Apple’s Second-Generation iPod Touch

That the Apple's

new Touch hardware supports recording input through its headphone jack, but there is no software to take advantage of is a fact many will find very difficult to believe. Unlike the 2G and 4G Nano, There are no iPhone voice-recording applications that are compatible with the iPod Touch 2G, and Apple hasn't developed their own voice recording application for the Touch.

However, Apple is aware of this and the company had already finished work on a solution to tackle this. By October, a two head set options which are required to enable the voice recording functions of the latest Classic, Nano, would be released and this will replace the 4G Nano's recording feature that is currently being used by plugging in an old iPhone headset.

Also, the software issue is being addressed a lasting solution would definitely being provided considering the fact that there are over 13 voice-recording Apps written for the iPhone.

There's more potential in a microphone-enabled iPod Touch than basic voice memos, however. This thing has VoIP written all over it. Up until now, making a VOIP call on the iPod Touch took some jail breaking and some unofficial hardware to get the job done.

DeCarta Mobile Ready for Deployment

With a view to providing

a framework for development of mobile mapping applications, DeCarta has launched deCarta Mobile which is client/server architecture with a Java 2 platform Micro Edition (J2ME) client application programming interface (API).

The company said that this application has been designed such that it provides mobile application developers with the ability to implement modular fluid maps, panning, zooming, routing, geocoding, reverse geocoding, and pin overlays into their applications.

DeCarta Mobile Server uses the company's geospatial software platform, Drill Down Server, and can be deployed at a customer's facility or accessed as a hosted service from deCarta. DeCarta Mobile Client, the software's API, supports the functionality needed for many location-enabled applications used for mobile search, routing, and mobile tracking.

The company also said that they have improved since their last announcement and although the API was initially available for J2ME environments with an iPhone implementation it is now available with complete source code and sample application code. Customers can modify the application to reflect their own branding needs or use a map interface that has been optimized by deCarta for the mobile environment. In addition, deCarta Mobile is compatible with JSR 179-based GPS implementations as well as Wi-Fi and cell-tower-based location technologies.

Mail.Ru Partners with GIPS over Internet Telephony Solution

Realizing the need to integrate latest VoIP system into its web portal, Mail.Ru - a popular Russian Internet web portal, has called on Global IP Solution (GIPS) to help deliver its technology to its IM application. GIPS, based in California is a provider of IP multimedia processing, serving application developers, wired and wireless service providers and network and telecommunications equipment vendors.The two parties have settled necessary arrangement to facilitate quick delivery of this VoIP technology and part of the agreement reached include the incorporation of the version 5.0 that will allow low and cheap calls tariff to stationary and mobile phones from the company's portal.
In a statement released by the vice president of marketing at Mail.Ru, Anna Artamonova, the VoIP is a strategic component of Mail.Ru Agent development, which is why it was critical to choose the best VoIP solution provider in the marketplace. He continued by saying that this
collaboration with GIPS will significantly improve the voice quality
of the Mail.Ru Agent for PC-to-PC calls, as well as telephone calls to
both landlines and cell phones and thereby attracts many users to its
services.
In his remarks, Jan Linden, vice president of engineering at GIPS said
"We're thrilled to add Mail.Ru to our list of leading global Internet
Service Providers, who see Unified Communications (News - Alert) and
point-to-multipoint communications across IP-devices as a strategic
benefit for their customer base."
The company concluded that with GIPS VoiceEngine's unique
capabilities, such as automated adjustments for echo, noise
suppression and bandwidth constraints, his company is confident that
Mail.Ru will realize an immediate dramatic improvement in voice
quality and overall user experience.

Telrex Announces Interoperability Validation with 3Com(R) VCX(TM) IP Telephony Platform

Having completed a comprehensive testing of the 3Com Open Network(TM)
Solutions lab and also validate on-demand recording features from
CallRex Telrex proudly announced that its interoperability validation
of on-demand recording with CallRex Professional IP call recording and
monitoring software with the 3Com(R) VCX(TM) IP telephony system is
now ready for use.
According to Robert Kapela, president of Telrex, "Telrex is proud to
provide innovative call recording solutions on 3Com IP telephony
platforms like the VCX," said. "3Com customers can benefit from
affordable and reliable call recording and monitoring solutions when
they utilize CallRex software."
The application is not a strange one in the market; as a matter of
fact CallRex software has been certified on various 3Com platforms,
like the VCX and NBX, since 2003. Certification has also been achieved
for the NBX version 6, VCX(TM) Enterprise, VCX for IBM System i VCX
Connect 200 and VCX Connect 100 line of IP telephony platforms.
CallRex also supports 3Com Asterisk installations.
Many now relies on such application as call recording to facilitate
dispute resolution, limits legal liability, improves employee
productivity and morale, and enhances security. Such application as
CallRex's Look Back call recording feature enables employees to record
the entire call at any point in the conversation, capturing valuable
customer experience information that can be archived and utilized for
dispute resolution, training, or to meet legal requirements.
Telrex is the provider of the award-winning CallRex(TM) suite of IP
call recording and call center optimization solutions, and also a
premium member of the 3Com|ON Partner Program.

Skype Accuses Wireless Network Industry for Inconsistency

The wireless industry has been accused of leaving consumers with no
choice by imposing their services on them and this also is against
Federal Communications Commission Policy (FCC) which favors network
neutrality.
This accusation was in a letter submitted to FCC by Skype, the company
expresses is unhappiness over the issue and has called on the
commission for immediate intervention before it spreads to other vital
issues.
As quoted in the letter, "Instead of broadly carrying forward the
Commission's tremendous strides toward open networks, the word coming
from the CTIA gathering is that open networks present a multitude of
problems for the carriers, and that to protect consumers from too many
choices, network operators must be the gatekeepers of the consumer
experience. This is inconsistent with the Commission's Broadband
Policy Statement and a market structure that maximizes choice and
innovation."
For sometime now, Skype has been highly critic of the terms of service
of cellular carriers and has been attempting to sensitize regulators
on the implication of their actions. For example, third party
applications are prohibited for use on their mobile phones by these
terms.
Although the Cartefone rules, rules that would allow any device or
application to run on the network, provided it did not damage it,
proposed by Skype has been rejected by FCC, the company stated that it
will not relent on its campaign to ensure fairness in the
telecommunication industry.

Internet Telephony Aids Terrorists

According to a report from British security sources, the low-cost internet calls which, unlike traditional mobile calls, are highly encrypted such as the one being offered by Skype is being enlisted by the Taliban for being an easy to use, widely available method that lets their fighters communicate undetected by intelligence services. The report alleged that it has discovered that insurgents across Afghanistan were using 'internet phones' to connect their nationwide cells.

Unlike conventional calls which could easily be monitored by RAF Nimrod spy planes, the Skype calls are sent as data over the web and then later reassembled into voice by the receiver's computer thereby making it quite difficult to hack into.

This has been made possible by the absence of legislation to force internet service providers to log all their customers' web activity. However, the report whose source is yet to be disclosed said that both British and American governments are investing considerable resources to crack Skype codes in order to be able to monitor the activities of these Taliban.

As stated by the source, "The trouble with this technology is that it is easily available but devilishly hard to crack. The technology can now be accessed on mobile internet devices".

However, this is not unconnected to concerns raised by Sir David Pepper, who is the head of GCHQ, the surveillance arm of British intelligence. He warned MPs that the technology was 'seriously undermining' his organization's ability to intercept the communications of terrorist cells targeting British troops.

Cheap Mobile Calls Launched in U.S. by I2 Telecom

As part of its strategies to make its entering to the internet telephony popular and acceptable, I2 Telecom has launched a laudable product that allows users of mobile phones in the U.S. to make cheap calls to landline phones to anywhere in the world for as low as two-cents per minute thereby allowing for more talk time while spending less on international calls.

The product is branded myglobaltalk.com and it allows users to place direct calls to their desired destinations across the globe from smartphones such as the latest of Research in Motion Ltd's Blackberry e-mail phone. Other devices supported include the Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Blackjack, Palm Inc Treo and the Motorola Inc Moto Q. Arrangement is also in progress to include Apple iPhone.

To be able access the service from these devices, users need to first download the I2 software to their phones after which they can now place their calls through a simple to use procedure available on the company site prior to the launch of calls.

Boasting to be among the very few companies that offer such service, I2 said it is ready to take the internet telephony to the next level through its service. Considering the plight of immigrants, the company speaking through its Chief Executive Paul Arena said it is focused on selling the service to recent immigrants seeking to dial around more expensive phone plans offered by traditional carriers. Immigrants often pay high rates using phone cards or to dial home from specialized overseas calling shops.

The company said that the service costs as little as two to three cents a minute to reach fixed lines on top of normal U.S. domestic charges and that approach is cheaper and simpler because rates are lower and there are no connection charges.

Apple Faces Slow iPhone Sales in Japan

Contrary to the expectation of Apple about the sales of its iPhone in Japan where it has estimated that about one million of the iPhone would be sold before the end of the year, the iPhones sales has suffered a huge set back and the Japanese market appears to have disappeared.

As a matter of fact only about 200,000 iPhones has been sold so far according to a MMS Marketing Research institute reports. The research company revealed that, although the Japanese market did enjoy a rise in sales at the inception of the introduction of the product and at a point, buyers had to queue before they could purchase the iPhone due to shortage in the market. However, towards mid July the demand was reported to have fallen to about one-third of initials demand to such extent that stacks of the phones were found in all the stores designated as sales centers.

One would have expected the iPhone to be highly favored by Japanese especially at this era when every one is "crazy" about the 3G technology which appears to be ubiquitous all over the country and couples with the fact that the iPhones comes with great features that make users appreciate the 3G technology.

However, it has been alleged that some factors are responsible for this slow market response and including the fact that Japan's cell phone market is one of the world's sophisticated with its own set of popular features. Also, iPods and some other gadgets like OneSeg TV and DoCoMo's mobile wallet come with varieties of features which might likely like cause users to be reluctant to forgo.

Therefore, to boost sales analysts have advised that the iPhone should make more of its AppStore, to show what the gadget can do to customers and through a proactive campaign. These, they said would expose the users to the "power" of iPhone and possibly attract them to use the gadget.

In the meantime, Cellular news reported that a German court has banned the use of Sipgate, a VoIP application that lets iPhone users make internet calls when hooked up to a Wi-Fi hotspot in Germany. According to the report, Germany's Higher Regional Court of Hamburg found in favor of T-Mobile, iPhone's exclusive carrier in the country, who brought the suit against Sipgate, saying that the company had used "unfair business practices" in order to attract customers, who are tied to T-Mobile for voice calls. T-Mobile argued that customers have to "jailbreak" their mobiles inorder to use Sipgate, which is a breach of their T-Mob contract.

However, the software is still available in the App Store, as the ban is only effective in Germany and users outside of Germany can still make use of the application.

Restaurant Opts for IP Telephony

Yo! Sushi is a very popular restaurant that has served delicious meal without compromising on the quality of their service. And in order to ensure that this quality enjoys by its customers are further consolidated; the restaurant chain has decided to adopt VoIP system in all its branches and outlets.

Believing that it will also improve operational costs, arrangements have been concluded to replace its almost obsolete communication system with the internet telephony across some thirty-five branches after which it will be extended to some additional fifteen outlets and this will take place within a year.

Speaking on the need to be IT compliant, the IT manager at Yo! Sushi, Billy Walters, stated "The ongoing costs of line rental and telephony maintenance were becoming a significant overhead to the business and, as we had plans to double the number of outlets within two years, this was an appropriate time to review our overall telecoms strategy."

The restaurant also expected that the platform will allow for additional features such as the integration of incoming calls with its customer database and maps software, which is in turn expected to generate savings as calls are routed to the company's own call centre in London. There is also a conferencing feature in the system which aims to improve internal communication and cut costs, as regional managers will be able to hold remote meetings with restaurant supervisors, reducing the need for travel or to subscribe to a third-party service, according to Yo! Sushi.

BSNL Partners with Cable & Wireless for Shared Services

The Indian based Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has entered into a
contract agreement with Cable & Wireless based in the UK in order to
enable the two parties share asset for the improvement of each other's
services.
One of the issues agreed upon is the sharing of networks and
telecommunication infrastructure that will offer them mutual benefits
which include expansion of BSNL network to reach global community and
Cable & Wireless in return hope to have a better foothold in India.
Also, the two companies will offer each other a full suite of telecom
services including basic, leased line and local lead services,
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
services, internet, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), mobile and
broadband services on a preferred client basis.
Expressing his happiness over the agreement, the chairman and managing
director of BSNL, Kuldeep Goyal, said that his company is focusing on
broadband, network monitoring and managing MPLS networks for big
corporate as the next big growth area. "We have plans to invest
roughly $10bn on network expansion over the next three years," he
said.
Meanwhile, it was rumored that it became necessary for Cable &
Wireless to seek for expanded market as a result of a shake-up the
company is currently facing including a "demerger, rationalisation of
the portfolio or leveraging and returning capital to shareholders" as
its options and intends to put a strategy into action in a 2008 - 2009
timeframe.

New Version for HearMe Video Conferencing Now Available

Users can now log on to HearMe website to enjoy the company's new version of its online video conferencing tool branded HearMe 3.1. Designed to provide video/audio conferencing, desktop and application sharing, and as well as online browser-based meeting rooms; the new version 3.1 is also a browser-based tool but I utilizes ActiveX controls to effectively perform and require less hardware.

The new features incorporated to this latest version are Web document presentation mode which enables participants in a meeting to share Web documents and streaming videos, in real-time, using the HearMe video platform; improved support for Windows Vista; optional independent desktop application which facilitates users to easily launch HearMe meetings from a computer desktop and enhanced security for log in and payment. HearMe also features built-in VoIP capabilities, eliminating the need for a conference phone bridge line. This decreases costs for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprises. All these are embedded to provide optimal functionalities and efficiency in delivery of service.

Basically, HearMe offers video conferencing to small businesses owners, distance educators and mobile work forces, during which it allows them to conduct meetings in real time at an affordable price.

In a similar development, the company also announced that it has completed integration with SugarCRM, a provider of commercial open source customer relationship management (CRM) software. The integration enables SugarCRM users to instantly launch HearMe's desktop video conferences directly from the SugarCRM user interface.

According to a statement made available by Matt Gore, vice president of marketing for HearMe, "By integrating with the tools businesses use daily, such as SugarCRM, we're able to drive HearMe into the DNA of our customers' work culture. Integrations such as this one illustrate a larger trend in the marketplace — the blending of CRM and collaboration applications into a unified solution to increase productivity."

Telecommit LLC Enters into a Contract Agreement with iTeknik

Taking the industry by surprise, iTeknik Holding Corporation and Telecommit Communications, Inc. have decided to enter into a mutual agreement to improve each other's services. The two companies are well known to offer similar products; retail and wholesale telecommunications products and services for more than 13 years, including International and Domestic gateway services through tier-one carriers, the surprised the industry by coming together to offer each other some sort of solutions.

With this new contract, iTeknik is expected to help Telecommit terminate specified international calls on the former's network in order to enable it focus on provision of high quality services to its customers. In return, Telecommit LLC will use its mother company's tier-one carrier (TeleCents) to terminate portion traffic in iTeknik's network.

Speaking on the agreement, Jeffrey Lauzon, CEO of Telecencts Communications, Inc. said that their strategy is to develop the highest quality, least-cost routing system. "This agreement adds new routes to our network, which will lower our costs. In addition, we will host a portion of their traffic on our system, which will increase our revenues. Increased traffic and least-cost routes will improve our financial performance," he offered.

Describing the agreement as one of their successful strategy to increase revenue and decrease their carrier costs, he said that the contract will enables them to reduce certain traffic costs by as much as 6 percent. "Once again, our recent investment in new VoIP hardware and software is helping us improve the performance of our company and increase profits," he stated.

iSkoot Now Owns Social.im

If you have at one point or the other searched for a social networking site online, you probably might have come across social.im, an instant messaging client that allows it users to IM all their friends on the Facebook site, a very popular social networking site, and other similar sites.

Well, the news is that iSkoot has taken over the ownership of the services offered by Social.im after raising about $13 million in order to meet up with the purchase. Khosla Ventures and Charles Ventures were among the investors that helped raise money for iSkoot.

iSkoot has entered into partnership with Skype with aim of bringing VoIP service to mobile phones, and with the purchase of social.mi, iSkoot plans to extend social IM functionality to its mobile client and the company also plan to include news and other information.

Although the terms and conditions of the purchase are not yet disclosed, the company says arrangement has been concluded to ensure the smoothness of the buy-over.

TRAI Recommendations Promise to Boost VoIP in India

Analysts have commended the recommendations of Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) by saying they look promising and will surely move the VoIP industry in the country forward after several years of set back what people they described as enemies of progress. Top on the list is the policy that will allow internet telephony on PSTN networks, analysts observed that this will usher in an enabling environment that will boost technological convergence, push competition and will drastically reduces voice tariffs in India.

Among the top researchers is Jahangir Raina, the CEO and director of research of iLocus. He has critically followed the development of VoIP industry for over twenty years during which he has worked with some regulatory bodies, financial institutions on NGN studied and some other organizations.

In his analysis, Raina categorically criticized Department of Telecommunication (DoT) for its specifc roles in destroying VoIP industry in the country.  According to him

"Government has basically killed VoIP and the overall NGN initiative in India. VoIP could have done much more if allowed fully five years back. Assuming you are regulating a market driven segment of an economy, you would ideally protect the consumer interest by strengthening the competition in the segment. That is why resellers were free to price their ISD services in the UK while BT pricing was regulated. In India, however, DoT let its former government department (BSNL, which is essentially DoT) to drop prices before the competitors could come into the market. That took the life out of several competitive measures including network migration towards VoIP".

He observed that lack of basic VoIP infrastructures were the basic factors that contributed to the hindrance towards the development of VoIP technology in the country. He said "A big opportunity has been lost. The absence of VoIP infrastructure means absence of innovation around voice. By rendering VoIP impotent and a silent spectator, DoT has denied an Indian consumer a ubiquitous network/platform needed for new productive application."

With the recommendations made by TRIA, it is hoped that India will come out of its present shell and contribute its own quota to the VoIP industry.

AVANTA Service Office Now Opens in India

As a way of expanding its service outreach, Avanta popularly known in the UK for offering professional Serviced Office space, announced last Thursday that it has extended its tentacle to India where it occupies a four floors and 21,000 square feet office place located at the heart of New Delhi major business district.

The office is first of its kind in India and it is located in a strategic place of the shopping area of Connaught where it could be easily found. If you are coming from the domestic and international airport it takes only about 30 minutes to get to the office location and it even takes a lesser time from the railway station.

The offices are heavily furnished to meet customers' expectation, the air-conditioned facility offers prime serviced office space for organizations looking for high quality, competitively priced business space in the heart of the capital city; the serviced offices range from two people, furnished executive suites to entire floors that are configured to meet each customer's needs.

Avanta did not abandon their usual practice and as with all their other centers, the India center is also equipped with cutting edge communications technology such as VoIP telephone systems, scalable internet access and dedicated client server rooms with a Wi-Fi enabled communal areas.

Another offer that is quite interesting is the virtual office package which provides a full range of business centre facilities to home workers, business start-ups, professionals on the move, or larger organizations seeking a market presence in India. Provisions are also made for meeting and training room facility for companies who wish to hire space for a day to carry out a brainstorming session, conducting interviews or for seminars and training sessions, Avanta offers meeting rooms for flexible durations complete with audio and video conferencing.

Commenting on the company's achievement, Sean Morgan, the Managing Director of Avanta India and Middle East said that "Having established a strong reputation in London and key regions throughout the UK as providers of flexible, high quality, non-branded serviced office space; we are delighted to bring the Avanta brand to India. We are sure that Avanta serviced offices will rapidly set a benchmark in this category of business in India."

Other offices are currently under construction and the company also promised to spread out to the important business locations all over India.

Low VoIP Tariff Launched in India

VoIP users in India can now enjoy low VoIP calls to any of their desired location; this is due to the fact that World Phone launched an inexpensive service which allows making calls as cheap as $2.14 per month.

With this cheap calls plan, the company has vowed to commit itself to winning the heart of the many users to its services and give them more reasons to choose its service. Also, the company has partnered with a number of television cable operators across Delhi & NCR for providing the service, and will provide its customers with a speed of up to 256 kbps with a 200 MB data download limit.

Expressing optimism at the extent the service will go to relieve users of unwarranted expenses all in the name of making calls, the chairman in charge of the World Phone Internet Services Pvt Ltd said that with the launch of the service, World Phone will tap the population in Delhi & NCR and hopes to garner at least 5,000 subscribers in the first three months.  He also said that offering a lower monthly tariff is a bold step that marks the commitment to elevating the communication sector and they are ready to live-up to the challenge.

In order to ensure efficiency during the role-out, the company has finalized arrangement on selected places where the service will kick off with the promise that other cities will soon be included with time.

Among other services to be offered are; prepaid broadband service, which provide users with an easy way of simply buying recharge vouchers from the cable operator and instantly begin surfing and an unlimited plan, hourly plan and a data limit based plan.

World Phone is a category "A" ISP and it enjoys some supports from TI Investment Services, a funding firm from US. The supports enjoy by World Phone from TI include an unlimited plan, hourly plan and a data limit based plan.

The company offers VoIP services to more than 30 countries, including call center, broadband Internet and international calling booth solutions.

Ex-Manager Banished over VoIP Contract Bribery

The U.S. Department of Justice has condemned the action of a 48 year old former managing director of VoIP provider ITXC over a bribery allegation brought against him. Roger Michael Young was sentenced to five years probation out of which three months would be spent in home confinements and another three in a community confinement center.

Young, whose bribery scandals involved a telecommunication contracts in Africa was fined a sum of $7000 but however not the only one involved in the allegation.  On July 21, former ITXC Vice President Steven J. Ott, 49, of Princeton, N.J., was sentenced to serve five years probation, including six months in a community confinement center and six months home confinement, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. Ott also received a reduced sentence based on his cooperation with the investigation.

Both of them were found guilty of conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Travel Act in connection with approximately $267,000 in bribes in the form of illegal "commissions" to employees of foreign state-owned telecommunications carriers in several African countries.

Another defendant was also nabbed for his role in the bribery allegations. After he pleaded guilty in Yaw Osei Amoako was sentenced to 18 months in prison, two years of supervised release following release from prison plus a fine of $7500.

It should be recalled that in January 2001, ITXC hit a deal with Zimbabwe Posts & Telecommunications to promote the use of internet telephony in that country and another similar contract which involved exchange of VoIP traffic was signed with Telkom South Africa.

‘Mobility on VoIP' a new Service from 28TEL

With the aim of meeting the challenge of providing cheap international calls and expanding its service outreach in the process, 28TEL has launched a new service branded 'Mobility on VoIP'.

This service is available only in USA where the users will be able to make free international calls from their mobiles to over 20 countries and what's more, they need not to install any additional software or connected to the internet because the service is designed to function without them.

By using Linkwell International (HK) Co, Ltd's technology, 28TEL has improvised for a multi-lingual voice prompts and user interface that include Chinese and Japanese in addition to English.

First time users simply need to dial certain code numbers (1-213-3666099 for English, 1-213-1- 3666000 for Chinese, and 1-213-3666090 for Japanese and enter the number of the person they wish to call, and the calls get connected in a moment. After connected, a message will be sent to the caller with the local number representing the receiver so that in future the receiver can simply be reached through this number.

Alternatively, users can log on to www.28tel.com by simply typing the person's number and 28tel will assign a local number for that person.

Through this exclusive free calls service, a caller may dial a pre-mapped local 28tel number to reach an oversea friend. When connected, caller can holds the line and waits for friend's callback which allows them to enjoy international calls free of charge without a time limit.

Among the areas where the service is available are Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Arrangement is  being made to roll-out in Europe, South America and the US. 

 

Skuku Announces Roaming Services

Subscribers of Skuku network do not need to worry about missing their important calls when they are outside the country, this is because the telecommunication company has concluded arrangement that will allow users to make and receive call from India while they are outside the country through the company's newly launched service.

The service which is accessible only through the Skuku soft phone allows users to make international calls at a local rates, this implies that the only pay local airtime rates and do not have to pay for all the roaming charges and with Skuku phone you only pay 650 rupees a month. To use the Skuku service, consumers must have a Skuku phone or Skuku stick. The Skuku stick is priced at 999 rupees and the Skuku phone is priced at 1999 rupees.

The Skuku soft pones is a USB phone and uses a SIM card that is inserted to space provided in the handset. One important feature of the phone is the fact that Skuku phone transforms the user's PC into his personal mobile phone, keeping all of the phone's features and allowing low-cost VOIP and text messaging. The user keeps their own personal phone number and enjoys all the other features of their mobile phone, including their personal contact lists Skuku phone also enables receiving and making of international calls from anywhere in the world at low IP tariffs.

Skuku products are distributed in India by Trav Tech Business Solutions and can be purchased in various retail outlets, airports, hotels and through travel agents in India.

 

 

Apple iPhone 3G now Available in India

The Apple iPhone 3G is now available in India following a successful launch of the product in the country last Friday but unlike other places such as Europe, some parts of Asia and the US where such a similar launch were marked with huge crowd, very few people turned out to purchase the device.

In the India capital, only four people reportedly turned out to buy the device at one of the Vodafone stores located in Connaught's district and among the first buyers is a 14-year old high school student who made it to a store exactly a minute past midnight. Being enthusiastic about the product, the high school boy was happy to finally have the device having tried to no avail to purchase it from the internet and he could not wait to show off its new purchase which he described to be better than a Play Station at school.

Other places equally recorded similar response to the launch, at a mall located outskirt of Gurga on the outskirt of New Delhi; a television showed how onlookers were jostling to catch a glimpse of the iPhone.

The Apple iPhone 3G has features music and video player with high memory capacity where users can store a considerably large amount of music and videos of their choices, the device also which functions as a cell phone comes with a browser for easy internet access.

There are two different models of the Apple iPhone 3G, the 8GB model which can be bought for 31,000 rupees and the 16GB model which is sold for only 36,100 rupees and Visafone Essar , the number 3 largest mobile provider in the country is currently given the right to sell the device to interested buyers.

The first version of the iPhone attracted more than 270,000 buyers and experts predict that it will draw some 10.5 million buyers around the globe this year.

 

Inclarity offers VoIP to The Move Channel

Inclarity will be offering its Hosted VoIP telephone system to The Move Channel following the request made by the latter to enable it save costs consequently increase its productivity through the provision of a user friendly network.

A UK based property portal, The Move Channel assists estate agents around the globe, developers, investors and private owners to buy and sell real estate. The company has recently relocated its office and wants to indulge in that to enable them create better communication means through which their clients could reach them.

By adopting Inclarity's hosted VoIP, the company does not need to own or lease a PBX; Inclarity has replaced this by a software application on its IP Centrex switch. Staff of The Move Channel can easily redirect their work phone calls to other phone lines, if they need to work remotely for example.

Another interesting feature that makes work so efficient and simple is the fact that there is no need to allocate permanent desks since staff can use any phone in the office.

With fax2mail, the use of hard copy faxes will be significantly reduced and all the staff will have access to the faxes in the network.

Finally workers can also keep in touch with their clients irrespective of their location by simply using Inclarity's web based management tools.

 

IEEE Okays Wireless VoIP Standards

The 802.11r which is the newest Wi-Fi protocol with the express purpose of developing a Wi-Fi connection that can quickly pass between access points has been recognized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

By this, devices supporting 802.11r will be able to hand over connection in approximately 50 milliseconds just under half time it takes to swap connections on other standards to authenticate connection securely. The implication of this is that there will be improvement in the quality and security of VoIP services.

The 802.11r has been in works since 2004 and the 802.11r task group finally gave a go-ahead for the publishing of the final draft last January.

Though it has been approved, a final draft of that standard still awaits publication by IEEE's 11n task group.

Cheap Internet Calls Launched by Tesco

Tesco Telecommunications has stormed the VoIP market with its cheap internet calls for users in the Wi-Fi network coverage following successful months of testing. The service which is named TalkWiFi was developed by Freshtel and only available to rightful owners of approved Nokia dual-mode mobile handsets.

Users can access the service by simply sending a SMS to activate the service after which they can enjoy the service. The service costs 10p per minute for mobile users in the UK and 2p per minute for landlines, however it is only accessible within the Wi-Fi network coverage. It is available on limited number of Nokia dual-mode and these include the N and E series.

If outside the Wi-Fi zone, the phones will fall back to the regular GSM or 3G services but arrangement is being made to support 3G as an extension of Wi-Fi so that users can have access to it when they are within the 3G range.

While speaking on the extent the company will go in ensuring that the service is expanded to the marked location, the Freshtel CEO, Rhonda O'Donnell stated that "We do see [Australian] retailers are starting to head down this path. They are already selling pre-paid cards and we've wanted to talk to them in terms of doing what Tesco has done. I can assure you, you'll be hearing from us very soon."

Revealing the plan to include some popular handsets in this offer, Greg Snow, Freshtel product manager said the company has a roadmap to support a wise range of popular handsets. He said "Nokia is the manufacturer we are first to market with, but we are now targeting other handsets and will be making announcements to that effect before the end of the year."

 

Research Reveals that VoIP Services Improves Value Added Services

Point Topic is an analyst company and it has recently discovered that the VoIP service does not only facilitate the internet telephony system but the industry has evolved to be much more important to other value added services. The research company found that VoIP solutions and related security matters accounted for some 56 per cent of $25.7 billion realized in the global broadband value added services.

This development has been attributed to the efficiency in terms of service delivery in the VoIP industry. By 2003, added value services and subscriptions were only about 10% of the broadband revenues but at the end of last year this has increased to more than 30%.

As put by the senior analyst at Point Topic, John Bosnell, "Value added services are growing strongly and are increasingly significant in overall revenue terms, as it gets harder to make a profit in the hyper competitive line rental market the operators and suppliers have to look to add value, and revenue, with their service offerings."

It was also realized that the Internet Telephony is more popular than thought; the sect boasts an estimated number of twenty million users all over the world.

Omantel Sets to Offer VoIP

If the reports made by Gulf News are anything to go with, then the VoIP industry should be expecting a new baby by the end of this year. This is as a result of the decision made by Omantel to contribute its own quota to the communication industry by launching VoIP service by November.

This will add to the already liberated telecommunication sector and give VoIP users more option to route their internet calls. Omantel CEO, Dr Mohammad Bin Ali Al Who-aibi, expressing his feelings about the extent the service will go to boost the industry said that they are ready to launch VoIP in November this is because they have everything in place for the launch except for a small technical snag which is being handled by experts to ensure that the launch becomes a reality at the stated period.

Optimistic about the success of the launch, the CEO went ahead to state that the infrastructure was in place, tests had been carried out and that the tariff for VoIP had been approved by the regulator, the TRA. The move follows a recent tariff cut for local calls to and from fixed lines, as well as an 18% reduction in international calls, as the telco gears up for the anticipated arrival of a second fixed line operator.

What's more to say than to keep our fingers' crossed till November when the product would be made available during which we shall find out if the ends shall indeed justify the means.

Bangladesh Okays Six Operators to Commence VoIP Services

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is leaving a landmark in the country's telecommunication system by awarding licenses to six interconnection exchange (ICX) and international gateway (IGW) operators  and this allows them to operate voice over internet protocol (VoIP) in the country.

By doing so, the regulatory body has "killed two birds with a single stones", it has made VoIP services available to the users in the country at a cost that will be affordable to them and at the same time generated revenue for the government. It is estimated that about 15,000 million taka which is equivalent to $215m will be generated from these six operators annually.

In a statement made available by BTRC chairman, General (rtd) Manzurul Alam during the inauguration of ICX operation by GETCO Telecom, one of the six operators awarded license, He stated that "Telecommunications will change Bangladesh's socio-economic conditions. I believe this and others should also believe so. The government stands to earn 15,000mn taka every year from the six licenses. Given your co-operation, the face of Bangladesh will change by 2015 and beyond."

He estimated that the mobile penetration in Bangladesh now stands at 30%, while the rate in India is 27%, predicting that the number of mobile subscribers in the country would reach 70mn by the end of 2011.

He also revealed that there is a huge market to be cashed on by the operators especially from the villages which account for about 80% of the country's total population.

Although ICX is only available in only five districts, the chairman said that arrangement is being made to expand the operation to other districts.

Konnects Sets to Expand Market Reach

India Konnects is one of the popular social networking portals on the internet where people from all walks of life connect with each other with the aim of establishing mutual relationship. The company has recently concluded plan to expand its service to the small and medium enterprises in the Gujarat state of India.

In order to achieve this, the company has finalized plan to offer some other services to selected  industries which include the diamond and textile industries and among these services is the much desired built-in video conferencing. Realizing the importance of online telephony, arrangement is underway to make voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services available for its users to benefit from such service.

The company's director of technology expressed optimism hat his company offers are going to impact positively on the state economy especially at this time when startups across sectors are trying to make their mark to attract venture capital and private equity funds.

He said  "Gujarat is an enterprising state and a B2B site like ours will be very popular, especially among SMEs who have a high level of networking need to make their presence felt in the industry and to increase exports. We will be holding talks with several chambers of commerce to grow our base."

He also added that the success of customer communities has shown that business relationships can be created and developed on the Web. The nature of doing business, especially for entrepreneurs and start-ups will change for the better.

About $2 million has been earmarked to meet up with the company expansion plan, and to this will also enable the company o offer more specialized services consequently attract more users to patronize its services.

Standalone VoIP Client for Symbian phone now Available for Beta Test

The alpha testing of the  Vyke's Standalone VoIP client for Symbian phone is now ready for beta test to enable Vyke Communications Plc do all the necessary adjustment before making it available  for commercial use.

With the standalone mobile client, Symbian phone users will be able to make VoIP calls directly from their mobile phones irrespective of limitations and subscription imposed by their operator. This is another addition to the company's recently released open beta version of its FreeTxT product, which allows users of Vyke's Symbiam phones to send free short text message at a rate of $0.06 within Vyke's network or other mobiles around the globe.

The company will now merge the FreeTxT and the Standalone mobile VoIP into one product and the brand name Vyke-Air has been chosen for this merged product.

Jan C Berger, the CMO of Vyke, while expressing his confidence about the functionalities of this product said that, "This beta release demonstrates that Vyke is on track with its product strategy and is continuing to position itself as the world's leading provider of mobile VoIP and IP messaging solutions. It is important for Vyke to continuously deliver mobile-operator independent solutions to allow our customers to make effortless and cost saving calls from their mobile phones regardless of their subscriptions and/or their whereabouts!"

The beta test is available at http://www.vyke.com and the product is expected to be available later this year in commercial quantity.

 

 

Fluke Announces the Acquisition of Viola Networks

Announcing the acquisition of Viola Networks including the exclusive right to its intellectual property as contained in the terms of agreement, Paul Caragher, President of Fluke Networks, said that this demonstrates the company's commitment to customers in the performance management space. He also mentioned that their prior integrations of the NetFlow Tracker and Visual UpTime product lines, the recent release of Visual Performance Manager 4.0, the addition of key senior management, and now the purchase of NetAlly will all combine to give their performance management business the strength in people and product their valued customers required.

It is the company's believed that with the acquisition of their new assets, they will be able to offer comprehensive VoIP pre-assessment capability via cost effective software agents, deliver advanced active network performance assessment, and monitor VoIP infrastructures through call manager visibility.  When these are combined with their state of the art technology, it is hoped that a better service will resulted from such great acquisition.

Expressing confidence about the Fluke's capability, John Burke, Principal Research Analyst for Nemertes, said: "Nemertes Research has found that companies deploying third-party, VOIP-focused management tools can reduce per-user IP telephony operating costs by as much as 90 percent. The more fully a tool set can address the complete lifecycle of VOIP in the enterprise, the greater the role it can play in such deployments."

However, Fluke revealed that it intends to rebrand and integrate elements of NetAlly into new products containing these capabilities as well as create extensions to existing Fluke Networks' lines.

FreePBX now Available in India Courtesy Drishti

The telecommunication sector in India recently has been recording some new changes that is moving it ahead of other sectors in the country, the new development is the launch of FreePBX, a software based IP-PBX that offers next generation call management features, by Dritish-Soft Solutions.

The design was based on latest technology in order to enable it delivered optimally and possess more functionality over the traditional PBX in terms features, its flexibility and extensibility are unparallel. This is an IP based solution that is designed in such a way that it can scale more than 2000 extension seamlessly and can be integrated with third party PBX, speech engines etc.

More importantly, the great features that come with the system afford its users to avail themselves with more functionalities and among them are the Auto-Attendant, Voicemail, Graphical Reports, Multiple-branch Connectivity, Conferencing, - Ring Groups, Day Night Control, Follow me, Call Recording, Operator Panel, Phone Features (Call Waiting, Do-not-disturb), Blacklist, Low Cost of ownership and TDM as well as VoIP networks. All these have been incorporated to offer great functionalities and flexibility for users to derive optimum satisfaction.

Little wonder the Business Development at Drishti, Sachin Bhatia, was  quick to say that "The developed nations have pioneered in improving customer experience by adapting IP-PBX and use of applications like Voicemail, Follow-me, Conferencing, Auto-Attendant, and Operator-Panel. The IP-PBX has already taken over the traditional PBX in the west and is growing fast. We believe that Enterprises in India today serve global needs and compete globally.

"Thus there is need of Communication Systems that put them ahead in this race, but are affordable at the same time. Drishti intends to bridge this gap by bringing a highly reliable, feature rich solution to the Indian enterprises. FreePBX offering from Drishti is a step forward in this direction. We will be going to the market through channels with local support available in all major cities."

Speaking on the cost, the company revealed hat it has made the application accessible to any enterprise that is willing to utilize the system, they can avail themselves with full-featured of its application at a minimal installation charge and hardware cost. The system is easy to integratewith any combination of analog, IP or soft phones.

Drishti-Soft Solutions is a leading provider of Contact Center Software and Enterprise Communications Applications, and focused on simplifying Customer Interaction Management.

GVC 3000 - The India's First Truly Indigenous IP-Based Video Phone

One of the greatest revolutions that have ever occurred in the telecommunications industry is the invention of video calls. You do not need to only hear each other's voice during a course of conversation but you can also see each other thereby conferring a great degree of closeness to both users. And just like any part of the world where the growth telecommunication is sky rocketing, India too has come to appreciate the benefits of this technology.

Although, this technology can not been enjoyed where internet connection is slow which was actually the case in India where users found it difficult to harness this technology to their PC thereby denying them such service as the video based IP and the VoIP.

The good news is all that has become history with the emergence of the truly indigenous IP-based Video Phone, GVC 3000, launched by India based engineers in Bangalore and Goa of the Taiwanese networking products leader D-Link. It is the result of hard work of a team of 15 engineers who have dedicated more than two years to ensure that India has its own video phone. The device has little difference from any standard landline phone any it could be mistaken for one but for the fact that t has a 5-inch liquid crystal screen that allows users to see each other during the course of communication.

It is interesting to note that this device bypasses the conventional telephone circuits and rides over the internet; the implication of this is that calls can be made to both local and international destinations.

Following a free sign up at designated websites, interested users can call anyone by simply dialing their receiver's numbers just as they would on a landline phone. Any one other than D-Link users who uses similar IP phones can also be reached provided it meets the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

D-Link promised to make the products available within the next three months through lifestyle stores in India and also through its own reseller networks at the rate of Rs 23,000. More details about the product and signing up options are available on the company's official website, www.dlink.co.in