within the VA fleet.
I think Virgin America has got some pretty ambitious plans afoot for in-flight interactivity. This could get entertainment really interesting.

Google Acquired Postini to Boost GTalk Security

In order the strengthen the security of all the Google office applications like Google Mail but most importantly Google Talk, Google has acquired security firm Postini. The Postini acquisition will enable Google to add more advanced inbound and outbound spam and virus filtering, content filtering, user blocking and activity / content logging.
Though this is generally seen as a step in the right direction it still will not solve GTalk's missing end-to-end encryption of IM, voice/video streams and file transfers.

VocalCom Outline VoIP Opportunities

GITEX Technology Week regular says that though VoIP started life as a consumer sensation, the possiblities for business innovation are endless. A fact that Vocalcom has also come to realise and its trying to earness as much as possible mainly to reduce the cost of doing business and improve efficiency.
According to Vocalcom, the fact that it has a global presence in about 40 countries and more than 2800 clients, reiterate the fact that there is need for internet telephony.
The business potential of voip technology is huge and companies are definitely waking up to this reality and looking for ways to seize the opportunities.

A Review of Sony Ericsson W580i phone

The Sony Ericsson W580i phone is a quad-band GSM and EDGE cell phone. It has a QVGA 2" screen, an M2 slot, 12 MB of available storage, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP support, a 2 MP camera, a 900 mAh battery, and an FM Radio with RDS. We were sent by Hi-Mobile to review the features of this phone after a year of testing the non-smart phone Sony Ericsson platform. We shall look at the features of the phone and the review done more closely.
In a packet for the phone, we found the following – a P512 MB M2 card, a hands free with a 3.5mm adapter, a travel charger, the Li-Po battery, a USB 2.0 cable with support for SE's Fast Port, the PC suite in a CD and its user manual.
Sony Ericsson W580i is a slim, slider phone and quite light (just 94 grams) so it feels good in the hand though the twisted lower part can be problematic if you are the type that wears tight jeans. It has been rated as young or active people’s phone. At the left side is the up/down volume buttons, while on top is the on/off button. No extra cameras or special purpose buttons are found on the sides except the normal buttons on the front of the device which are the soft keys, back, backspace, walkman button and shortcut button. There is a 5-way joystick which is very rigid and solid and also doubles as a walkman control and the camera's application loader. When you are listening to something loud, you must be careful not to touch the joystick because the stereo loud speaker is found behind it. When you Slide the phone, you will see the 2 MP camera at the back of the phone. The overall construction of the phone is good except for the keypad and the battery door. When you look at the keypad, the buttons look as if they were attached to the phone at the center only especially the # key which feels like it will popup at any moment. As for the battery door, I found it very difficult to open; I hurt my index finger while trying to change Sims in it. Eventually, I used a sharp knife at the bottom of the phone where there are wrist-wrap holes to open its battery door. This is risky because it can destroy the battery door then there will be no fantastic phone to use.
The phone’s battery can withstand about 7 hours of talk time and approximately 7 days on standby. Its reception is as good as W810i's, maybe quite a bit better. The audio quality is also at the uppermost level both ways. The messaging and contacts/Log usability experience is even more positive compared to phones from LG or Motorola. Apart from the colourful, updated Walkman software, 3 other applications are present that has to do with physical exercise. First, you will find a pedometer in the front screen with a calories/weight counter that saves information as an .xls file and also allows you to share the information with others. Then there is a track & field manager -- complete with... how many medals you got! Then lastly, a cool little app helps you know how many steps away cities of the world are. Like if you are in New York and you set as your target city as Los Angeles, this application will tell you approximately how long you have to walk to get there. Can you imagine that?
By comparing the W810i phone to one of SE's most popular phones in the United States, the W810i model, you will have some reasons to either upgrade to the former or to still stick to the latter. The good thing is that W580i has QVGA screen which is better compared to W810i's QCIF screen, 2.0 Bluetooth instead of 1.2 in W810i, better Net front memory management, and finally a much better Walkman upgraded software with A2DP and PAN support. The disadvantages are that it has the worse cameras with no flash, auto focus, or flash light, no IrDA and slightly worse battery life. The worst of all is that it just doesn't take good pictures. The pictures are especially bad under low light i.e. with "night" effect on or off. Another thing is that the phone can only record in QCIF size and 3GP format, even if it can playback MP4 video in QVGA size with no problems. I think this is a market segmentation decision at Sony Ericsson rather than a true hardware limit. Every other thing in the two phones are the same except for the M2 card is used instead of the Memory Stick Pro Duo. At the end, you will choose the one with the features that is most useful to you.
Since our previous SE phone preview there has also been an upgrade in the Walkman application. For example, the UI now makes more sense than before, it is now easier to move to different screens and there is also a play list and album art support now. On the other hand, you cannot compare it with an iPod. If you are using it for the first time, its still very confusing because of jumping from the song list to the My Music menu and the main music screen, and navigation is still not tree-based as in an iPod. SE has worked on the "hissing" problem, an issue that has plagued a number of music phones in the past few years. Now, when you listen to song using the Walkman, the sound is crystal clear and when the sound card is switched on and the terrible hissing sound is not heard. Since Samsung phones still have this problem, it is a great plus to Sony Ericsson for providing a more authentic mp3 player in their phones. The phone sports out two lights on its left and right sides, which depends on the "theme" you use, the lights will now flash in different colors in sync with the songs currently playing on your Walkman software.
An interface upgrade was also done in the FM radio, although what really caught our attention was the TrackID application which has the ability to listen to any song from the on-board FM radio and then connect to a server to tell you which song it is, based on the tempo/rhythm. With this you can always link a song to its artist easily. That is a wonderful development, don’t you think so!
Other minor updates and changes have also been done on the rest of the software. Now, the new camera software is easier to use now and Netfront 3.3 does not run out of memory in every corner. Not to mention Java apps which looks faster now too, e.g. Opera Mini, GMail and Google Maps. It will be wonderful to be able to run multiple java apps at the same time and also be able to switch between them with the help of SE's new app-switching facility. To confirm this, we were able to run 6 java applets at the same time before the phone started to perform slower. The A2DP worked also very well, and we could connect the phone to the internet not by using GPRS, but by using the PAN Bluetooth profile, which connects to a Bluetooth router instead of a WiFi one.
The software is the real reason why the older SE phone i.e. W810i was upgraded to the W580i one, not the hardware features. In my opinion, I think Sony Ericsson has the best user interface/usability in the non-smart phone market with their present platform.
Finally,W580i is a worthy upgrade over the W810i and many other SE phones, if you live in the United States of America and you need a phone that has both a QVGA screen and a quad-band GSM/EDGE ability. Since SE does not have many such phones, W580i is among the best solutions presently.
The review was actually worth it, it was an interesting adventure because we got to see the new improvements in the software department from W810i to W580i.

Reviewing the Nokia 6120 Classic

The Nokia 6120 Classic is a quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G phone which supports 850Mhz used for AT and T in the United States of America and 2100 Mhz 3G bands. Another model of Nokia i.e. Nokia 6121 uses 1900 and 2100 Mhz. Features of the 6120 model are a 2 inch QVGA screen, a micro SD slot, 35 MBs of free storage, 64MBs of RAM, 369 Mhz ARM11 CPU, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP/AVRCP support, a 2.5mm audio jack, mini USB, 2 MP cameras with flash, QVGA video-call camera, a Li-Ion 890 mAh battery and an FM stereo radio.
When you open up the box for the phone, you will find the phone, its battery, a charger, a user manual, USB data cable, a CD-ROM and a Nokia stereo headset. No micro SD card was included in the package.
Nokia 6120 is perhaps the smallest Sympian phone ever made, considering the fact that it is a smart phone. It is just the right type of phone for people that want portable phones because even though it weighs just 89 grams and can easily fit into anything like the palm or a tight jeans, it still has extraordinary features. On the sides are extra buttons for the camera and the volume control. The buttons can only be pressed with the whole thumb instead of the finger nails. People with large fingers will find it a bit difficult to use at first.
From the test we conducted on the 6120 model, we discovered it has very good reception, a wonderful voice quality and also very fast. Its speed was far better than most Sympian phones e.g. the N95 series. The best feature is its battery life. The one I bought 2 weeks ago has lasted for 5 hours of talk time through GSM when the 3G was off and 11 days of standby.
The phone’s screen is about 2 inches wide, which makes it unsuitable for media viewing even if it has h.264 support. But when we used a 2 GB micro SD card on it, it was much better. The RAM is always sufficient when we browse enormous pages such as Slashdot. The Bluetooth attached to it is maxed out at about 100 KB/sec. We could use the two of our headphones to work the A2DP perfectly. With the help of the mini USB 2.0 cable, we were able to stand the micro SD card directly to our desktop. The charging port and its proprietary cable is used to charge the phone.
The camera can only be used for outdoor pictures and not indoors. Its flash is strong and can record MP4 QVGA video samples. The anterior part of the camera can also be used to take snapshots in QVGA format or QCIF 3GP video sample 1 and 2 form.
The best attribute of the phone is the video editor, where you can put many videos and images in a sequential order so as to direct a larger video from your phone. After everything, you can save your work as .3GP. If Nokia can include trimmings for video clips in the timeline and even add 2-3 filter plug-ins such as color balance, it will be wonderful.
It comes with all the S60 apps in it such as calendar, calculator, PTT for Europe, J2ME 2.0 (Opera Mini runs crazy fast), GPS apps, quick office viewer, adobe PDF, converter, music player, real and flash player, IM, MSN support and much more things. Nokia 6120 has a lot of extra apps in it with links to websites, which is why it is called an internet phone.
The only disadvantage with the phone is that it comes with SIP/VoIP configuration and server-registering support in the settings that does not provide a way to dial through it. Though 3G calls have latency problems when compared to WiFi calls, it would have been a welcome feature. Generally speaking, Nokia 6120 series is definitely one of the best, smallest smart phones ever released and it costs less than 290 dollars.

The ASG-142 Skype Mouse Phone

Sysgration, a company in Taiwan has developed a product that would rock VoIP telephony and the internet users for a while. ASG 142 Skype mouse phone as it is called has been entrusted with a dual responsibility of being a mouse and at the same time a Skype phone.
The device could be mistaken for a laptop because it looks and feel like one and interestingly it can also be used as a laptop. It is made up of an 800 DPI sensor that can be connected to a USB port. For it to function well as a mouse, there is need to for the installation of a 1.1 USB interface which might not necessarily be of high capacity and does not require additional power. Inside the mouse is embedded the VoIP phone made specifically for Skype. The screen of the phone is a 1.3 inch LCD display that has a green backlight. The backlight ensures that the names, phone numbers and status of your contacts on your Skype list are boldly displaced on the screen.
Just like the conventional telephone, the red and green buttons are used for placing calls and dropping calls respectively. In addition to the numerical keys the design includes property keys that facilitate navigation through Skype menu such as the contact, dialed and history database and the two multi functions key by its side can be used to tune the volume of the device up or down.
Placing a call through this medium is as easy as using the conventional phone, once the contact has been picked from the contact list on the Skype menu, the number is input and the green button is pressed to make the connection, just that simple. Without the need of an external sound card the device provides a convenience means of using hands-free speaker phone and its weight of about 100 grams suggest that it would be easy to carry about. Pricing has not been mentioned but from all indications it is going to be fair to make it really fun.

The Cumbersome IP-830w from Samsung

Samsung products remain one of the most patronized in the world of telephony and its IP-830w is not an exemption. Branded the name Samsung SCH-i830 and marketed by Sprint and Verizon, Samsung IP-830w is a CDMA phone which also spport GSM frequencies and as such allows for global connectivity through the use of a SIM card inserted into a phone gadget thereby connecting its user to the available network.
This product however has some features that might pose as potential problems to some its users. The fact that the device is not portable compared with similar products from other companies implies that users will have to get use to carrying them around. Being about 180 grams this device is quite cumbersome and not easy to carry about, users who do not subscribe to carrying heavy luggage about might find it worrisome. The short life span of the battery also contributes to the bulkiness of this device and this is because there is need to carry an extended battery for one to effectively utilize it.
Another annoying feature of the equipment is in the complexity of the keypad. Though, the keypad is a QWERTY system, it looks obsolete when compared with other products of similar function and for those who cannot do without text messaging, they might need to expend more energy than necessary while using the stone-hard keypad! The fact that the phone lock system relies on a hardware switch on the left side adds to its complexity especially for those who are not used to this function. Also, the Window browser seems to be selective during navigation for example the Yahoo page and some other links are not highlighted let alone linking them through the browser.
Interestingly, the sound quality and the speakerphone are two features that still make the IP-830w a device to be desired by those who are in love with PDA

SoHo benefits from a new VoIP phone network introduced by GenNext

GenNext Technology, a VoIP phone manufacturer has just made known its plans to unveil its new small business network solution made particularly for Small office/Home office (SoHo). This system is made up of a cordless phone and a wireless router that can be used with both SIP-based and web-based VoIP services. The good thing about the system is that it has uninterruptible power supply, monitored as a protection against spikes that could damage the system.
The manufacturers know that the new innovation will solve problems for Small office/Home office because it is more affordable, has a good signal and reduces problems associated with power failures.
In a press statement, the chief executive officer of GenNext, Harry Cochran affirmed that the idea for its creation was conceived several years back to overcome the Quality of Service (QoS) but, it was a tough nut to crack back then. While GenNext Priority 1 network is being sold by the company’s worldwide distributors, plans are being made to produce a Voice over WiFi mobile phones very soon. So, watch out.

iLocus releases a report on how Cisco and Mitel sold 2.23 million IP PBX licences in 2007

The news on web recently from a research done by the firm iLocus shows that about 2.23 million IP PBX lines were sold in the second quarter of 2007, bringing in a profit of over 208 million dollars.
Cisco was the first market leader followed by Mitel who has 42 percent market share of non-Cisco shipments, next is 3Com, followed by Shore-Tel and then Inter-Tel, a new part of Mitel.
It is obvious iLocus released this information so people will buy their research report. I find it rather strange that Avaya and Nortel, the two major competitors of IP PBX space were not mentioned. But when I come to think of it, it seems its because iLocus declared it has stopped handling any consignment that has to do with legacy IP PBX upgrades or hybrid systems but now deals on pure IP PBX consignment in their VoIP equipment quarterly tracking service. Anyway these are all speculations on my own part.
Well, the report is out there for anyone who wishes to know how many IP and TDM lines were sold or what percent of it is in the 2.23 million dollars made. Also, you can find out if the 2.23 million dollars is a rise or fall from the previous quarter. You might also want to see trends or charts explaining things. All these and even more questions that you may have will be answered in the report.

UB's Campus Telephones To Run On VoIP

With a major objective of achieving cost reducing benefits according to Barbara Vasbinder, project manager of the telephone system replacement project being carried out on UB’s Campus. According to her the project entails replacing existing Verizon Centrex Service and different individual phone systems on campus. This is in line with UB 2020 Information Technology (IT) transition involving the replacement of UB’s older analog telephone system with latest VoIP telephone system, which commenced in May to last for 3 years.
Vasbinder while giving analysis said “Today we have 900 Cisco telephones working on the system”, with four Cisco models to replace analog phones and be able to work with existing computer jacks, so phones can function on the computer network. This change will offer uniformity in offering VoIP features to all staff to approximately 8000 phones.
This new service will also feature services like call forwarding, transferring, conferencing, voicemail and analog directory services.” Everyone will have direct-dial numbers, voicemail and the possibility of upgrading to unified messaging in the future, which is the ability to integrate your voicemail and email messages” according to Vasbinder, “The new infrastructure is based on servers that will be housed on campus as opposed to the Verizon central office”. All faculty or staff will have a direct-dial number at the end of the transition.
By placing emergency calls on the new VoIP phones, the university police can easily determine the location of the caller.Vasbinder also said “Another benefit is to be able to update and maintain correct location information for the purpose of all database”.
To have a smooth transition, plans are on the way for training sessions on Cisco phones.

Natural Convergence Launches a solution to users on hosted Key System

A VoIP provider known as Natural Convergence just introduced a Dynamic site support that will help small businesses sustain off-site teleworkers. Its hosted key system solution is the silhouette which can be extended to provide more appealing solutions for service-providers’ customer’s needs or selling VoIP services, by tapping its zero-touch deployment capabilities. In essence, the Dynamic Support capabilities was put in place to help service providers to solve problems associated with the many regulatory requisites for routing emergency calls such 999 in the United Kingdom and 911 in the United States and Canada, and at the same time not neglecting off-site users.
With this in place, off-site users can now have access to broadband internet access at home. Even travellers in public hot spots or hotels can make and receive calls as if they were at work. They also support a VoIP software that will help service providers in selling markedly better services to a large percentage of potential small business markets.
Mr Sanjay M. Patel, the vice president of Technology observed that Broadview Networks companies now allow a large number of their workers to work off-site because of this innovation, with the aim of increasing productivity, having more job fulfilment and improving their outcome. He also said it gives them an edge in approaching the needs of their small business customers by putting in place support for off-site users in its hosted key system.
The chief executive officer of Natural Convergence, David Cork thinks launching the Dynamic Site Support was a huge step in the company’s mobility strategy. He further noted that it is a move to help their service providers serve the small business market better.

The Introduction of VoIP switch cuts costs for Moss Bros

Recently, Moss Bros a fashion retailer for men introduced a VoIP system that will substitute its former nationwide telephone infrastructure. This was introduced to help cut down the cost of calls and streamline their business.
This upgrade was done last march in all the 150 stores they own. To make communicating on a safe connection, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) was set up for it. They now discovered that the benefits that come with this technology were enormous. For instance, 10 percent has been saved on making of calls, not to mention a whopping sum of €60,000 recovered from its base infrastructure.
In a briefing with IT pro, the IT technical project manger, Mr Dave Evans said the upgrade was something that was conceived 2 years ago when the company wanted to change their point-of-sale system from an ISDN network to a new till hardware and software, which was less costly and less risky as an outsourcing provider. He also said the VPN addition has created room for extending the company overseas, for the betterment of in-store businesses and management of stock from real-time sales and stock check renewal. He further added that the business benefits are far more than savings from cost since there are ‘soft’ gains around real-time visibility of the data and network.

Protocall Communications Implements Packet Island VoIP Solution

Protocall Communication, a company that serves enterprises and SMB’s actively participating in the travel, real estate, mortgage and title industries, offering a range of ip communication products such as VoIP, SIP trunking, unified messaging and first class carriers such as 800 and T1 services and features its splendid ip PBX called ‘Genesis’ has decided to implement Packet Island’s VoIP network assessment and monitoring solutions, such as its VoIPPro field service kit (FSK), with the hosted internet call target that enables a variety of functions ranging from LAN, WAN and multi-site network assessment as well as troubleshooting complex problems, providing a powerful tool for LAN and WAN assessment, as well as VoIP identification and network troubleshooting.
CEO of protocol Michael Simmons made known to the press that ‘protocall has always had the challenge of verifying a customer’s LAN and WAN for VoIP readiness,’ and added that ‘Now with Packet Island’s VoIPPro field service kit, we can assess and verify the networks call capacity to ensure a successful VoIP deployment. In addition, the VoIPCare Monitoring Service allows us to monitor the VoIP performance over our customer’s network and provide that information to the end user on a monthly basis in a detailed and easy to understand document.’
President of packet Island Inc., Praven Kumar, said that ‘one of the big challenges facing the VoIP market is that most customer LANs and ISP WANs are not ready for VoIP, and troubleshooting VoIP post-install problems end up as complex, and time consuming exercises’ he added ‘industry veterans agree that the key to high quality VoIP service delivery is to implement an end-to-end VoIP lifecycle management solution with appropriate tools, processes and expertise. Kumar then said ‘We strongly believe that the true leaders in the multi-billion dollar SMB VoIP market will be companies like Protocall who firmly believe that telecom service is all about delivering quality customer satisfaction and implement the operational processes to back up their conviction.’
Also, Packet Island VoIPCare service, a managed service which includes cheap micro-appliances installed at each SMB customer premise which continuously monitors quality and performance of service. This will enable Protocall to monitor VoIP service quality and performance, this will in addition, monitor traffic along the whole stretch and give full analysis of the network performance, because Packet Island’s solution allows all round monitoring. Thus protocall will now be able to log useful troubleshooting issue for future references and planning.

Department of Justice Ruled Out Legislation on Netnoot

Netnoot otherwise known as network neutrality by many has become a bone of contention within the internet community since the inception of Web 2.0 movement. It has attracted a huge interest from individual party concerned and they have all spoken in a relative term showing common interest of making accessibility to the internet as equal as possible.
The enforcement of such law as network neutrality might have several implications on the internet service providers; an example is the fact that some of the established companies would take advantage over the developing ones and consequently make much more than necessary in terms of financial returns from a simple transaction. This could result to creation of a hostile environment among the internet service companies, and of course the end users are always at the receiving end.
However, Netnoot appears to have been destined to fail right from the time the idea was conceived, this is because no such thing as equality in the use of the internet services can be based on a more neutral ground than as it has existed. Looking at the current trend of events in the internet market, the ground for neutrality has already been defiled. Take DSL as example, they charge a premium fees for preferential treatment by imposing arbitrary speed limits without any solid reason and as a result the “big brothers” on the net are getting bigger while the young companies still struggle.
Rising to this challenge, the Department of Justice has realized the potential problems and as a result made it known that no such legislation to regulate the current activities on the internet as affect network neutrality.

Issues With The Free Phone Directory from Skype and Free411

When Skype and 1-800-Free411 joined forces to provide free directory assistance for subscribers of Skype little did they know that free things are not easy to come-by. There is always an undertone to freebies and telephony technology services are not an exemption.
Though the combined efforts of Skype and 1-800-Free411 to ensure that users under the canopy of their services enjoy the free service are well-intentioned, the efforts might not have really paid off due to some constraints in the course of using the service. Imagine the ordeal some of these users have to go through just in the name of getting a phone number because the service is free, paying the price of listening to an advert and this of course does not guarantee your finding the number you are interested in checking.
The fact that many phone companies charge some tokens for this same service might have a delusion effect on Skype and Free411 making them to believe they are the only companies offering their customers such a service, Goog411 offers this same service without the stress of listening to any advertisement and available for free.
Even when the Free411 calls is treated as Skype calls you still might not get what you really want and while Skype would want to “entertain you with their advert before you can get a number, you can as well route your request via your favorite web browser either from your mobile phone or the personal computer.

Worm Attack on Skype

After the much talked about skype outage caused by a windows update another threat has come upon skype again and skypers should be careful. This it is a Trojan worm that is propagating itself among skype users. This worm has been refferred to by various name such as warezov trojan horse, w32/Ramex.A ,W32.Pykspa.D. etc. Whatever you choose to call it does not matter, what is important is to be careful and protect yourself. This virus propagate by sending a chat message to a targeted skype user asking them to click on a link, once click a series of files will download and run.
Once infected the worm will send thesame message to all the victims skype contacts and thereby propagate. So if you receive any message from any of your contacts asking you to click a link make sure you confirm from them if they send the message or ignore such links alltogether. Update your antivirus software because some antivirus software are allready updated to remove the virus.
A statement on the skype official blog about this worm reads:


“Skype has learned that a computer virus called “w32/Ramex.A” is affecting users of Skype for Windows. Users whose computers are infected with this virus will send a chat message to other Skype users asking them to click on a web link that can infect the computer of the person who receives the message.
“Please note that Skype users ONLY become infected after they have downloaded the link and run the malicious software. The chat message, of which there are several versions, is cleverly written and may appear to be a legitimate chat message, which may fool some users into clicking on the link.
“Skype has been in contact with the leading antivirus software companies about this worm, and we know that they are updating their software to effectively stop this worm and as well as its side effects. Currently, F-Secure, Kaspersky Lab and Symantec have already updated their antivirus products to detect and remove the worm.
“We would like to encourage our users to ensure that they are running anti-virus software on their computers and to download the latest anti-virus updates in order to provide the best protection against this and other viruses.”


Skype is still a leading voip application and will continue to be that for a long time to come, users only need to be cautious and protect their systems against such virus treat that can come from anywhere on the internet and in any form.

Ezwim (TTM 8.3), Meets Telecom Manager Expectations

Due to growing need by telecoms manager facing increased cost of more than 8 percent each year as a result of a jump in roaming, mobile data and private usage; Ezwim has come up with its latest telecom expense management service for enterprises, called Total Telecom Management 8.3 (TTM 8.3), offering 3 strategic improvement that provide superior business intelligence, subscription advice and VoIP business cases on demand. It automatically generate VoIP business cases based on the real telecom usage, giving telecom managers a sound basis for strategic decision making to do with VoIP or in the introduction of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC), because TTM 8.3 gives full analysis of phones usage between offices and between fixed lines and mobiles.
CEO of Ezwim, Ron van valkengoed, was quoted in a statement as saying “TTM 8.3 enables our customers to reduce their telecom costs and helping them make better decisions to optimize their telecom resources,” and that “The voice of our clients has been the driving force of this renewed service,”
Also included is a flexible report generator giving customers access to tailored reports required for support of procurement or ad-hoc reporting. It gives subscription advice ensuring companies use the correct operator price plan.

Blogs To Come In Audio Format courtesy of Odiogo

I recently saw a thread posted by Jeff Pulver concerning a company called Odiogo, based in Jerusalem. The fascinating thing about this company is that it provides a medium that can automatically convert text-to-speech, allowing one to convert blog post to audio.
On Odiogo’s websites are audio samples. It is perfect for people who don’t have the time to read posts or are usually on the move. The sample’s audio meter and candence sounds quite robotic, but can easily be understood.
This link also allows you to reach a larger audience unlike regular blogs requiring no extra effort, all you have to do is configure RSS feeds and then subscribe to blogs who run it, by simply downloading the files, you are then able to listen to the post while on the move. It also provides steps to take in include ads on the audio posts.
Being an automated process also capable of working with articles, one is able to drastically increase its subscriber base without having to do anything (I mean not have to voice record posts personally), which seems like a good deal to me.
So posts now have a new format, thanks to Odiogo

Samsung Unveils VoIP Capable Monitors

Call it a step in the right direction. Samsung Electronics has once again showed why it’s a clear leader when it comes to innovation. By taking voice call technology a step further, with the launch of 2 new monitor models: Syncmaster 220TN and 225UW. Which are capable of monitoring video conferencing and voice calls by enabling online connection without using a computer.
The 220TN and 225UW monitors are both 22-inches each with 4 and 2 USB respectively for hub activities, they have a resolution of 1680 x 1050, 5ms response time, 2.0 mega pixel camera, microphone and speaker.
The monitors are made up of 500MHZ Geode LX800 processor, 1GB flash memory, 256MB RAM, Windows XP and an Ethernet slot.
Senior vice president of Samsung’s Visual Display Unit, said that “These monitors with VoIP functions unveiled at this IFA exhibition will become a must-have item for individual users and enterprises in the global era”.
With no price tag given yet, the targeted market include families who have member studying abroad and organizations with numerous branches who make frequent conference calls

VoIP Logic Launches Cortex 2.0

VoIP Logic recently released its new improved internet-based management platform Cortex2.0. A middleware built specifically to cut down the intricacy of layering of service provider employing VoIP technology within VoIP Logic’s service offering, it also allows for managing and adaptation of its services, providing clients with more control.
Other major improvements and modifications include the new enterprise, integration with Sylantro 4.1 including web portals for users and section based login identification for easy management to access rights and layers.
Also included in this package are its total voice mail ability and auto-attendant management integration with Imperia ActiveEdge 3.6 and MSX accounting integration by NexTone. Cortex 2.0 works alone or with outsourced VoIP infrastructure while considerably reducing the difficulty and technicality for VoIP technology for service provider, and goes a long way to improve their service delivery.

SkypeIn Numbers Now Available for Mexico and Ireland

Skype is gradually increasing the number of countries where you can get SkypeIn numbers from. The latest additions are Mexico and Ireland. This is good news for those who have family members in any of these two countries, since it is now possible to buy SkypeIn numbers for their family members and they can reach them by calling this skypein numbers from any regular phone.
Considering the huge population of Mexicans in the United State, i think lots of Mexicans living in the US will jump at this and get skypeIn numbers for their family members back home and considerably reduce the cost of their communication.
These latest addition brings to 20 the number of countries from which skype users can get SkypeIn numbers from. SkypeIn numbers makes it possible for non-skype users to call you from any regular on internet phone and having a skypeIn number in the country of the caller effectivelly turns an international call to a local call which could be free or really cheap.
Click Here to see the list of all the SkypeIn countries and to get yourself a skypeIn number from the country of your choice.

Tadiran Telecom to Demostrate VoIP VoIP Security and IP Telephony Solutions at ISC East, September 11-12 in New York

Tadiran Telecom®, a leading global IP business telephone and communications solutions provider, today announced plans to demonstrate its VoIP (Voice Over IP) Security and IP Telephony solutions at ISC East, September 11-12 at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in New York, booth #855.
Tadiran will also debut its MTV (Mobile Training Vehicle) at the show, allowing show attendees to experience and test the possibilities of IP communications, first hand. The MTV is outfitted with Tadiran's state-of-the-art telecommunications solutions.
Tadiran Telecom's V.P. of Marketing Pat Lennon said, "We're exited to bring our Mobile Training Vehicle to ISC East for the first time. It's a unique solution that allows us to showcase our products and offer training to customers. We simply roll the vehicle to our customer's offices, and they reap all the first-hand benefits of testing and training on our innovative VoIP Security and IP Communications products."
At ISC East, Tadiran also plans to demonstrate its newly launched Coral® Sentinel Pro product (see separate release today), which allows Tadiran's VoIP business telephones to work anywhere, without sacrificing an organization's data security.
Lennon continued, "Our products allow businesses and organizations of all sizes to migrate to the world of IP in stages, all while continuing to leverage existing network and legacy investments, and without risking data security issues. We're especially excited to be demonstrating our Coral Sentinel Pro at this show, as it showcases our technical prowess when it comes to VoIP security. With our unique Session Boarder Controller unit, our customers can rest assured that their data will not be compromised during VoIP calls."
Aboard the MTV at ISC East in booth #855, Tadiran will demonstrate the following VoIP Security and IP Telephony solutions:
- The Coral Sentinel Pro, Tadiran's newest product, is a SIP-compliant Session Boarder Controller (SBC) unit that enables the connection of remote IP Tadiran business phones located behind NAT (Network Address Translation) servers or firewalls. The Coral Sentinel Pro removes VoIP security issues by transferring signals and RTP traffic through the firewall or NAT server to the relevant endpoints in the LAN network. With Coral Sentinel Pro, no permanent channels are opened up to transmit and receive calls, ensuring the organization's data is secure.
- Tadiran's award-winning family of Coral IP PBXs offer a range of telephony solutions that facilitate a seamless move to VoIP, with no loss to investment in legacy systems or the need for extensive retaining. The Coral IPx family includes a breadth of products that combine leading edge VoIP capabilities, voicemail, conference bridge and cell phone integration, allowing cell phones to act as extensions to the system. Each model can be used as a VoIP telephony server with gateway and digital telephone options. The Coral IPx family offers the best total cost of ownership, backed by superb voice quality, easy installation and maintenance, secured communications, and a wide choice of user devices to support tele-workers, corporate and branch offices, and road warriors.
- The Coral IPx Office is Tadiran's small office IP PBX solution. It is a complete IP office communication solution in one small box, for simple, flexible converged communications with sophisticated call handling, firewall protection, VPN (Virtual Private Network) and NAT support, and optional unified messaging. It offers an extensive range of IP functionality and user benefits such as a built-in data switch optional Internet router and a large selection of gateways to legacy connections. The Coral IPx Office can also be networked, giving branch offices the same communication services enjoyed by the head office.
- A preview of Tadiran's newest innovation, the Coral Sea Softswitch - a complete, pure IP VoIP solution for all size enterprises (currently in beta). The Sea Softswitch, based on open technology standards, is a single, replicated, fault-tolerant VoIP solution, requiring only 1 RU (rack unit) of space, but with far greater capabilities than much larger systems. As an independent system, or integrated with existing systems and endpoints, the Sea Softswitch connects between endpoints, protocols and media gateways. This provides full feature functionality of voice, video, SIP-based unified messaging, multimedia and Contact Center capabilities.
- Mobility applications. Tadiran's FlexiCallTM, FreedomTM and FlexAirTM applications enable employees to be reached through one number, making it easy for them to receive important calls and timely messages. With FlexiCall, your landline and mobile phone ring simultaneous, allowing employees to never miss a call. And once they get the call, they stay in control of it with the ability to transfer the call into the office, or page someone, from their mobile phone. FlexAir allows full mobility within the office building or campus using DECT wireless, while avoiding airtime costs. With Freedom, businesses can provide access to internal system services - outgoing trunk access, voicemail, conferencing and internal calls - to distant and cellular phones. Employees dial into their own phone number and access all their user-defined system capabilities, enabling them to take advantage of lower corporate GSM gateway tariffs.
- Unified Messaging systems that consolidate voice messages, emails and faxes into a convenient Microsoft® Windows® browser-based platform. Tadiran's Unified Messaging systems are designed specially for the telephone system, offering the most seamless integrations. The systems fit into the telephone chassis, requiring no external resources.
- Tadiran's CompositTM Contact Center is a comprehensive suite of real-time, IP multimedia customer interaction management solutions. Its scalable and modular system combines IVR, Dialer, CTI, queue management, Intelligent Interaction Routing and multimedia management - all on a single, distributed platform. Composit's distributed architecture allows multiple Composit servers to tie together and work as one single system, so agents across different servers can connect and share data, and businesses can expand the number of agents and IVR ports, conduct automatic load balancing and disaster recovery.

VoSKY Launched VoSKY Exchange Pro

VoSKY, the leading provider of Skype for Business Solutions, today announced the upcoming release of VoSKY Exchange Pro, a turnkey PBX-to-Skype appliance that enables businesses to enhance communications and reduce telecom costs. The new edition will simplify installation, save rack space and expedite troubleshooting by integrating software and hardware into a standalone 1U rackmount appliance.
VoSKY Exchange Pro will come pre-loaded with Skype, the software that drives the world¹s largest VoIP network, as well as the VoSKY Exchange application required to deploy, run and manage the Exchange solution for Skype-enabling office phones.
VoSKY Exchange Pro is scheduled to ship in the fourth quarter in two eight-port FXS and FXO models that support eight Skype or SkypeOut lines on a single box. The VoSKY Pro VIO8 FXO PBX-to-Skype appliance will connect to any TDM or IP PBX through FXS station ports, while the VIS8 FXS PBX-to-Skype appliance will connect through FXO trunk ports.
³VoSKY Exchange Pro is a true plug-and-play solution for Skype-enabling the PBX. Connect it to the appropriate ports on a PBX/KTS, and the only other thing you need to do to get started is to sign up for a Skype account,² said David Tang, Vice President of Global Marketing for VoSKY Technologies. ³It¹s a strong addition to our VoSKY Exchange product line that provides businesses and resellers with a new option that will help streamline the deployment and maintenance process.²
VoSKY Exchange is a family of VoIP gateways that optimizes Skype for use in a business environment by allowing users to make and receive free and low-cost Skype calls over their desk phones without PCs or headsets. The gateways install on existing PBXs, allowing businesses to take advantage of Internet telephony without replacing their legacy infrastructure. They also centralize Skype provisioning and management, giving IT managers and network administrators full control over Skype use while eliminating the need to install Skype on each desktop.
The Exchange platform maximizes VoIP savings by enabling free calling between company offices in different cities and/or countries, free inbound calls to the PBX from remote or mobile users calling from their Skype-enabled PCs, free Web Click-to-Call for customers calling from corporate websites, and low-cost long distance and international calls from the PBX to outside phones. Calls between Exchange-equipped offices and to other Skype users are free, while calls to traditional phones are charged at SkypeOut rates as low as 2 cents per minute -- even overseas. VoSKY Exchange is the only enterprise-grade PBX-to-Skype gateway that has earned Skype certification, ensuring seamless interoperability with Skype features and services.
The new edition will be demonstrated at the Internet Telephony Conference that opens today in Los Angeles. Small and mid-sized businesses and resellers can find out more about VoSKY and see a demo of VoSKY Exchange Pro at the VoSKY seminar to be held at 2 pm on Tuesday, September 11, in meeting room 507.

XNet Enhances iPhone with iSoftPhone VoIP Application

Taking advantage of the huge publicity given to Apple iPhone, XNet has launched its latest iSoftPhone (version 1.4) which is very similar to Apple iPhone. Though it is capable of running on Mac OS which Apple iPhone is based, it does not run on the iPhone. This new version is a raise from other SIP SoftPhone clients used by Mac. It leverages on Apples bonjour technology, which allows iSoftPhone users to connect with each other. It also enables them to detect other users inside their own network. By just double – clicking on the contact in the address book stored on the phone, Bonjour allows you to make calls or send messages to them. This improved version is free from noted problems with earlier versions from SIP providers and STUN Server configuration users. For XNet,"This is no half-baked Apple Java-compatible program nor is it a port of any Windows or Linux version. This is a pure Mac implementation for Mac users only. Therefore user experience is set on top of the powerful telephony engine." Bluetooth support has been improved for Bluetooth devices, providing better sound quality. They also applied other user suggestions (including DTMF keys) The easy one touch setup allows you to connect to other iSoftPhone users in no time. Conference calls can also be made for various contacts 9which are managed using integrated Mac OS). The beauty of this is the ability to login to various SIP providers simultaneously. A wizard also guides you through the configuration of well known SIP providers like Vonage, BroadVoice, Free SIP, SIP Phone, Packet8 and a whole lot of others. More information about iSoftPhone is available at http://www.call4mac.com/

New Mobile VoIP Solution by EQO Mobile

EQO communications, a mobile internet phone service provider announced its latest EQO mobile version, which simply enables making VoIP calls from your cell phone. A free software application can be downloaded from EQO website, sequel to this they send you an sms link on your phone for download.
Even with the ability to send instant messages via EQO on various IM services like Google Talk, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo messenger, one is unable to make calls to contacts.
EQO’s selling point is allowing you call any conventional phone (landline/mobile) in the world via a local gateway at local rates (requiring EQO out credit), but calls between EQO users are free. A data and voice plan are also required in order to have access to call local numbers.
Having tested this new application using a BlackBerry pearl, we observed the ease by which chatting via various IM services was operated due to easy navigation along the interface. We were able to end certain IM connections, making the list more precise. When a call was put through to New York (we didn’t get to make an international call), it was very clear, but a delay was reported on the other end. Another call (EQO – to – EQO0 was placed to EQO’s CEO Bill Tam, which was also clear and connected quickly. The clarity was of better quality when compared to those over Wi-FI networks
EQO’s new mobile application is available for hundreds of popular mobile handsets, BlackBerry (makes use of a Java application), Motorola,e.t.c. In the nearest future Windows Mobile version is anticipated. For a list of supported handsets go to www.eqo.com

Our VoIP Discussion Forum, VoIPpark Relaunched.

The purpose of this post is to announce to my readers that i have relauched the voip discussion forum associated for with this blog. The aim of voippark is to provider a forum where readers of this blog and voip users in general can interract, exchange ideas and assist one another. Due to some problems with the hosting provider, the forum was offline for some time, also lots of spam post litter the forum and interfare with normal voip discussion. All these spam post has now completelly be cleaned and moderators has been empowered to remove them as soon as they are posted. In addition lots of other security measures has been taken to prevent spam posting.
One major difference in VoIPpark is the creation of a new forum dedicated to the discussion of "Free Phone Calls Worldwide using VoIP", here users can discuss, inform and assist one another on issues related making free phone calls around the globe. Also all betamax products have now be grouped together under one forum to make sharing of information about them easier as all these products are quite similar.
I advise every reader of these blog to register at VoIPpark so that together we can create a vibrant online community of voip users where we can interact in a fun way, get the information we want from others and assist one another. Registration is free and very easy, just visit www.voippark.com right now to register.

Snom Improves Products Through Contest

In what seems to be a new dimension to product enhancement Snom, owners of Snom 3xx series phones has introduced a contest to be called ‘extremely Snomlified’ which involves the development of XML-Minibrowser application for its 3xx series phones. The contestants will be drawn from the VoIP programmer community, to last till October 22. Christian Stredicke, Snoms CEO would be speaking on the subject ‘Securing Open Source Enterprise VoIP” on Sept. 11 at 3:30 - 4:15during the ITEXPO West 2007 in a couple of days. This contest will in addition to provide working data screens that functions ideally on the 3xx series phones give a driving force for yet to be discovered programmers. Michael Knieling, CFO and executive vice president of marketing and sales for Snom said "This contest is an exciting approach to bridging the gap between the enterprise and grassroots programmers” and that "We look forward to witnessing the innovative and cutting-edge applications the VoIP community has to offer our legacy IP phone series.” The contest consists of two categories, Business and lifestyle application and contestant could participate in both categories. Factors to be considered when selecting winners include, number of Snom phone models it supports, the application size and other technical requirement. The requirements for eligibility are published under the BSD licenses. Prizes to be won include Snom phones, a MOBOTIX camera, Snom wireless headset adapter box and a wireless headset donated by either GN or Plantronics. Other runner up prizes were made available to the tune of $5,000 by sponsors ABP Technology, Allnet, Epygi, GN, Jabra, Plantronics, VoIPANGO and Wildix to boost the enthusiasm of contestants.

The Launch Of Apple iPod touch

Apple recently launched its iPhone “look alike”, iPod touch with every capability of the iPhone except for the ‘phone’. It consists of multi- touch function excluding the AT&T agreement. It also delivers WiFi wireless hook up with Safari web browser and allows you buy itunes on-the-move. YouTube videos can also be viewed on it like the iPhone; no provision was made for FM tuner though. Measuring 8mm in width with a 3.5 inch touch screen display, including multi-touch functions allows you to switch between songs quickly using your finger. In an agreement with Starbucks, whenever you go to Starbucks with your itouch and hear a music playing in the store, you will have the option of purchasing this music, with the click of a button. It comes in two models 8GB and 16GB, going for $299 and $399 respectively and offers 22 hours of audio playback or 5hours of video playback.

Talkety : iPhone VoIP Solution

Talkety, another VoIP solution for apple iPhone has a lot of functions inherent, some of which are conference calling of up to 50 people, ability to make long distance calls and sync your iPhone address book with your Talkety account In actual fact this service simply forwards calls to your iPhone, similar to the SoonR Talk of Skype, but it leverages on Talkety’s Voice Termination Network (VoIP) for cheap calls. So practically this is not the same VoIP to phone With Talkety there is no need for a PC to be turned on at all time with specific applications configured. this is very much unlike SoonR talk of Skype on the iPhone. It just makes use of your mobile phone’s web browser and PSTN connection. Talkety servers handle all outbound dialing and conferencing where audio is joined and sent to the iPhone (or other mobile devices) via iPhone voice connection. In the future, we hope to see Apple implementing native VoIP application on its iPhone, that not withstanding, it has done well with both SoonR and Talkety

Mundu improves IM On iPhones

Mundu has officially unveiled IM iPhone Edition (beta), with the ability to interoperate with Yahoo, MSN, AIM and Google Talk. This is good news to those who have wanted some IM loving on their iPhone with MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Google Talk, which are missing on the Apple iPod. Other Editions include FlickIM for iPhone which only functions with AOL’s IM service AIM and Meebo, a web based IM service that functions with AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and MSN, but its disadvantage is that it works only for large PC browsers not small screens like iPhone. Mundu works comfortably with iPhone’s Safari web browser and enables one to view different IM activities via a single chat window, separating IM accounts using tabs. Taking advantage of the Apple iPhone platform, building a buzz round their product, it decided to offer the Mundu IM iPhone Edition at no cost, while charging as much as $11 for other Mundu IM clients.

Users Want Muni WiFi to Improve on Services

Muni WiFi service providers should improve on the services being offered or they might end up being a dry bone that would be laid to rest. For quite sometime many users have been in support of public WiFi because it affords them the opportunities to work at their own pace and stay connected while they are away from their homes and even their works.
It gives joy to users of all categories to enable them to do their stuffs anytime the needs arise and such service as the one being offered by Muni WiFi would have gone a long way to attract so many users but for the epileptic service.
When compare with the projected specification which users were made to believe its connection link was going to be readily accessible, the Muni WiFi service has not lived up to the expectation. Apart from the fact that the connection coverage is restricted to some selected localities, the connectivity is somewhat erratic and at times leaves users stranded. One cannot imagine the stress some users go through all in the name of connecting to the net.
The users that frequent the services include the heavy users, medium users and the light users. In this context, the heavy users are those who need to stay connected always and therefore require a big pipe crowd to remain online. Unlike the light users who need to be online to check their emails and do some surfing and thereby can make do with a dial up or even a 256k DSL, the heavy users need a business grade Cable Modem, ADSL or a TI in order to stay connected. In between these two extreme users come the medium users who need to be online at least once a day and for such people a wireless or EVDO will do.
It is certain that people at one point or the other would want to stay connected indulging in the Muni WiFi service, and therefore players of WiFi should not expect to have their cake when it has already been eaten. A new team would definitely come up and ensure that they are laid to rest.

Fring Enables Auto-Roaming. Switch between Wi-Fi and Cellular Networks without Noticing it.

Fring has gone a step futher to enable auto-roaming in its popular mobile voip application. One very annoying thing for those who use voip applications on wi-fi enabled phone is to get cut off at the middle of a very important conversation whenever you go out of range of a Wi-Fi hotspot and this happen more often than not.
Now this will no longer be a problem at least for those who are using Fring on compatible Nokia devices. With this auto-roaming feature enabled fring will automatically switch from wi-fi to cellular networks once you are out of range of wi-fi. Fring is able to regonise all the wi-fi points you have used before and will log you into them automatically whenever you are in range.
This is another great work from Fring which is now about the best mobile voip application out there. So if you have not used fring before now and you have a wi-fi enabled cell phone, now is the right time to go Fringing!

Covad Wireless Powers Office 2.0 Conference

Covad Wireless, a subsidiary of Covad Communications Group, Inc., a leading national provider of integrated voice and data communications, is providing high-capacity fixed broadband wireless service and serving as an official sponsor for the Office 2.0 Conference, taking place September 5-7 in San Francisco.
"Covad is excited to support the organizers and attendees of the Office 2.0 Conference by delivering 30 megabits of Internet connectivity," said Eric Weiss, Covad chief marketing officer and a speaker at today's session. "More and more businesses are moving to Web-based 2.0 applications that require a high-bandwidth connection. Covad is able to meet that demand with high-speed broadband services that offer higher bandwidth capabilities and much shorter installation cycles than traditional telecommunications providers can provide."
The Office 2.0 Conference is a collective experiment organized every year in San Francisco aimed at discovering the future of online productivity and collaboration. It is a unique gathering of visionaries, thought leaders and customers who are using innovative online services for getting things done at the office, at home and on the go. This year, every attendee to the Office 2.0 Conference (press excluded) will receive an iPhone. By gathering more than 500 people using the exact same mobile device, the event organizers hope to learn about user interfaces, workflows and usage patterns for mobile online applications. The organizers' goal is to turn the Office 2.0 Conference into one of the largest ever-attempted experiments on mobile productivity and collaboration.
"We are very proud to have Covad as a sponsor for this year's event," said Ismael Ghalimi, lead organizer of the Office 2.0 Conference. "In our search for a high-quality network for this year's event, we found that no company could match Covad's ability to provide high-bandwidth wireless service and provision it in a matter of days."
Covad is an expert in providing high-quality, high-speed Internet access for special events such as the Office 2.0 Conference. The company's wireless solutions range from T-1 replacement to high-capacity service with data speeds of as great as 100 megabits per second, enabling live video webcasting, company demonstrations, remote Internet and e-mail access, file transfers and live data feeds. Covad Wireless serves more than 4,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Los Angeles area, Chicago and Las Vegas. For more information on Covad Wireless services, please visit www.covadwireless.com

VoIP, Inc. August Revenue Exceed $1 million

VoIP, Inc. announced today that revenue for the month of August, 2007 from its continuing Caerus (VoiceOne network services) business exceeded $1 million. Revenue increased by approximately 17 percent from the month of July, 2007 as a result of increased utilization of the Company’s network, and higher margins associated with the revenue. Revenue from continuing Caerus business for the first eight months of the year has now nearly equaled the total revenue generated by Caerus for the entire 2006 fiscal year. The Company also expects to generate improved August operating results, consistent with trends demonstrated in June and July, 2007, through increasing "variable" gross margin (defined as total gross margin less the Company’s monthly network costs that are not minute-based) and continued reductions in operating costs.
“We are pleased to report another significant increase in revenue for the month of August,” said Tony Cataldo, VoIP, Inc.’s Chairman and CEO. “Improved utilization of our Network, along with higher-margin business, will continue to drive improved operating results. We are also encouraged by the strong start to September, and believe that we are well positioned to be operating cash flow positive in the fourth quarter of 2007.”

Ubalance partners with MatrixStream to roll out HD 1080p IPTV in South Korea

UBalance Co. Ltd., a premier IPTV solution provider, has recently partnered with MatrixStream Technologies, Inc. to launch the first Video on Demand (VOD) and live HD 1080p IPTV deployment over a best effort network without QoS (quality of service) in South Korea.
With the world’s highest rate of broadband penetration, South Korea is already wired and adapted for massive IPTV deployment and, moreover, well suited to take advantage of MatrixStream’s HD streaming IPTV solution. “Increasingly fast and affordable broadband that is widely available throughout South Korea, primes the market here for HD streaming video which is of course an ideal market for our XMS based Video on Demand and IPTV solution that will optimize performance efficiencies over the existing public network,” states Jack Chung, CEO of MatrixStream. MatrixStream's patent-pending fully integrated end-to-end turnkey HD IPTV system will allow UBalance clients to deploy quickly and readily scale up to millions of users over existing broadband IP infrastructure without major network upgrades – delivering the home theater experience over the Internet to living rooms across South Korea for both live broadcasting and Video on Demand.
Unlike previously tried bandwidth hungry streaming IPTV solutions, typically requiring between 9 Mbps – 30 Mbps to stream high definition, that for the most part do not work over a public network, MatrixStream’s HD IPTV solution not only works over a public best effort network, it does so with as little as 3.5 Mbps to stream HD 1080p encoded videos or as little as 1.5 Mbps to stream HD 720p encoded videos.
In summary, MatrixStream’s IPTV solution can deliver full HD quality videos over the Internet. In addition to streaming HD videos, the MatrixStream IPTV platform is already designed to easily add features such as time shift DVR (digital video recorder), t-commerce, interactive gaming, VoIP, personal photo sharing, personal music library, among other applications. According to Dr. In Sup Kwon, President of Ubalance, “MatrixStream offers UBalance a technically advance, robust system that allows us to provide our clients superior quality and a cost differential that distinctively sets us apart from the competition … moreover, due to the incredible growth of the IPTV market in South Korea, we project that Ubalance can sell up to 10 million MatrixStream set top boxes within three years.”

Tpad Offers Cheap International Call Rate

It seems Tpad has taken the criticism and suggestions concerning speed and bugs, that greeted its software release, seriously. This is because the VoIP service provider has actually improved a great deal and is now offering a bumper service, which was released recently and is bound to revolutionize how customers make international calls.
It is targeted at those customers who are tired of making calls through PC to phone service and those who find it too complex to handle.
The whole service involves a new gateway number (Break IN numbers) in different countries including Pakistan. The success story of this service can be attributed to the huge number of people who still prefer to make calls using conventional phones or web based VoIP service. This is a of great importance in countries like Pakistan and India because of how convenient to use, similar in working to calling cards.
India-Mumbai has a new number already (0 2228665454) and Pakistan-Islamabad- (0 518080903/0 518080913): with a list of other countries available.
To enjoy this service, you will have to get a Tpad account, and rest is very simple. Follow the various steps:

• 1. A caller rings from a local landline or mobile the Tpad Break IN local number (phone must have DTMF tones) e.g. 022286665454
• 2. You will hear an automated message ‘Thank you for calling, please enter the number you wish to call(multilingual messages to be introduced soon)
• 3. Then you dial your personal 7 digit Tpad number e.g. 1124139 and it will take 5 – 10 secs to connect (depending on number). Ensure to obtain a Tpad number for yourself.
• 4. you can receive this call on the Tpad softphone for free or you can forward this call (use either the softphone or website to forward your calls-simply enter the full international code of the number) to any landline/mobile in the world. The initial call forwarding service is free, but a Tpad call rate charge depending on the country you are forwarding to.

Tpad also promises to offer:

• 1. No connection charge/no minimum call length
• Bill per second
• Tpad credit never expires
• No hidden fees/contract means if you buy $10 of credit then you get $10 of credit
• They only accept Visa/MasterCard-close to getting Pay Pal/Western Union/Money bookers
• No maximum call length (i.e. no hang up after 30mins and dial again business)
• Free incoming number

The older generation looks like one of the first set of people to embrace this service , for the obvious reasons it presents. www.tpad.com

UK Emergency Calls to be Possible On VoIP By 2008

In view of the directive given by the communication industry regulator in the UK- Ofcom all VoIP service provider in the UK are to bear the cost and give their users access to initiate 999 emergency calls by early 2008.
Ofcom is of the opinion that with the increasing use of VoIP In the UK and the wide misconception of its 999 emergency number (if it available or not on VoIP) would go a long way to boosting users confidence in the VoIP service, unlike the “does not support calls to emergency numbers” VoIP advertisement, users are used to.
This makes Britain the first country worldwide to compel VoIP providers to include emergency numbers in their calling service. 999 being the world’s oldest emergency numbers originated in London and gradually spread across the entire Britain. Its equivalent in the USA is the popular 911 emergency call service.
With the regulation, the 2.4 million households in Britain, with a cost of about 90 pence per household per year, giving a total of $2 million. A huge amount, but considering it encapsulates the whole providers in the British VoIP Industry.
Head of communication service at Independent price comparison service and switching service, USwitch.com, Steve Weller, made know that Ofcom had been consulting on the importance of VoIP service to allow 999 calls since 2004, but should have taken it on completely last year at a time the service was spreading and the savings made by using VoIP in place of conventional landline was evident to consumers, “our latest findings revealed that 15% of consumers now have access to a VoIP service at home” he continued “VoIP is predominantly being used as an additional service to a landline and to date the ability to make 999 calls was not guaranteed. By enabling 999 calls to be made, the number of consumers using VoIP as an independent form of communication will increase dramatically; it’s just a shame that we’ll have to wait until 2008 to get there’
In the not too distant future, UK VoIP providers will be singing a new song.

Ex-Skype investors invest $10 million in Jaxtr

It would not take long before the communication world would notice the impact of Jaxtr on the IP telephony. Indeed, it appears to have infected the sector with a spirit of awakening just as recently was reported in the media that the company has raised an impressive some of $10m in its first round of funding. That is quite impressive and it emphasizes the fact that they are serious.
The contribution of these ex-skype investors (Draper Fisher Jurveston, Draper, Richards, Mayfield Fund and Mangrove capital) has paved way for the company to attract so many customers. Today Jaxtr has more than one million customers and this achievement could be attributed to the new wave of VOIP services that bring social networking features for the users.
Little wonder, the company is in constant touch with leading social networking sites which include MySpace, Blogger, LiveJournal, Facebook, LinkedIn, Friendster, Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia and eBay to make its services available to their users. Jaxtr free service enables its users to make outbound international calls from their mobile phone and unlimited voice mails.

Skystone Integrates Skpe And PBXs

Until the announcement by STONEVOICE, placing a Sip-skype call using the PSGW gateway has been the order of the day for the users of this service. Due to the proprietary protocol used by Skype and which makes it difficult to use with sip=based IP-PBXs which gives users no option other than to go through the stress of using skype software or buy a separate skype-capable handset device from companies such as NETGEAR, SMC etc.
With skystone, users now have much more convenient means of making their sip-to-skype calls. The product is a software-based IP skype gateway and has been designed to synchronize IP-PBX and Skype network thereby bridging the two. Though a similar product, Actiontec, has been launched via Vosky FXO/FXS gateway to also perform this function of integrating Skype with a PBX, but the fact that it requires hardware has placed skystone at an edge because it is basically software package.
Among other advantages of this product is the fact that you do not need a separate skype phone to operate. It allows for the interconnectivity of any IP telephony solution or traditional PBX to Skype . This implies that enterprise employees can retain their existing phone infrastructure and yet enjoying fully the advantage of skype services.
More information at www.stonevoice.com

Skip2pbx To Launch SIP-to-Skype Gateway

The Italian-based Company, Skip2PBX may soon go on “sky” as it is preparing to launch its sip-to-Skype gateway which runs on a PC that is supported by Linux. The Company, after several claims of sip-to-skype break through has finally come up with a PBX Gateway that would directly support a variety of telephony hardware such as Digium, Eicon and even USB box.
The Skip2PBX promises to beat others contemporary like Actiontec’s Vosky Exchange Skype gateway products which makes out at 8 ports compared with about 30 concurrent skype PBX lines on a single serving PC.
Among the impressive features is the ability to find a free line/port for both incoming and outgoing calls routed through Skype , the incoming calls can ring to all lines at the same time. The products may soon be available in the market going by the press release that the SIP version of skip2PBX would be out by ending of September.
The skip2PBX teams are proud of the product and believe that the much more anticipated product would go a long way to benefit their clients worldwide.

Google Phone To Storm The Mobile Market

That Google has entered the mobile market is no longer a speculation and with its new product Google (GOOG) phone, the mobile telecommunication sector may soon experience a turn around especially in the area of services that affect mobile telephony. Google’s spirit of innovation is well pronounced by this new invention and it has come to stress the fact that Google is continually committed to development as affects the information and communication technology.
What makes the product to be so captivating lies in the uniqueness of the device’s features. It is overwhelming how Google was able to come up with such a brilliant innovation and make it a reality. The design of Google Phone is based on a mobile variant of Linux and this implies that it be able to run effectively on Java virtual devices. The fact that the applications are supported by Java would enable it to run multimedia files including video clips.
Being users’ friendly, the mobile equipment would facilitate its use by end users without much trouble and since it operates on Java such value added service as “search box” would be easy to navigate through.
The browser which is a pan-and-browse like all the modern browsers (example is the Symbian phone)and it is written in Java. With these and other features Google Phone stands to sweep the mobile market as soon as it is released.

Microsoft’s OCS 2007, To Be Launched Soon

Following Microsoft’s decision to partake in the VoIP market, it began developing an entirely software based VoIP solution software, which is in its final stages. To be launched soon.
Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communicator will be offering VoIP telephony, instant messaging and conference calling all within one single PC unit. It is powered using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) giving users vast interoperability within various VoIP vendors, thereby minimizing cost and enhancing functionality.
Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft Business Division said “Customers are truly seeing the magic of software in this instance; they see they will get more capabilities at less cost than the traditional approaches of any of the existing players”. He also said "We’re one step close to delivering the products that will establish Microsoft as a major force in communications," at the vendors annual analyst meeting.
Jay lendl, vice president, Microsoft services at Granite Pointe Partners, based in Minnesota, gave his remark on OCS 2007 that,” the interest in OCS 2007 for most customers would be because of its integration with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007”and added that “its important to have a single view of the internal teams and people that you work with, and have presence be a part of collaboration, whether it's through text, speech, video conferencing”.
With experts and analyst presenting various views and opinions about the issue, just like when it was said that the SunRockets crashing and going bankrupt would affect the VoIP industry badly and hinder its growth due to the reluctance of big players to join. Though proved wrong, many forget due to time. Being a big player that Microsoft is, coming on stream in this industry in a couple of months, we all hope the solution meets the expectation of all, following its hype and campaign.

15 Minutes Software Based VoIP PBX from Simicomm

With the continued increased in the VoIP technology acceptance, one company has gone a step further by making it simple and easy to use. Removing all the associated technicalities.
EasySpeak PBX, a software based VoIP PBX released by Simicomm, which can be downloaded (a file size of 300MB), burnt on a CD, installed on a server and is ready to use by plugging the phone and internet lines in the Ethernet ports, all this under 15 mins. Dubbing it “EasySpeak 15-mins VoIP”
EasySpeak provides organizations with minimal spending, dependable solution to transfer gently into a VoIP infrastructure. Making use of Asterisk open source PBX, it is compatible with both VoIP and analog phones (land phones require a line card), specifically suited for small and medium scale businesses, providing high-end solutions such as Auto Attendant, Web Access to Voicemail, Music-on-Hold, Blind Transfer, T-38 Fax support, Call Forward/Forward on Busy, Call Parking, Call Queuing, Call Routing (DID & ANI), Call Transfer, Call Waiting, Caller ID, Caller ID Blocking, Caller ID on Call Waiting, Roaming Extensions, Assisted Transfer, Three-way Calling and high-end Voicemail functionality.
Recognizing the various solutions drawn up to small businesses, Dennis Barnum says 'Our goal was to create something that removes the complexity for a non-technical audience and make it affordable.'
Top of the pack is that EasySpeak is completely software based, requiring no need for any external hardware, apart from the line card. The software operates as a virtual PBX system, handling everything while automatically registering and assigning extensions in the order they are connected.
A web based tool-box provides for extensions and management feature modifications. A 14-day trial version is available for download for a limited time.

VoIP To Run On Electric Lines

The astonishing capability of running VoIP services on electric lines by accompany in the USA known as DirecTv, a satellite television service provider with a customer base of over 16.3 million in partnership with CURRENT Group, a firm that delivers high speed internet on the existing electric wires globally, and a whole lot of other services that range from two-way high-speed communication, 24/7 monitoring and analytic software, location specific and realtime actionable data to voice services from any electric opening/outlet. This is to begin in Dallas, Texas between the end of 2007 and early 2008.
This news came up two weeks after Cogeco Cable revealed its strategy on providing internet and VoIP in Ontario, Canada. The contract allows DirecTv to sell Broadband over PowerLine (BPL) swift internet and VoIP services in Dallas as part of their bundles, DirecTv vice president broadband Evan Grayer said. “our agreement with CURRENT gives our customers another high-quality, easy- to-use option to pair broadband services with DirecTV’s video offerings, by choosing this bundled option, DIRECTV customers will now be able to enjoy fast, reliable and secure high-speed Internet service anywhere they have a power outlet in their homes”.
The BPL is faster than a usual cable modem and Dallas has a prospective VoIP market of approximately 1.8 million homes and businesses, who will enjoy this free/economical internet calling to anywhere on the globe.
Even with other companies making efforts to build on the VoIP facility, providing such services as –conference calls, call waiting, video calling and probably one day PBX would be hosted on PBL.
CEO of CURRENT, Tom Casey is comfortable partnering with DirecTv, allowing them bundle their satellite video service alongside BPL fast internet and VoIP services. He considers it a plus for this technology for its ability to perk up efficiency and dependability of the electric grid and at the same time reducing its environmental impact

ProStar OnDemand, A Fusion Of Services

ProStar OnDemand, a contact centre platform developed by Promero, an Oracle Partner Network member, is made up of a combination and integration of the best software solutions from Promero.
Oracle’s integrated winning call centre software (contact centre anywhere), with Promero’s ProStar, ProStar CRM, Lead Manager and Nexogy’s VoIP softphone solution.
The Oracle software is a pre-integrated multichannel contact centre platform that routes communication from any source to any destination.
ProStar offers intelligent call routing service along with Lead Manager, the customer relationship management and propriety intelligent Lead distribution software titles, while Nexogy’s preferred VoIP service provides effective line solution for small businesses, call centers and people who like to work from home. Giving them room for fast growth.
OnDemand allows calls to be made or taken in a combined call centre seat, gathering customer data and routing calls to the most capable agents.
It eradicates any need for users to acquire costly hardware because it is functional with the present phone system.
Having scaled certification, this award winning technology, offers call centre owners and managers a better deal at a lower cost as acknowledge by Greg Troyanowski, Promero president ‘In the past, poor voice quality via VOIP has been a recurring issue. With Nexogy and Oracle, the voice quality is exceptional and the stability is virtually 100%”.
ProStar OnDemand comes a few days after Microsoft revealed that its software based VoIP program was ready and Promero being part of the Oracle partner Network, might just imply bigger partnership and integration.

Cubic Telecom Secures EUR 5 Million Funding

Cubic Telecom, the innovative international telecommunications operator, today announced plans to become the world's first truly global mobile service provider. Cubic Telecom’s service aims to eliminate the high cost of international roaming charges by focusing on introducing simple, high-quality telecommunications services. Their breakthrough technology intelligently uses existing mobile phone network resources to drive down costs. Its core target market is aggrieved customers across the globe who don’t understand why they can’t get value for money when making international calls and roaming. Cubic is working towards free speech.
The company was founded in 2005 by renowned telecommunications blogger Pat Phelan, and is headquartered in Cork with offices in Vancouver, Canada and offers service in 160 countries. To date, he has backed his vision of "working towards free speech" by raising a EUR3.5M investment from private backers in order to develop a suite of innovative global mobile and home phone products under the Cubic Telecom brand, together with its own international virtual carrier network. A further EUR1.5M has been raised to fund a series of international launches of products and services in the coming six months.
Cubic has just completed its first round of telecommunications partnerships, which will see its services becoming available in 160 countries. It is now commencing its marketing partnership round, which sees it seeking wholesale and resale partners. Its initial focus will be on Europe, North America and Australia.
Cubic Telecom's chief executive officer, Pat Phelan, commented, "We want a world in which you can pick up your mobile phone anywhere and call anyone for as long as you like and not worry about the price. When most people think about driving down the cost of telephone calls, they think of calling from computer-to-computer. We don't. We deliver simple, high quality, high value telephone services direct to the devices that people like to use - their mobile phones. There's no software to download, nothing to configure, nothing new to learn. Our service is straightforward and our network caters to all.
"We're creating telephony products and services that allow the planet to talk at sensible rates."

Send Fax from Skype with PamFax

PamConsult is currently beta testing a Skype Extra nicknamed PamFax that allows users to send a Microsoft Office 2003 or Microsoft office 2007 document via fax. PamFax is fully integrated with Skype and sure makes sending fax using skype easier.
With PamFax you can preview your fax before sending and get status notification via Skype chat, E-mail or SMS. It supports several file formats and you can send faxes from Word/Excel 2003/2007 directly. You can also send faxes to multiple recipients at once. You pay for your fax with your skype credits.
Rates starts from 17 cents per fax page depending on the country you are faxing. If you downlaod and install Pamfax you will be giving a skype creditsskype credit of 17 cents to send you first fax to countries they categorise as zone 1 for free. For more information and download visit www.pamfax.com

Free VoIP Calls, The Truphone Way

The competition in the VoIP market, has taken a new turn as mobile VoIP service providers like Truphone have proven to be a strong contender in recent times To the delight of consumers, this competition has led to the free call strategy, which Truphone arc rivals to Fringe and a world leader in mobile VoIP service has taken advantage of, by not limiting its free calls to just within its network but extending it to 40 other countries till December 2007, giving users ability to make calls to other landlines and mobiles resident in these countries, provided users sign up before the 30th of September 2007.
Truphone also offers free Truphone SMS worldwide to any Truphone user; they have gone a step further to patent the technology as SMS over IP. The countries included in the offer include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro & Sao Paulo only), Canada, Chile, China (Landline and Mobile), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong (Landline & Mobile), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea (South), Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City & Monterrey only), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama City, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia (Moscow Central & St Petersburg only), Singapore (Landline & Mobile), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, US Virgin Islands, USA (Landline & Mobile)
With recent court cases against Tmobile(who denied users access to Truphone services) ending in favour of Truphone, signifying to the VoIP industry that mobile VoIP has come to stay and outpace residential VoIP in growth within a few years. An essential area where Truphone should be working on, is making its services applicable on other major phone brands, because its limited support with Nokia phones, takes away the freedom of choice from consumers and seems to be a major mitigating factor against its acceptance and use.

Foonz Free Conference Call Service Unveiled

Foonz a group calling service once reputed for providing free international calls unveiled a cheap “conference call like” service using VoIP, called Foonzmobile. Though the service might not be popular with people, this is a very unique service in terms of how it operates.
The text to call feature basically requires you to have a functioning contact list for pals or group, and assigning the group a number, therefore simply sending a text to a group numbers consisting of contact list once, delivers to the whole group once, and calling a group number in one single call known as group calling is quite fascinating and cheap as it connects you to the whole group (conference call) Foonz now operates in Canada and USA only, unlike when it operated in other countries including India providing free global calls, however it stopped to the surprise of many. I believe it can still create a big impression and statement if it decides to start it all over again, due to its wide acceptability with the majority. Though skeptic about the acceptance of the text to call service, residents of USA and Canada will have wonderful time checking out this peculiar service. More information are available at http://www.foonz.com/

Free SIP Service Offered by Mysipswitch

Mysipswitch, a service that permits several SIP registrations with a single piece of hardware, is offering a substitute to Voxalot service with all the options embedded in a SIP provider at no cost. This is being powered by Blueface, the first SIP service provider in Ireland, with very easy and uncomplicated registration, without requiring any email confirmation. The registration steps are as follows:

• 1. Register at Mysipswitch. You can customize your dial plans, specifying how your calls should be routed between various SIP services
• 2. Activate your SIP hardware by providing your Username,Password and SIP proxy server: sip.mysipswitch.com

Tip: when registering ensure to add sip: your mysipswitch username@213.200.94.182 in the contact field to enable incoming calls ring to your phone.
When tested, call quality was outstanding, without any need for codec configuration, which is not even an option. Other features include real time call display, switchboard GUI, call holding/resume, call forwarding, call transfer, e.t.c. through their GUI platform, with web call back feature missing, I am confident it would be included soon.

VSNL Introduces Web Based Calling

VSNL will be debuted a web based calling service on August 21, known as “Trueroots international calling service” targeting Non-residents immigrants (NRI’s) in the USA, to call India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka at minimal cost. VSNL dominates the Indian telecommunication industry with far reaching global fiber optic network, with one of the prevalent international submarine cable infrastructure.
VoIP would be deployed in preference to high end telecom lines in routing calls, in order to reduce cost. This would definitely reach PSTN gateway to be transmitted to conventional landlines and mobiles.
The calling cards industry would be the most hit by this service because of the preference of the later by NRI’s even though calling cards are easier to use, but due to its cost and quality trueroots may be preferred. Trueroots will provide direct identification of calling line ID for PIN-less dialing equipped to 5 registered phone numbers.
It also allows up to 3 back-to-back calling without redialing the access number, speed dial for a maximum of 5 regularly dialed numbers, using last number redial. Trueroots service should be extended to other parts of the globe and not just the USA, because NRI’s are everywhere on the globe.

VOIP Monitoring Tool- A New Product From EMC

A new turn of competition may hot on the IP telephony particularly in terms of service delivery, as EMC introduced a software embedding two products branded Smarts VOIP Performance Manager and Smarts VOIP Performance Reporter .
The service is obviously going to be customer care oriented since it would monitor, diagnose, report and also provide alerts on all aspects of IP telephony services such as getting information about the voice calls, telephone extensions, quality of calls, availability of calls and even to include interconnectivity among service providers.
In addition, the software would allow for monitoring of the call parameters mentioned and also offer the ability to monitor the trend reporting and historical performance data.
Being confident on the extent the software would go in improving IP telephony services, Chris Gahagan who is the EMC's senior vice president of the resource management software revealed that the software would be able to deliver effectively by analyzing data from multiple sources in order to point out the cause of IP telephony and IT infrastructure problem. It is also expected to simplify the management of geographically dispersed and hybrid installations.
The market is targeted at global enterprises and telecoms service providers and the platform it supports includes Avaya communications Manager, Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco Unified Call Manager, and Cisco call Manager.
Although the pricing is yet to be determined, it promises to be service oriented this is because it allows for the integration with other third- party management systems.