Mobile Phones's archive
eBuddy for iPhone Supports Push Notifications
Ok, so the just launched Skype 1.1 for iPhone doesn’t support push notifications, but eBuddy, a brand new app for the iPhone or iPod touch does support push notifications. What does this mean? It means you can close eBuddy and still receive instant messages (IMs) from your buddies. Further, eBuddy is an IM aggregator supporting MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, Gtalk, and Facebook. Too bad they don’t support Skype though like fring does. eBuddy also supports Google Android phones.
Check out the features for eBuddy on the iPhone & iPod touch:
- One buddy list for MSN, Yahoo, AIM, ICQ, Gtalk, and Facebook
- Stay online when you exit the app
- Get push notifications for incoming messages when you exit the app*
- Reconnect automatically if connection is lost
- Get offline messages after reconnecting
- Get new message alerts & typing alerts in the chat screen
- Easily switch between chats by swiping your screen
- Shake your iPhone or iPod Touch to send a buzzer
- Display pictures, personal message and status
- Emoticons & buzzers
- Sound & vibration
- Multiple IM networks
- Multiple accounts for each IM network
- Buddy list management
- Offline messages
- Group chat support
Push notifications for incoming messages are only available if you have the latest iPhone 3.0 software on your device. eBuddy will also soon be adding landscape mode. Oh, and did I mention unlike similar app Beejive ($9.99) & IM+ with Push ($9.99), eBuddy is a free app in the Apple App store? Some minor complaints include it only supports push for up to 30 minutes and it doesn’t support file sharing (audio, picture, etc.). Still for a free IM aggregator app, this one is definitely a must for the iPhone! 
Whatcha waitin’ for? Go grab this cool app now!
Tags: AIM, android, apple, ebuddy, facebook, google, Gtalk, ICQ, im, instant message, iphone, MSN, skype, Yahoo
Related tags: ebuddy iphone, incoming messages, notifications incoming, ebuddy, iphone, notifications
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Skype for iPhone 1.1 Update
Late last night I saw an update notifications on my iPhone 3GS for Skype. New version? Sweet! I updated it and checked out the release notes for Skype 1.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch. It sports some new languages and now includes Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish and Traditional Chinese and of course English.
The bigest new feature is the ability to send text messages (SMS) using Skype credit. They also added voicemail support and improved dialing help when calling phones.
According to the official Skype blog, “we’ve made some improvements to the look and feel, particularly when calling phones using the dial pad.”
You can download the update in iTunes, or even better just launch the App Store on your iPod touch or iPhone and then tap Updates to get the latest version of all your apps!
Some things I would have liked to seen in this release:
- Push notifications (Skype might have to haggle with Apple on this one since Apple places restrictions on third party apps that can run in the background on the iPhone.)
- Video conferencing support - Though that probably isn’t coming any time soon.
So what would you like to see in a future release of Skype for iPhone?
Tags: apple, im, iphone, iphone 3gs, itunes, push notifications, skype, Skype 1.1 for the iPhone, voip
Related tags: skype iphone, calling phones, skype, iphone, release, update
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Apple, Nokia, RIM, Samsung, & others settle on micro-USB phone charger standard
One phone charger for all? There can be only one! According to Reuters, telecom firms have backed standard phone charger in Europe. No, hell hasn’t frozen over. Yes, you will finally be able to use a single charger that works with any future mobile phone you purchase - at least in Europe anyway. That’s one less charger to pack when traveling and one less charger to throw away when you upgrade your mobile phone. The top mobile telephone suppliers, including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and others have agreed to back an EU-wide standard for phone chargers. New mobile phones will use a standard micro-USB socket to ensure compatibility.
Motorola, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments have also signed the agreement. Interestingly, Apple has also signed on. You mean Apple which charges licensing rights for their proprietary docking cable is on board too? Well, well… Isn’t Apple fighting Palm over the Pre emulating an Apple iPod to enable iTunes support? Seems against Apple’s nature to support a connection standard that has enabled such a huge third-party cottage industry for Apple’s iPod and iPhone products. For example, Apple licenses their connector to FM transmitters, iPod external speakers, and more.
So one charger for any mobile phone, surely there’s a catch…
Tags: apple, iphone, ipod, itunes, NEC, nokia, palm, qualcomm, RIM, samsung, texas intruments
Related tags: mobile phone, phone charger, standard phone, apple, charger, phone
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WildCharge Wire-free charger for iPhone & iPod touch
WildCharge, makers of wire-free charging skins for various mobile phone models today has announced a wire-free skin for the iPhone and iPod touch, which enable the popular Apple devices to be charged instantly simply placing them on the WildCharger Pad™ or on other surfaces that are embedded with the WildCharge technology.
“The market is demanding a move towards wire-free charging, and WildCharge is thrilled to answer that call in adding Apple devices to our lineup of commercially available products,” said WildCharge chairman and CEO Dennis Grant. “With the addition of these two designs to our reference design library, both of which are Apple “Made for iPod” and “Works with iPhone” approved, WildCharge is solidifying our position as the leading, wire-free charging developer in the industry.”
The WildCharge Skins are durable, protective, form-fitting cases that when placed on the WildCharger Pad, transfer wire-free power from the Pad to the device inside the skin. The soft cases provide the same protection consumers already enjoy from traditional skins, but have the added value and convenience of enabling a wire-free charge. The WildCharger Pad, used in conjunction with the skins, delivers full power to multiple devices, allowing them to simultaneously charge together on the Pad while eliminating the clutter caused by multiple chargers and power strips. The iPod touch skin is available today and the iPhone skin will be available in early July. WildCharge Skins are also available for the Blackberry Pearl and Curve, and all are sold for $34.99 at WildCharge.com. I have a review unit headed my way to test on my brand spankin’ new iPhone 3GS, so I’ll do a review once I get it.
In addition to the WilCharge Skins, WildCharge recently announced a Universal Adapter for mobile devices that works with the WildCharger Pad. The Universal Adapter is able to charge over 150 different cell phone models from major brands such as Motorola, RIM, and Nokia through the use of interchangeable tips, with the list of compatible devices constantly expanding.
WildCharge claim that provide the only commercially available technology that enables licensing partners to deliver wire-free charging to a variety of devices that require varying amounts of power. From cell phones that require only a few watts of power to laptops that need over a hundred watts, virtually any device that has a rechargeable battery can be powered from a single, contiguous, and non-discriminating charging surface. WildCharge technology has met the industry’s most stringent regulatory and safety standards, including UL, CE, FCC, RoHS, and has been certified across all of the GSM bands.
Tags: apple, charger, charging, dennis grant, iphone, iphone 3gs, ipod touch, power, wildcharge, wildcharger pad
Related tags: commercially available, wildcharge technology, wildcharge skins, universal adapter, phone models, wildcharge
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Skype Video Calls on Google Android
What if you could do Skype VoIP & video conferencing on the Google Android? Sounds pretty damn cool, doesn’t it? Especially given all the media hype surrounding the new iPhone 3GS. I already tweeted my displeasure that the new Apple iPhone 3GS doesn’t support Flash and also tweeted my annoyance that Apple didn’t put a front-facing camera for video chat support using Skype. Thus, while the iPhone supports a native Skype app, it only supports VoIP and not video chat. And don’t expect video chat anytime soon either. As Skype Journal remarked, “iPhone programmers can use the webcam to store video to a file, but won’t be able to write apps that manipulate or route the stream. This means Skype for iPhone won’t be able to add video calling any time soon.”
Well forget about the damned new iPhone! I have a method that “should” enable Skype video chat on the Google Android mobile phone.
How do you ask? Well, first we need to “cook” in a Flash player into Google Android’s ROM, since Flash support on the Android isn’t officially released yet. But we’re not waiting on Google, so let’s get cookin’!
Here are the steps to get Skype video chat working on the Google Android:
1) Download the HTC SuperHero V2 ROM for the Google Android
2) To keep memory freed up and automatically install apps to SD, go download this. (direct link to .zip file here)
Download a2sd.zip, unzip put the unzipped file onto your C drive
Open command prompt and type these:
adb remount
adb push c:\a2sd.sh /system/bin
3) Upgrade to the latest SPL & radio by heading over to this page on android-unleashed.com
4) Launch Skype Flash application and make a video call to another Skype user.
Where the heck is the “Skype Flash” application you ask?
Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t tell you that. I want to test this first to make sure it works & capture some screenshots to put here as proof.
Sorry to be such a tease, but I want to be the first to get a Skype video chat call to work on a popular mobile phone platform. Stay tuned though!
Tags: apple, flash, google android, iphone, skype, video, video chat, video conferencing, voip
Related tags: google android, skype video, flash application, mobile phone, skype flash, skype
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Elektrobit MID Reference Design Aims to put Linux Desktop apps + Smartphone in your pocket
Smartphones, netbooks, smartbooks, and Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) while very similar feature-wise, each has their own distinct advantages. Smartphones such as the iPhone have been widely successful, while the MID market has been a bit slow to take off. Elektrobit Corporation (EB), based in Oulu, Finland aims to change that with their new MID reference design that combines the “pocketability” of smartphones with the power of PCs/netbooks since it can run desktop Linux applications. Picture an iPhone that can actually run full version Linux applications such as Firefox, Opera, OpenOffice, Thunderbird, SSH client, and more. That’s exactly what you’ll get with Elektrobit’s (EB) new MID reference design. EB’s sleek, media-centric MID reference device takes the power of the PC and makes it pocket-able so you don’t have to compromise on mobile capabilities.
I spoke with EB’s Vesa Kiviranta Vice President, Mobile Internet Device Solutions, Wireless Solutions BU about their new reference design. Vesa explained that it’s based on Intel’s next generation Moorestown platform. The reference design includes touch-screen support with multi-touch (cool!) support. It uses the latest 3D and high resolution capacitive sensing touch screen (3.97″) powered by EB Touch & Feel technology. Because the screen measures nearly 4 inches (3.97″), it fits into the MID category, while smartphones have screens smaller than 3.9 inches and netbooks have screens larger than 5 inches.The reference design relies on a Linux-based OS with EB’s MID UI & Application framework based on QT. It also features EB Navigation Suite with integrated GPS.
It supports two cameras (front & back of phone) so not only can you snap photos, it can also easily support videoconferencing/videochat. I asked EB about support for Skype video chat and they told me it will indeed be supported in their MID design. In fact, they tested it using the Linux Skype application in their labs. As far as I know, this marks the first time a pocketable mobile phone can perform Skype videoconferencing! Cool stuff! I know many iPhone fans were very disappointed the new iPhone 3GS didn’t add a front-facing camera (myself included), which would allow for videochat capabilities. Of course, the current Skype for iPhone client doesn’t support video, but my sources tell me it’s in the works. It will be very hard to have a videoconference if you have to turn the iPhone around so the camera is facing you, but not the iPhone screen. Basically, they’ll be able to see you, but you won’t be able to see them - unless you spin the iPhone back around.
Tags: chat, eb, Elektrobit, mid, mobile phone, netbook, reference design, skype, smart phone, Vesa Kiviranta, videoconferencing, voip
Related tags: reference design, mobile internet, linux applications, touch screen, iphone, design
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Download iPhone OS 3.0 for free
Can’t wait till next week to get the official iPhone 3.0 OS release? Well you can get it now for free! I’ll provide the step-by-step instructions to get this latest firmware release installed on your iPhone. Technically, this is piracy, so be sure you only do this for “testing” purposes and the “check is in the mail” to Apple for when the upgrade release becomes officially available. 
1) You need to search for a torrent files called “iPhone OS 3.0 3G GM Golden Master Build 7A341″. This is the FINAL RELEASE that will be released next week. If to lazy to search via your favorite torrent client or website, you can just get it here on The Pirate Bay. The image is called iPhone1,2_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw and it should be 230.05MB
This is for the iPhone 3G. If you have the original iPhone 2G you’ll have to look for another version with a filename called iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw (only difference is iPhone1,2 vs. iPhone1,1. You can Google for this file and find some links for the iPhone 2G model. I’ll include them here for you lazy folks:
iPhone 2G:
iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw.part1.rar
iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw.part2.rar
iPhone1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw.part3.rar
(via iPhoneHeat)
2) Backup you existing iPhone and sync your files to be safe. You’ll be able to go back to your last version if things go awry.
3) After you download the .ipsw file launch Apple iTunes
4) In iTunes, on the iPhone screen Shift+Click the Restore button. For Macs its Option+Click the Restore button.
5) Select the .ipsw firmware file you downloaded. If you downloaded the multiple rar files you need to extract them and combine them together.
6) Perform iPhone firmware update! Rejoice, you’re on your way to iPhone 3.0 goodness! Copy paste [sniff] 
. Makes me cry everything I think I can finally have copy/paste on an iPhone. It’s like when cavemen finally discovered fire.
7) Watch the progress bar and “Restoring iPhone firmware…” text while deviously rubbing your hands together.
When done the iPhone will restart and then resync your data.
9) Enjoy the iPhone operating system Steve Jobs should have released a long time ago!
Note: This is the same exact software release launching next week, so there is little risk of bricking your iPhone. You can just as easily purchase the software next week and brick your iPhone.
Tags: 1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw, 7A341, apple, download, golden master build, iphone, iPhone, iphone 3g, iphone 3gs
Related tags: called iphone, click restore, iphone firmware, restore button, iphone, restore
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sipgate enters U.S VoIP Broadband Market offering free calls
Today, sipgate is launching a new free VoIP broadband phone service called sipgate one. sipgate one is similar to Vonage, Packet8, and other broadband VoIP providers, but with some additional cool features and a fairly unique pricing plan. For instance, you get a free telephone number, no set-up costs and no monthly charges or minimums.
I spoke with sipgate CEO Thilo Salmon to find out more about sipgate one. First, unlike many VoIP broadband providers, sipgate one isn’t tied to any specific SIP hardware (locked ATAs, SIP phones, softphones, etc.), so you can use it with your favorite SIP device or use a SIP-based ATA and connect your favorite analog cordless phone. Want to use a softphone but don’t want to mess with SIP credentials? No problem - sipgate one has a free softphone app that will autoprovision for you. Those that want to use their favorite SIP device will be pleased to see a helpful drop-down list of many popular SIP devices with corresponding screenshots on how to configure the device to work with sipgate one.
What does it cost?
When using a VoIP phone, outbound calls to other sipgate users are completely free, just like Skype. However, inbound calls on the free U.S. phone number are also free, unlike Skype which I know charges a monthly or yearly SkypeIn subscription. I was a bit surprised sipgate was offering the first phone number for free, so I contacted Thilo a second time to confirm. He responded, “The first U.S. number is indeed completely free. So we are inviting everyone to sign up for a free number and as long as one only uses sipgate to receive calls on a SIP phone the service is free in its entirety. We do not even ask for a credit card. That does set us apart from Skype. While they do not charge per incoming minute, Skype charges a yearly (monthly?) fee as you have pointed out.”
When dialing other phone numbers in the U.S. and Canada are just 1.9¢ per minute and calls to toll-free numbers are free. Other rates apply when calling other countries. Thus, sipgate only charges for outgoing calls and E911 ($1.90 monthly), if activated. No other charges or fees are leveraged on a sipgate one subscriber. Thus, to get started you can initially charge your account with a minimum of $10 with automatic crediting if the balance falls below a user-specified amount ($5, $10, $20, $50). Thilo told me that they aim to keep their international rates lower than Skype’s to make them a very compelling option to potential customers. I then asked Thilo who was comparable feature-wise and he responded, “Google Voice. They don’t allow you to connect a SIP phone, but the features are very similar.”
The true power behind sipgate is its Web-based interface which gives you full access to your voicemail messages, recordings, and faxes. I tested a preview version of sipgate one and was pretty impressed with the features and ease of use. My experiences in my mini-review of sipgate follow below…
Thilo told me that they designed the Web-based interface with Google’s Gmail in mind. For instance, you can search, star/unstar a recording, as well as label recordings, which are very similar to Gmail. Additionally, the interface allows users to call someone back with a single click, as well as divert calls to other landline or mobile phones. Starting a call is as simple as clicking the New Call button and then choosing which phone device you wish to use. Below you’ll see I have 3 options for a new call - an arbitary connection (specify any phone number ad hoc), phone of Tom Keating, and Mobile or Landline of Tom Keating.
As seen by the screenshot above, you can bridge a call to any of your phone devices by initiating a call via the web. This is very similar to Jajah, who made the web-based calling method famous. This interface can be used on your web-enabled smartphone - Windows Mobile, Apple iPhone, etc. if the device doesn’t have an embedded SIP stack or 3rd party SIP softphone installed for making outbound calls.
Mobility features are just as powerful. You can have your home, office and mobile phone ring in parallel. If you are using a mobile phone with a SIP stack, (many Nokia series have SIP) you can be in the car, receive a VoIP call, and then simply press *6 on your mobile phone to record the call. When you next gain access to a web browser you can retrieve the call recording. This is perfect for sales people on the go and who need to enter important call details into a CRM system.
Other features included the ability to customize your outgoing message by uploading an mp3 file, divert calls to another number, create an ad-hoc conference with the touch of a button, and the ability to view missed calls with CallerID info. I asked Thilo what they use on the back-end and he told me they use a fork of SIP Express Router, which enables Class 5 type features. Additionally, Thilo stated there is no maximum storage limit for voicemail and faxes.
Outbound faxing is a breeze. You can click some fields on the web interface and add the fax number, from/to info, add a signature, and of course body text. You can also attach a PDF and it will render it. I asked Thilo about Word support and he said that was in the works.
Inbound faxing does require a separate phone number, but there is no fee to receive faxes. There is a nominal $2.90 one-time fee per additional phone number. I asked Thilo about CNG autodetection of fax tones using just a single universal phone number, but he said “We have found that most people don’t really like that.” Personally, I’d rather just have one phone number on my business card, but it’s a minor complaint.
“There is simply no barrier to people disconnecting their old phone lines anymore. Phone and cable companies have long been pushing voice plans in the region of $25 to $40 per month–which end up being as much as $60 or more with extra charges–and that’s just ridiculous,” said Thilo Salmon, CEO of sipgate. “Even with calls to other landlines and mobile phones, most users will spend less than $5 a month using sipgate one. And for those people only receiving incoming calls on their VoIP phone, the service is completely free.”
sipgate is also readying a multi-user edition of the service aimed at small businesses, which will not only replace landlines, but also customer premise phone systems. sipgate is certainly setting a new low-price benchmark with bundled powerful features that should cause VoIP fans to seriously consider them. Free phone number, free toll-free calling, free inbound calling, free inbound faxes, what’s not to love? 
Tags: broadband voip, e911, free calls, iphone, packet8, sipgate, sipgate one, skype, voip, vonage, windows mobile
Related tags: phone number, asked thilo, phone service, mobile phone, based interface, phone
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Microsoft Blocks VoIP on Windows Marketplace for Mobile
Microsoft has banned several applications for it’s new Windows Marketplace for Mobile app store, including VoIP. Guess Apple isn’t the only VoIP crippler in town. Perhaps this is an opportunity for Google Android to surpass BOTH Apple and Microsoft within the mobile phone space. After all, Google’s philosophy is do no evil.
As I wrote yesterday:
… when carriers like AT&T pull crap like forcing Apple to only allow VoIP over WiFi and not over a 3G data connection, it’s no wonder why mobile VoIP growth will be stunted by anti-competitive tactics. Then you have countries like Canada which outright block Skype on the iPhone. Fortunately, avid mobile phone users aren’t taking this lying down. For instance, you can jailbreak your iPhone and run VoIP over 3G no problem.Why do we have to put up with this crippleware? I get that AT&T is a business and needs to make money. If they’re worried that flat-rate data plans that run VoIP over it will drastically hurt their voice revenue, then change your business model! Keep the flat-rate data plan, but install packet-inspection technology that detects voice packets and charge a few cents for VoIP calls. If the flat-rate data plan’s business model is outdated, which it seems to be, then change it.
Microsoft is playing catch-up to Apple and they could have potentially garnered more new mobile customers by allowing VoIP applications. When will the mobile phone software vendors get it that they should develop products that customers want to buy? Forget about ticking off the carriers. With SIM cards and prepaid cards that are industry-standard, Microsoft could bypass the carriers by allowing customers the “choice” of using VoIP over a pre-paid voice/data card and buying the phone online from Amazon or elsewhere. Screw the Verizon and AT&T retail stores that won’t carry phones that support VoIP over 3G! Sure, most people don’t use prepaid cards, however, technically savvy folks that want VoIP over a 3G data connection would kill to have a good smartphone that has this capability. Microsoft could build an avid/loyal core customer base, which would eventually force the carriers to respond.
It’s time for one of the mobile software operating system creators - Apple, Google, or Microsoft to throw down the gauntlet and not kowtow to the carriers. Stop kneeling before Zod. C’mon Microsoft, you used to be Superman, invincible to all comers. Now you’re playing it safe and being beat by the likes of Apple and Google. Where are you Superman?
Check out the full list of prohibited application types for Windows Marketplace for Mobile below. Listed at #4 is the blocking of VoIP apps. So no Skype on the Windows Zune phone for you! Even worse, you can’t change the default browser, search client, or media player on the device. Nor can you customize the default dialer, a popular thing to do on current Windows Mobile devices. Way to go! That’ll entice developers to develop software apps for your mobile operating system. 
List of 12 banned apps:
1. Applications that are or distribute alternate marketplaces for content types (applications, games, themes etc.) that are sold or otherwise distributed through Windows® Marketplace for Mobile.
2. Applications that link to, incent users to download, or otherwise promote alternate marketplaces for content types that are sold or otherwise distributed through Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
3. Applications that promote or link users to a website, or contain functionality within the application itself, which encourages or requires the user to purchase or pay to upgrade the application outside of Windows® Marketplace for Mobile.
4. Applications that enable VoIP (Voice over IP) services over a mobile operator network.
5. Applications that sell, link to, or otherwise promote mobile voice plans.
6. Applications that display advertising that does not meet the Microsoft Advertising Creative
Acceptance Policy Guide http://advertising.microsoft.com/creative-specs.
7. Applications that replace, remove or modify the default dialer, SMS, or MMS interface.
8. Applications that change the default browser, search client, or media player on the device.
9. Applications with an OTA (over the air) download >10 MB.
10. Applications that run code outside Microsoft runtimes (native, managed, and widgets)
11. Applications that publish a user’s location information to any other person without first having received the user’s express permission (opt-in) to do so, and that do not provide the user a means of opting out of having their location information published.
12. Applications that publish a user’s data from their mobile device to any other person without first having received the user’s express permission (opt-in) to do so, and that do not provide the user a means of opting out of having their data published. A “user’s data” includes, without limit, contacts, photos, SMS or other text communication, browsing history, location information, and other data either stored on the mobile device or stored in the “cloud” but accessible from the
mobile device
They put at the bottom of this list, “Microsoft reserves the right to update these policies as needed to protect the Windows® Marketplace for Mobile service or the users of the service.” Yeah, sure. “protect the users of the service” alright.
Tags: android, apple, google, iphone, microsoft, mobile phone, voip, Windows Marketplace for Mobile, zune
Related tags: marketplace mobile, windows marketplace, location information, windows® marketplace, mobile phone, mobile
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50% of Mobile Voice Traffic Will Use End-to-End VoIP by 2019
Gartner, a respected research firm located just a stone’s throw from TMC said today, “mobile VoIP poses a huge challenge for traditional mobile voice providers.” You don’t say? Hmm, I would have never guessed such a thing. Ok, other than stating the obvious, the research does have some fascinating points, including claiming that ore than 50% of mobile voice traffic will be carried using end-to-end VoIP by 2019 - or basically 10 years from now.
“Mobile portal voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offered by third-party application-based providers poses a huge and direct challenge to the $692.6 billion global mobile voice market”, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that over time traditional network-based mobile carriers face the real prospect of losing a major slice of their voice traffic and revenue to new non-infrastructure players that use VoIP.
But Gartner doesn’t paint an entirely rosy picture for VoIP. Gartner said “that despite this significant potential, conditions for the rapid expansion in the use of mobile VoIP are not yet right and are not likely to become right for at least five years and perhaps as long as eight years.”
Yeah, well when carriers like AT&T pull crap like forcing Apple to only allow VoIP over WiFi and not over a 3G data connection, it’s no wonder why mobile VoIP growth will be stunted by anti-competitive tactics. Then you have countries like Canada which outright block Skype on the iPhone. Fortunately, avid mobile phone users aren’t taking this lying down. For instance, you can jailbreak your iPhone and run VoIP over 3G no problem.
Why do we have to put up with this crippleware? I get that AT&T is a business and needs to make money. If they’re worried that flat-rate data plans that run VoIP over it will drastically hurt their voice revenue, then change your business model! Keep the flat-rate data plan, but install packet-inspection technology that detects voice packets and charge a few cents for VoIP calls. If the flat-rate data plan’s business model is outdated, which it seems to be, then change it.
Yeah, sure customers may not like the idea and certainly it seems that our culture today expects “something for nothing”, but hey, it’s business folks. I’d rather have the capability of making VoIP calls using a SIP provider or make Skype calls and pay a few pennies than not be able to use VoIP over 3G/4G at all. I’m sure if AT&T did try and charge money for VoIP calls running over a data connection that customer advocate groups, the ACLU, and people who think they should get something for nothing will run to the government and complain that AT&T is charging them money for using VoIP. Perish the thought that a business is charging you money for using their services!
Maybe we should just nationalize all the carriers like most countries have and then petition Congress to pass a law that will force the nationalized carriers to give us free mobile VoIP. Heck, with trillions of dollars being spent on the bailout package, why not free mobile VoIP at the expense of the big bad carriers? Free healthcare for everyone, free mobile VoIP for everyone, it’s all free baby! Socialism here we come!
Ok end rant. Back to Gartner…
“Mass-scale adoption of end-to-end mobile VoIP calling will not happen until fourth-generation (4G) networks are fully implemented in 2017,” said Tole Hart, research director at Gartner. “Once the basic market conditions are in place, transition to mobile portal VoIP should be fairly rapid because of the inherent convenience and end-user cost savings. In 10 years time we expect that 30 percent of mobile voice traffic will be carried out through third-party mobile portals, such as Google, Facebook, MySpace and Yahoo, which will adopt wireless VoIP service as a voice option to their current communications hub.”
A number of third parties, such as Skype, Truphone and fring, which carry VoIP traffic using a mobile phone, have cropped up in the past couple of years, offering access to voice services via Wi-Fi and/or the carriers’ wireless voice networks. This has been the most efficient way to offer the service to date because of the inconsistencies of voice services over third-generation (3G) data networks. However, with the advent of 4G networks (WiMAX and Long Term Evolution [LTE]), and increased use of smartphones with open operating systems, it is conceivable, perhaps even inevitable, that wireless voice services will be run completely over VoIP.
“Ten years from now, more than half of mobile voice traffic will be carried end-to-end using VoIP,” said Akshay Sharma, research director at Gartner. “Carriers will adopt voice services because of the increased capacity and reduced cost of delivering voice over 4G networks. Third parties will adopt a voice option for their communications hub.”
Gartner analysts warned that there will also be a number of factors that will inhibit the adoption of third-party, end-to-end VoIP services, including the delay in rolling out 4G networks because of current economic conditions and also the general plan to put 4G only in the main cities and build out from there. Nevertheless, in five to 10 years time, as 4G networks become common, mobile VoIP services will have a strong impact on the communications market.
Competing with mobile portal VoIP will be wireless carriers that offer circuit and VoIP voice and data services, and resellers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that also offer services off the carrier networks. Gartner expects this opening of the VoIP channels to spawn a number of voice services from companies that offer voice services to communities using voice as a communications link. This means that the biggest competitors to mobile VoIP may be text messaging and e-mail, as people may prefer to use these types of communication because of their non-intrusive, less emotional and less time-consuming nature.
Although the impact of the technology shift will be gradual as 4G networks roll out, Gartner advises carriers to start thinking now about how the transition will occur and how they might cooperate and partner with other types of service providers. Third-party providers, such as Google and Yahoo, should look to offer voice services today using the carriers’ networks and Wi-Fi to leverage their portfolio of services. Mobile social communities, such as Facebook and MySpace, which benefit from messaging traffic as it keeps eyeballs on their sites, should also have a voice option.
Tags: 4g, fring, gartner, long term evolution, lte, mobile voip, sip, skype, tole hard, truphone, voip, wimax
Related tags: voice services, mobile voice, voice traffic, third party, voice option, mobile
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Free Calls on Skype
3 UK is opening up its network to allow anyone with a 3 SIM and a compatible handset to have unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages without ever having to pay. 3UK announced that on May 1st users with a 3UK SIM and a 3-provided Skype-enabled handset will be able to use Skype for free. Additionally, previous deals for free Skype required a monthly topup of £10 on pay-as-you-go and there will be no data charges. Thus, Skype will be 100% free, subject to their fair use policy of course. 
There is just a one time fee of £1.99 for a SIM card.
Anyone with a compatible unlocked 3G handset in the UK, can take advantage of free Skype calls, whether or not their phone is from 3. This is a huge barrier-busting move by 3 that changes the game. Forget about using AT&T on your iPhone who is preventing Apple from allowing Skype to run over the 3G data connection. Simply get an unlocked iPhone, stick in a 3 SIM and enjoy free Skype calls! Of course, this “free” calling deal only applies to the UK. Why do the Brits get all the fun? 
No worries, I’m sure this is just the first step before the U.S. gets in on the free Skype calling action. I wonder if there might be some synergies with the new Skype for SIP program (of which I’m a beta tester)?
According to 3 UK, “By removing these key barriers to Skype-to-Skype calls, 3 UK is creating a compelling reason for new customers to join 3 and to enjoy all the products and services available on the UK’s biggest mobile broadband network.”
According to 3 UK:
We’ve been working with Skype for over two years now and we’ve learned a lot about how our customers use the service. We know that a keen mobile Skype user is an instinctive, active communicator. They want to take full advantage of free mobile calls.Increasingly Skype use is linked to other internet communications activities, such as Facebook, Twitter and a host of other services for which our customers will happily pay a fixed fee for unlimited use.
While others have looked at Skype as a potential threat to voice and text revenues we see another advantage. Did you know when you call a friend on a different mobile network their network will charge your operator a fee for carrying the call? This is called a Mobile Termination Rate or MTR and is currently charged at around 4.7p or more for every minute of the call.
This fee is regulated by the industry regulator Ofcom but we think they’re still too high. Without these fees we’d be able to offer our customers much better value and that’s where Skype comes in. With Skype, MTRs don’t apply so we can give our customers all the minutes they like without over charging them.
At 3, we believe our customers should be able to choose how they communicate because that’s mobile as it should be; simple, useful and always good value.
Kevin Russell, Chief Executive Officer of 3 UK, said “Communication through the internet is exploding. Internet calling or VoIP, social networking, instant messaging and email are used by millions in the UK every single day. They are open to all on their PCs and laptops. We want people to be free to communicate from their mobiles in the same way as they do from their PCs.
“In future you will be able to buy a 3 SIM for unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls for less than the price of a cup of coffee and talk for as much as you want without ever paying us another penny. We won’t ask you for a top-up or a monthly commitment. If you want to talk on a mobile for free, just join us and give it a go. This is for everyone.”
Josh Silverman, President of Skype said, “Demand for mobile access from our users has never been higher. The introduction of unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages across all 3 price plans is a really exciting move from a key partner. 3 UK clearly understands the desire for people to use Skype wherever and whenever they want. This is the first mobile network to show this kind of innovation to enable their customers to access Skype.
“We believe this is how the future looks for the Internet on mobile. With this bold move 3 UK has again shown their willingness to be the customer champion for mobile services in the UK.”
Currently, 3 UK’s growing Skype community enjoys 1.5 million minutes of free Skype-to-Skype calls every day. The launch of the first 3 Skypephone in October 2007 really kick-started the growth of free internet calling on the 3 network. With over 433 million people registered on Skype worldwide, the new free Skype-to-Skype offer from 3 opens up a world of free calling.
Two years experience of providing open access to Skype-to-Skype calling has enabled 3 and Skype to better understand the behaviour of mobile Skype users. Success with an easy-to-use Skype experience on more specialised internet-enabled handsets, such as the INQ1 and the 3 Skypephone collection; has proven to 3 that enabling customers to make free Skype calls to other Skype users on their mobiles or PCs is a real benefit.
3 UK has found that regular Skype users:
- Are less likely to churn than non-Skype users
- Use more traditional voice minutes than non-Skype users in addition to calling their Skype contacts
- Use Skype IM, but also send more SMS than non-Skype users
- Are more likely to browse the internet on their mobile
- Are higher margin customers
- Are twice as likely to access social networking sites as non-Skype customers
“Today we are moving in a clear direction towards making Skype-to-Skype calling available to all UK mobile consumers,” said Mr Russell. “We know that Skype users are instinctive communicators, keen social networkers and mobile internet users. They love the things that we are building the UK’s biggest mobile broadband network for.
“Our network is built to deliver the benefits of the internet to the mobile. That’s why we’re removing the conditions and restrictions from our current Skype offer and opening up the opportunity to try free internet calling to all UK mobile users, whether they are currently with us or a competitor network.”
Tags: 3, 3 UK, calling, free, josh silverman, kevin russell, SIM, skype, skype-to-skype, unlocked phone
Related tags: skype calls, skype skype, skype users, internet mobile, internet calling, skype
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Plantronics Voyager PRO
The Plantronics Voyager Pro is the successor to the much-loved Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth headset, which goes on sale today, although, Best Buy started selling its stock a bit early. I have a review unit which I plan on testing and giving my thoughts/opinion on in the new few days. I reviewed its predecessor, the Plantronics Voyage 510, which had a cult following. I was a big fan of the Voyager 510 and have one on my desk. It is an excellent headset and one of the first to feature PC audio support via a Bluetooth dongle allowing you to use the headset on your mobile phone or your PC, supporting all your PC sound applications, including VoIP apps such as Skype.
The new $99 Voyager Pro is pretty similar to the 510, though it is clearly targetting the Jawbone 2, with their AudioIQ2 technology which Plantronics claims results in superior sound quality which combines noise cancellation and wind reduction. Plantronics stated, “Today’s headset users expect great noise cancellation and Plantronics Voyager PRO delivers it with AudioIQ2 and a unique adjustable dual-microphone boom. While other headsets deliver noise cancellation at the expense of overall audio quality, the boom provides the advantage of capturing your voice close to your mouth so the AudioIQ2 technology can more effectively remove ambient noise, while still maintaining the natural sound of your voice.”
Plantronics Voyager PRO features three layers of WindSmart technology. Dual external stainless steel microphone screens and acoustic fabrics that surround the microphones together help to eliminate wind noise. The AudioIQ2 DSP algorithms also intelligently decipher your voice from the wind to enhance the sound quality.
The Voyager PRO also features a custom speaker that delivers full-spectrum audio so conversations are richer and more vibrant. It sports an adaptive 20-band equalizer that helps eliminate distortio in the audio and automatically adjusts sound levels based on the noise level around you.
Price:
The Plantronics Voyager PRO is available at Best Buy for $99.99 and at www.plantronics.com, but will be available in other retail and wireless carrier stores in late May.
Tags: 510, headset, jawbone 2, Plantronics Voyager PRO, review
Related tags: plantronics voyager, noise cancellation, audioiq technology, sound quality, plantronics, voyager
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GVDialer for Google Voice
GVdialer is an intriguing mobile application for Google Voice, supporting iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Microsoft, and Symbian. GVdialer enables you to use Google Voice with your mobile phone while enabling some cool features. For instance, you can present your Google number as your Caller ID on outgoing mobile calls, thus keeping your mobile number private. This also gives you a one number identity to share with people.
Using the app installed you can dial directly from your phone’s contacts, speed dial, call log or keypad, and GVdialer will automatically connect the call using Google Voice.
Even cooler you have Google Voice feature access including instant access to Google Voice’s voice mail, Inbox, and GOOG-411.
As seen in the iPhone application, GVdialer lets you configure when GV would be used, i.e. on all calls, international calls, domestic calls, or ask on every call.
It costs $9.99, but definitely worth checking out
Tags: google, google voice, gvdialer, iphone, microsoft, mobile phone
Related tags: google voice, google, voice, gvdialer, mobile, calls
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KIRK 2010 WiFi VoIP phone
The KIRK 2010 WiFi VoIP handset launched today. This is the latest edition to the Polycom KIRK Series. I wonder if Captain Kirk is aware that Polycom is trying to copy his copyrighted ‘communicator’?
Then again, Kirk’s communicator didn’t have a numeric keypad. Just turn the dial and instantly talk to the Star Trek bridge with seemingly no latency either. You can compare the look of it here:
Or this closely resembling USB-based Star Trek communicator:
They definitely kept it simple, by going with a black & white screen, but they no doubt kept the costs down. The pricing for its brethren is certainly pretty expensive, i.e.:
The list price for the Polycom KWS 300 is U.S. $360. The KWS 6000 list price is U.S. $1,200 and includes a server and one base station, which supports up to 30 users. With the scalable nature of the KWS6000 it can also be set up for more users. The KIRK 5040 handset sells at a list price of U.S. $310.
I couldn’t find pricing info online for the KIRK 2010, but certainly businesses are looking for affordable WiFi VoIP phones.
Features and Benefits of the KIRK 2010
- Black & white LCD screen (3 lines of text/icons)
- Internal/external ring pattern, volume control and silent modes
- Telephone book with room for 40 numbers
- Speech/stand by time > 12/150 hours
- Weight incl. battery: 120g
- Size (LxWxH): 124×47x31mm
Tags: captain kirk, KIRK 2010, polycom, voip, wifi, wireless
Related tags: black white, communicator, polycom, price
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IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone
IPEVO’s S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone is a pretty neat Skype phone, that unlike most Skype phones, was designed for your desk, not to carry around. That includes the IPEVO Wi-Fi Skype phone, I recently reviewed. While the IPEVO Wi-Fi Skype phone was designed to be portable and carry around, Skype phones like these are small which means a very small speakerphone (or none at all), resulting in limited or no hands-free speakerphone capabilities. The IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone solves that problem.
Rather than sporting an Ethernet connection, however, it uses a built-in Wi-Fi adapter, so you could carry this around the house / business if you wanted to (still needs power, so would have to plug it back in). The S0-10W offers the normal feel of a desktop phone in usability and appearance, but features a built-in CPU for computer-free Skype communication. The S0-10W features an adjustable 2.4-inch color LCD three user-defined speed dial keys, an LED light indicating incoming and missed calls, as well as new voicemails, and a hands-free speakerphone button with echo cancellation.
It’s too bad this desktop phone doesn’t have an embedded webcam so you could do some Skype videoconferencing. Now that would make this an even sweeter product! Add internet surfing to the mix and we’re golden.
“IP calling no doubt offers a financial benefit to consumers, however as with any unfamiliar technology, some may be hesitant to try something new,” said Royce Hong, CEO of IPEVO. “That’s why we designed the S0-10W Desktop Phone. By offering consumers a similar interface to the landline desktop phone most people currently use, we feel confident that families and businesses alike will have the confidence to make the switch for their everyday communications needs.”
The IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone is now available at the MSRP of $169.99.
Tags: desktop phone, ipevo, IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone, S0-10W, skype, voip, wi-fi
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IPEVO’s S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone is a pretty neat Skype phone, that unlike most Skype phones, was designed for your desk, not to carry around. That includes the IPEVO Wi-Fi Skype phone, I recently reviewed. While the IPEVO Wi-Fi Skype phone was designed to be portable and carry around, Skype phones like these are small which means a very small speakerphone (or none at all), resulting in limited or no hands-free speakerphone capabilities. The IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone solves that problem.
Rather than sporting an Ethernet connection, however, it uses a built-in Wi-Fi adapter, so you could carry this around the house / business if you wanted to (still needs power, so would have to plug it back in). The S0-10W offers the normal feel of a desktop phone in usability and appearance, but features a built-in CPU for computer-free Skype communication. The S0-10W features an adjustable 2.4-inch color LCD three user-defined speed dial keys, an LED light indicating incoming and missed calls, as well as new voicemails, and a hands-free speakerphone button with echo cancellation.
It’s too bad this desktop phone doesn’t have an embedded webcam so you could do some Skype videoconferencing. Now that would make this an even sweeter product! Add internet surfing to the mix and we’re golden.
“IP calling no doubt offers a financial benefit to consumers, however as with any unfamiliar technology, some may be hesitant to try something new,” said Royce Hong, CEO of IPEVO. “That’s why we designed the S0-10W Desktop Phone. By offering consumers a similar interface to the landline desktop phone most people currently use, we feel confident that families and businesses alike will have the confidence to make the switch for their everyday communications needs.”
The IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone is now available at the MSRP of $169.99.
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Tweefind a new rank-based twitter search
Fellow VoIP blogger Luca has launched a new endeavor called Tweefind, which is a rank-based twitter search engine rather than a simply timeline search on keywords.
Luca explains:
How is the Tweerank calculated? Behind the scenes there is a sophisticated algorithm which analyzes how users use Twitter and calculates their rank accordingly. The rank is obtained taking into account a certain number of different parameters in a certain timeframe:
Luca explains that a twitter user’s ranking can change daily, depending on how much they use twitter, and other variables. It’s an interesting model. Read his post for more details.
I just tried it out on various keywords, including voip, skype, iPhone, and others. It’s pretty fast. It must preload several pages of search results, because when I click the paginate/next page button at the bottom, it instantly loads. It appears to max out at 7 pages of results, so that may explain why it loads so fast.
Interestingly, there is no submit or ‘Go’ button to submit your search. You simply hit enter to submit. Still for people that are not keyboard-centric or don’t know you can simply hit ‘enter’, a submit button would be nice.
It’s too early to tell if I’ll use this regularly, but I’ll have to bookmark tweefind and try it out over the next few weeks to see how well it works vs. my usually twitter searching.
Tags: followers, following, luca filigheddu, search, tweefind, twitter
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Fellow VoIP blogger Luca has launched a new endeavor called Tweefind, which is a rank-based twitter search engine rather than a simply timeline search on keywords.
Luca explains:
How is the Tweerank calculated? Behind the scenes there is a sophisticated algorithm which analyzes how users use Twitter and calculates their rank accordingly. The rank is obtained taking into account a certain number of different parameters in a certain timeframe:
Luca explains that a twitter user’s ranking can change daily, depending on how much they use twitter, and other variables. It’s an interesting model. Read his post for more details.
I just tried it out on various keywords, including voip, skype, iPhone, and others. It’s pretty fast. It must preload several pages of search results, because when I click the paginate/next page button at the bottom, it instantly loads. It appears to max out at 7 pages of results, so that may explain why it loads so fast.
Interestingly, there is no submit or ‘Go’ button to submit your search. You simply hit enter to submit. Still for people that are not keyboard-centric or don’t know you can simply hit ‘enter’, a submit button would be nice.
It’s too early to tell if I’ll use this regularly, but I’ll have to bookmark tweefind and try it out over the next few weeks to see how well it works vs. my usually twitter searching.
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Skype for iPhone Blocked in Canada
I learned that the Skype for iPhone app is unavailable to our Canadian friends across the border in the Apple iTunes App Store. I contacted Skype for comment and their representative told me, “There are some patent-licensing issues which prevent us from offering it there.”
I then asked if other countries were affected or if it was just Canada and was informed it was just Canada. When asked whose patent it was or what category it involved (i.e. mobile VoIP), the representative told me, “I can’t go into many more details other than it’s codec related.”
Sounds to me like their was some sort of patent settlement which Skype can’t talk about. Sorry my Canadian brothers. “No Skype for iPhone for you!”
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Tags: skype, canada, itunes, apple, voip, itunes, app store, codec, patent
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Skype on iPhone is Official
Gigaom’s Om Malik was right about Skype launching a native Skype app for the iPhone. The WSJ and CNet are confiming Om’s scoop today. When I say the news hit the wires, my initial reaction was “I hope Om go credit for breaking this story last week. He’s one of the premiere bloggers and deserves credit from the mainstream media and other tech journals”.
Alas, I was sorely disappointed that they didn’t give Om credit. Reminds me of the major Skype outage story that I broke, how I predicted that Windows Update was to blame, and no mainstream media outlet cited me, while tons of bloggers gave me credit, including Om.
In any event, a native Skype for iPhone app is great news for iPhone users. Some caveats though. First, it doesn’t do videoconferencing. Though you can take a photo from within Skype to serve as your avatar image or pull a picture from your photo gallery.Though you can takw a photo from within Skype to serve as your avatar image or pull a picture from your photo gallery.
Secondly, as I suspected, it only works over WiFi and not 3G. You can blame Steve Jobs and/or AT&T for that one. Will a native Skype app be a compelling app for users over alternatives like Nimbuzz or fring? It’s hard to say, since Nimbuzz and fring not only work with Skype, they work with other popular IM/VoIP networks, such as AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, and others.
So why switch? It does offer a nice iPhone skinned interface and it supports group chat and conferencing, so those might be compelling features for some. Supposedly, the voice quality is better than fring or Nimbuzz since it is a P2P app that does the transcoding instead of centralized servers like fring and Nimbuzz.
Images credit Phil Wolff
Tags: apple, gigaom, iphone, om malik, skype, voip
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IPEVO Wi-Fi Phone for Skype Review
The IPEVO Wi-Fi Phone for Skype launched just last month and IPEVO sent me a review unit to check out, which I’ve been testing for a few weeks.
Installation
Installing the IPEVO Wi-Fi Phone was a snap. Although it only has a numeric keypad for entering in alphanumeric characters for entering in the WEP/WPA/WPA2 key. As you hit a key, it shows you the current key where your cursor is located, but it also shows you a horizontal list of all the characters that key can produce and highlights the current key. This is useful not only to confirm what keys it can produce, but if overshoot the key you want, you can easily see how far away you are to scrolling back around and reproducing that key. Definitely made entering the Wi-Fi key much easier and faster.
After entering in TMC’s Wi-Fi key I proceeded to add my Skype name and password. Similarly, it showed the key as it was being pressed, as well as the horizontal list of keys, making it very easy to enter in my Skype credentials. I should mention that you can add multiple WiFi networks, so you can have a Home profile, Work profile, etc. So when you walk into a WiFi area you have configured it will automatically connect.
The phone then signed into Skype and I saw my list of contacts. From the Contacts screen you can click the center green button or the Options button to access a submenu. From this submenu you can then Call the contact, Send Voicemail (if you paid for this service), View Profile, or go into Advanced where you can rename, remove, block/unblock, or add a contact. If you have a ton of contacts, no worries - holding the up or down key will cause it to autoscroll and it will wrap around to the top/bottom depending on which direction you were scrolling. Of course, it’s worth noting you don’t have to go into the submenu to initiate a call. You can simply highlight the contact and press the green phone icon to initiate a one-click dial.
The IPEVO Skype phone supports both Ad hoc and access point mode for connecting to a wireless network. For security it supports WEP, WPA Personal, and WPA2 Personal. It also supports static IP as well as DHCP (default).
Let’s now do a video demo of the IPEVO Skype WiFi phone which shows the phone in action making a SkypeOut call to a direct dial number which terminates to my Aastra VoIP desk phone.
I like that the phone can display Skype credit, access SkypeIn settings, and Skype voicemail. It also lists the history by all calls, missed calls, incoming calls, outgoing calls. Access to voicemails and contact requests is also available.
It took 71 seconds from off till fully authenticated on the WiFi network and can dial a Skype contact. While other Skype WiFi phones also take over a minute to fully boot-up, I’d like to see all Skype WiFi phones speed up the boot process. I should add that there doesn’t appear to be a speakerphone available, even though the back of the phone sports a speaker, which apparently is only used for the phone’s ringtones.
I was pretty impressed with how lightweight the phone was and the call quality was excellent. I called some people and they said the call quality was just as good as a landline if not better. y only complaint about the phone is the lack of instant message (IM) support, but I haven’t seen other Skype phones support IM either. While typing an IM using just numeric keys (0-9, *, #) is difficult, the phone should at least be able to receive IM messages. But even that isn’t possible. Maybe there is a technical reason while IM wasn’t included or maybe was just a design decision. Still, I’d like to see IM on Skype WiFi phones.
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The standalone Skype phone features a backlit keyboard, 1.8″ LCD screen, and rechargeable battery. The 1.8″ screen supports 128×160 resolution with 65k colors. The phone supports G711 and G729AB codes with a voice sampling rate of 8KHz.
It supports 802.11b/g WiFi standards along with WEP, and WPA/WPA2-PSK
encryption protocols. Talking time is approximately 4hr & standby time is 30hr via its Li-ion 900mAh battery. I tested the standby time, and it was indeed about 30hr.
The IPEVO Wi-Fi Phone for Skype is now available at the MSRP of $129.99 at http://store.ipevo.com/
Tags: IPEVO Wi-Fi Phone for Skype, review, skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, voip, wifi
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Native Skype for iPhone app coming?
Om Malik is reporting that a native Skype for iPhone app is coming next week.
According to Om:
A tipster — a very reliable one — tells me that Skype is almost ready to launch that iPhone version, perhaps as soon as next week. CTIA Wireless, a large mobile industry trade event, kicks off in Las Vegas next Wednesday, so perhaps the announcement will be made there. I am working on getting more details, as well as screenshots of the service.
But, if you can’t wait that long, here’s a good list of various workarounds to run Skype on the iPhone, including fring, which is an iPhone app you can get today (screenshot to the right).
Tags: CTIA Wireless, fring, iphone, om malik, skype, voip
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Finally! New Windows Mobile App AudioRoute Enables Earpiece for VoIP Apps
Finally a software tool called AudioRoute that can be used to route Windows Mobile audio from the earpiece speaker to the backspeaker and vice-versa. This is especially needed for VoIP applications on Windows Mobile phones.
I’ve tested several VoIP apps (SIP clients, Skype, etc.) on my Windows Mobile XV6700 phone and other Windows Mobiles and from what I understand the carrier forced the hardware manufacturers to block VoIP applications from using the earpiece for listening to the remote caller. You couldn’t even use speakerphone. Instead, you were forced to use the backspeaker, a tiny low-quality speaker located on the back of the phone, which made phone quality horrendous when making VoIP calls. I’d have to flip the phone over when the person was talking due to low volume & quality, and then flip it back over to talk into the microphone. It was all but unusable.
Well glory glory hallelujah! 
I never thought the day would come when someone would come up with a solution. According to Teksoft, “After several years of tests and many questions in the development forum, we’ve finally did it: a tool to route the audio to the earpiece speaker is available, and we’ve released it as freeware.” Woohoo! Now I can register my SIP client on my Windows Mobile to my Asterisk-based IP-PBX and make/receive VoIP calls.
Features:
- Routes the audio output to earpiece or backspeaker
- VoIP compatible
- Easy to use User Interface
- Command line support
- Uses Teksoft’s DynRIL library
It’s compatible with Pocket PC and Smartphone Windows Mobile 5.0 / WM6.0 and above
Usage (via forums)
Install the CAB and use the titlebar icon to open the user interface.
The first icon routes the audio to the earpiece speaker.
The second blue icon, can be used to route the audio to the backspeaker.
The orange icon, routes the audio to the speakerphone, while in a phone call.
You can also use the bottom slider to move the taskbar icon, or the about button to show this page.
The top-right square hides the user interface.
Command line
This tool can be executed by command line with parameters.
You can execute /program files/teksoft/audioRoute/audioRoute.exe with the following:
-earpiece , routes the audio to the earpiece
-backspeaker , routes the audio to the backspeaker
-speakerphone , while in a phone call, activates the speakerphone
-switch , toggles between earpiece and backspeaker
| Code: |
| audioroute.exe -earpiece audioroute.exe -backspeaker etc. |
Download
The CAB file is available in the freeware section of www.teksoftco.com, direct link here.
Tags: asterisk, audio, audioroute, backspeaker, earpiece, sip, skype, speakerphone, teksoft, voip, windows mobile, wm5, wm6
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Google Voice Meet Asterisk
Nerd Vittles has another cool Asterisk recipe that combines Google Voice, voicemail transcription (via Google Voice), free calling, and of course Asterisk. Nerd does some packet sniffing and determines that Google Voice, powered by Grandcentral, is using SIP. What’s most interesting is that Nerd determine that your SIP connection and your Google Voice phone bill is only protected by a 4-digit PIN. Yikes! That’s not good.
Anyway, here’s a teaser of Nerd’s awesome recipe:
what we want to do is examine some ways to integrate the Google Voice feature set into our existing Asterisk implementations. The potential benefits are enormous. There’s free calling in the U.S., free distribution of inbound calls to multiple phone numbers scattered around the country, free SMS messaging and delivery by email, free transcription of voicemail messages into text-based emails, free conferencing, and free GOOG-411, a voice-activated service that let’s you find nearby businesses by saying where you are and what you’re looking for. For today, we’ve set our sights on the Google Voice feature set which is easiest to integrate into existing Asterisk systems: free voicemail message transcription, free calling in the United States, and free GOOG-411 directory assistance. For lack of a better term, we call it… Googlified Messaging™.
Well, what are you waiting for? Go read the entire recipe and tutorial. Great stuff!
Tags: asterisk, google, Google Voice, nerd vittles, voicemail transcription, voip
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FriendCaller - Another VoIP App for the iPhone
In April 2008, I reviewed C2Call, a Java-based VoIP application that lets you make web-based P2P VoIP phone calls direct from your browser whether you’re using Linux, Windows, or an Apple Mac. The company that developed C2Call claims their new FriendCaller, also a Java-based VoIP app works on the iPhone. Funny, last I checked the iPhone doesn’t support Java unless you jailbreak it.
According to their website, “FriendCaller works instantly with every popular operating system and browser without installation. And, of course with the iPhone™ and iPod™ touch.” It then says, “Send your friends call-me links directly from your iPhone™ or iPod™ touch. FriendCaller is instant browser based Voice, your friends don’t have to install software or register with FriendCaller before talking to you through their browsers. They just click-to-call and you are connected and see each other online status.”
So it sounds like you have to send people you want to call a special hyperlink, which they have to click to then initiate an outbound call back to you. I’m guessing they embed your iPhone’s regular GSM phone number into the click-to-call link which gets passed to the Java applet. Then the person you are trying to reach clicks the click-to-call link launching the Java app on their browser and automatically initiating an outbound call to your iPhone. The call is routed as voice over IP from the remote caller’s PC/Mac to C2Call’s termination network (for low cost VoIP routing) and then terminates to your iPhone. This is speculation on my part based on the info I read and the technical limitations of the iPhone (no Java), but it’s the only explanation I can come up with on how it works.
So it isn’t truly end-to-end VoIP and it isn’t even an outbound VoIP call. It’s more like an inbound VoIP-to-GSM/PSTN call.
Anywhere, here’s the features:
- Free calls to anybody on the Internet over WiFi
- Instant messaging and Call-me links in WiFi and mobile data
- Full access to your iPhone™ contacts from FriendCaller
- Friend List with online status
- Low cost calls to phone numbers including mobiles over WiFi
- Call-me links work instantly on Windows XP/Vista, MAC OS-X and Linux
Tags: apple, c2call, friendcaller, iphone, java, voip
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New Nimbuzz VoIP app for the iPhone and iPod touch
Nimbuzz just released their new iPhone version of Nimbuzz which also supports 3G VoIP “dial up” calling and can turn the iPod touch into an iPhone. The old version was just released into the Apple iTunes store in November, so Nimbuzz is cranking out new version pretty quickly!
The new version features a full dial-pad, and the ability to make VoIP calls to PSTN numbers using SkypeOut, as well as via their 10 VoIP partners including Gizmo5, Vyke, sipgate and A1 by leveraging SIP. You can now add individual buddies from AIM, Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger (MSN), MySpace, Yahoo!, and Nimbuzz.
If Wi-Fi is unavailable you can make VoIP calls to Nimbuzz buddies using what Nimbuzz calls “Dial-Up VoIP”, which is available in over 50 countries.
Dial-Up VoIP simply means that Nimbuzz dials a local access number that your iPhone dials and then Nimbuzz’s VoIP servers terminate the call. Jajah and others have this feature as well.
According to the Nimbuzz blog post, “We are experimenting with Twitter, and you can post to Twitter via the Personal Message feature! Try it. Your comments are always welcome, so please feel free to give feedback.” Wow! Twitter integration with a VoIP app. Gotta love it!
Fixes:
• Facebook names are displayed
• Mobile Me usernames with a dot are now supported
• Improved stability
Tags: 3G, apple, iphone, nimbuzz, skype, skypeout, voip, wifi
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Zer01, a MVNO, uses VoIP to bring contract-less, unlimited voice & data on smart phones
A new mobile-phone MVNO carrier, Zer01 Mobile announced that it will give you 100% unlimited voice and data on smart phones for as little as $69.95/month, without a contract, and on a broad nationwide network - namely AT&T’s network.
Zer01 Mobile will even offer unlimited international calling (to 40 countries) for an additional $10/month. How are they able to offer such inexpensive calling? Take one guess. Yep, they’re using VoIP. The company will use a VoIP application for routing of all calls. Unfortunately, currently that app only works on Windows Mobile - sorry Apple iPhone fans (& Blackberry). According to PC Magazine, “Zero01 has some sort of quality-of-service mojo that lets VOIP run even over slow EDGE and GPRS networks.”
Zer01 works with unlocked Windows Mobile phones that can run their application, but Zer01 also plan to sell three HTC phones, the TyTnII (AT&T calls it the Tilt), the Touch Diamond and the Touch 3G.
It’ll be interesting to see if people are willing to try 100% VoIP mobile phones. Will they trust the voice quality and coverage area? Then again, it is AT&T’s nation-wide coverage area, and cellular voice quality isn’t that great either. So users might be willing to take a chance. Certainly the price is very attractive, and with no contract requirement, customers might be willing to give it a shot.
Tags: mobile phone plan, mvno, unlimited calling, unlimited data, unlimited voice, voip, windows mobile, zer01, Zer01 Mobile
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RIM Launches BlackBerry App World
Ok, it’s official, every mobile phone provider and their brother has an application store for mobile phones. It started with the Apple App Store. Google launched the Android Market. Then last month Microsoft launched Windows Marketplace. Supposedly, Palm is launching the Palm App Catalog.
Well BlackBerry/RIM couldn’t be left out in the cold. Today, they are lauching something bigger than an App Store or a Marketplace. It’s officially named the storefront BlackBerry App World.
The site for developers will be updated and should be live by 10pm tonight.
At the same time, they will launch a sign up page for users who want to be alerted when BlackBerry App World goes live. They should go register at www.blackberry.com/appworld.
I’m going to check it out tonight and see if any VoIP apps are available.
Hey Nokia, it’s your turn… Where’s your app store?
Tags: app store, apple, blackberry, BlackBerry App World, microsoft, rim, voip, windows marketplace
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ooma Telo vs. magicJack
Rich met with ooma recently to see their latest wares and hear about their current business model. Recently, ooma ditched the ‘P2P voice network’ idea where users actually “share” their home landline with others and instead became a traditional VoIP broadband provider. Apparently, the privacy issues were too much to overcome, since users were concerns about fraudulent activity happening on their home landline by outside ooma users. I had my own reservations about the business model as well, since they claimed it would take 2,000 strategicly placed ooma boxes in all the various local exchanges to get good local call coverage for free P2P calls.
Besides becoming a traditional VoIP broadband provider, ooma is now going to start offering high-end media phones, that according to Rich Tehrani will in the future feature a picture frame, in-house sensors and cameras. As for what they offer today, in early January, ooma launched Telo, which offers unlimited, free VoIP-to-PSTN (U.S.) calls over the Internet along with a DECT 6.0 cordless phone that supports call screening, MP3 ringtones, 12-hour talk time, HD voice, speakerphone, two-line support, mobile transfer, and intercom. It supports up to eight phone numbers and six phones
ooma’s Telo phone system with DECT 6.0 handset.
The Telo phone system is expected to be available in the first half of 2009. The next question you’re probably thinking is “If it’s free unlimited U.S. VoIP-to-PSTN calls, how does ooma make any money?” The answer to that is ooma offers ooma Premier, with advanced features that they hope people will opt & pay for. (See: http://www.ooma.com/company/how_we_make_money.php)
Some of the Premiere features include:
- Instant Second Line allows you to make or take two simultaneous calls from a single phone number
- Blacklists helps you protect your privacy and block telemarketers
- Multiring lets you answer calls from your home phone or cell phone
- Message Screening allows you to listen in as the caller is leaving their message
- Send to Voicemail allows you to transfer a call to your voicemail
- Voicemail Forwarding lets you forward voicemail so that you can listen to it from your favorite email program
- Do Not Disturb allows you to roll your calls into voicemail without ringing your phone
- Personal Numbers allows you to select additional phone numbers in any calling area in the US
The “free” unlimited calling puts them on par with magicJack, but the magicJack is much less expensive (magicJack costs $39.99 1st year, and $19.99/yr in subsequent years). Pricing for Telo has not been announced, but I’m sure it will be much more expensive since the hardware costs so much more. One advantage for Telo is that magicjack requires your PC to be on all the time to make/receive calls over its USB-based dongle. The Telo phone system is a standalone phone that has no such restriction. It’s also a multi-line and multi-handset phone platform, so it’s more suitable to busy households that require multiple lines or phone handsets.
Check out Rich’s post for more on Telo and how the FCC is actually an investor in ooma.
Tags: , dect 6, handset, magicJack, ooma, phone, telo, voip
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Nearly killed by a school bus this morning - Skype Phone Saves My Life
I was driving to work in my Volvo V70 XC (XC=Cross Country) which has all-wheel-drive and Blizzak snow tires when I approached a T intersection where I had to make a right-hand turn. Now normally a Volvo with AWD and Blizzak snow tires can cut through any amount of snow with no problem. I’ve driven it through blizzards, so I know.
In fact, there was some light snow on the roads in my neighborhood, but once I got to the main roads, they were completely dry. The road I was on is also well-traveled and appeared dry in most places and wet in others. I didn’t realize the “wet” spots I saw weren’t wet at all, but were black ice. 
I tried to stop at the T intersection, my car’s ABS kicked in and the car wouldn’t stop. I quickly spun my head to my left to see if I was about to cut someone off. I saw a yellow school bus bearing down on me. I decided to go over to the opposite lane, figuring I’d rather get hit by anything else but a 7 ton bus. I hadn’t had time to turn my head to the right to see if there was a car coming from that direction. I had other things on my mind - like a big yellow bus headed straight at me! 
Not knowing if there was a car coming from that direction and although ABS was still kicking in, I quickly turned the wheel to the right just in case I could slip in between and be riding the center of the lane - hoping if there was indeed a car coming from the opposite direction, it could ride the shoulder a bit to avoid hitting me. It worked! My car did indeed finally grip and take the center lane. Fortunately, there wasn’t another car coming from the opposite direction, so I gunned the gas and rode illegally in the left lane for about 30 ft, just to be sure I wasn’t going to get rear-ended by the bus, and then got back into the right lane.
I felt bad for the bus driver who obviously had to brake hard. The bus driver probably thought I was a lunatic for taking the turn without stopping. But I honestly wasn’t going fast. I was slowing for the stop sign, but just couldn’t stop. Although the bus driver probably saw it was an “out of control” action and I did fishtail a bit - so probably deduced it was black ice.
Wow, another 1-2s later and I was a goner. There was also a line of cars behind the bus, so even if I avoided the bus, other cars would have hit me and there was an SUV just ahead of the bus. So basically, I was able to slip in-between the gap between the SUV and the bus. What if my wife didn’t remind me to take the IPEVO Skype phone to work, which I had forgotten in the bedroom? I actually had to walk back down the hallway to get it.
The mere act of taking the IPEVO Skype phone home last night to test may just have saved my life. Thank you IPEVO & thank you Skype! They say Skype is a cost saver - well now Skype’s a life saver!
Tags: black ice, IPEVO WiFi Phone for Skype, school bus, skype, snow, voip, volvo
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Another Free VoIP Calling Web Application
Goober Networks, recently launched CallingAmerica.com, which offers web-based free VoIP calls to any landline or mobile phone in the U.S. or Canada. The Web-based offering uses Flash for the audio output & microphone input. As for the business model for “free calls” CallingAmerica.com uses advertisements on their website that you must watch before the call is initiated.
I decided to test it for myself to see how well it works. I simply went to their website, entered a phone number, and clicked the FreeCall now button, as seen here:
You’ll be presented with a captcha code which you must enter to prove you are human, as seen by this clipped browser screenshot here:
Then, you’ll see an ad and a short countdown (15s or less) before you can initiate the call as seen by this clipped browser screenshot here:
The countdown was pretty short, so surprisingly it wasn’t annoying. After the countdown, the Flash application confirms your microphone source. Simply by talking into it, it detects the audio signal and then initiates the call. The call quality was pretty good - certainly on par with other web-based VoIP offerings.
I should point out that if you don’t register, the calls are limited up to two minutes in duration each. Pretty useful if travelling and just want to make a quick free call. By registering for free at CallingAmerica.com, users can make an unlimited number of calls for a duration of up to 15 minutes. All in all CallingAmerica.com is worth keeping bookmarked for when you need to make a quick free call.
Tags: CallingAmerica.com, captcha, flash, free calls, goober networks, voip, web
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Anonymous Caller with Blocked CallerID? Not Anymore
TrapCall offers a new free service that reveals CallerID from those pesky blocked calls from annoying callers that think their anonymity is more important than you knowing who they are. Well the war between being anonymous and knowing “who is calling you” is over - no more blocked CallerID.
It’s over, Johnny. It’s over!
Nothing is over! Nothing!! You just don’t turn it off! It wasn’t my CallerID war! You asked to talk to me, I didn’t ask to talk to you! And I did what I had to do to win! But somebody wouldn’t let us win! And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots with cell phones at the airport, protesting me, spitting. Calling me CallerID killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me?! Who are they?! Unless they’ve been me and been there and know what the hell they’re yelling about!
Not knowing ‘who is calling’ was a bad time for everyone, Rambo. It’s all in the past now.
With apologies to John Rambo and First Blood, one of the greatest movies of all time.
Here’s how TrapCall works. When you reject or miss a call, your phone forwards the call to TrapCall’s toll free number. TrapCall then unveils the hidden CallerID info (since you can’t block CallerID to toll-free numbers) for the missed call and then re-routes the call back to you. Your phone will then see the Caller ID unblocked. If you reject the call a second time, it’ll go to your regular voicemail. Importantly, all the caller hears is normal ringing.
The free version does CallerID unmasking and lets you configure caller blacklists. The two paid versions offer additional features, including CallerID names, call recording, and voicemail transcription.
via Wired
Tags: blocked calls, call recording, caller ID, caller-id, callerID, first blood, john rambo, trapcall, unblocking calls, voicemail transcription
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Nokia runs Skype on Wi-Fi and 3G - Suck on that iPhone!
Skype and Nokia today announced that Skype will be integrated into Nokia devices, starting with the Nokia Nseries. The Nokia N97 flagship phone will be the first to incorporate Skype in the 3rd quarter of 2009.
Skype will be integrated into the address book of the Nokia N97, allowing you to see when Skype contacts are online and perform instant messaging (IM) or VoIP calls.
But here’s the real kicker - the Nokia N97 will be able to use Wi-Fi and 3G to make and receive free Skype-to-Skype voice calls as well as Skype calls to landlines and mobile devices. The Apple iPhone on the other hand, restricts VoIP clients to just Wi-Fi VoIP calls and blocks 3G (data) VoIP calls.
Tags: 3g, apple, iphone, n97, nokia, nseries, skype, voip, wi-fi
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