April 27th, 2006
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So we have introduced you to EQO and here is some information on this application that I’m sure you are all curious to know.
Do you have a lot of Skype pals but have no Skype yourself? You don’t need to be alone for long as EQO a Canadian company has come with a software that can transform your regular cell phone to a Skype phone. Enjoy all the benefits of Skype like receiving calls, through SkypeIn and making calls through SkypeOut! Plus you can call and receive calls from other Skype users and even send and receive Internet messages to and from Skype pals!
EQO is now claiming it can tinker with the code/graphics of some Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones to enable EQO software but it is all under testing still. EQO lets you call your Skype buddies on the Skype VoIP network and then links your mobile into the call with SkypeOut. From the US, you can call overseas from your mobile for just $0.02 a minute! You need to keep your PC on at all times and remain logged into Skype.
Every day EQO is adding more and more mobile phones into being EQO enabled and the whole idea is catching on fast. EQO Mobile currently supports Audiovox, Motorola, Nokia, Palm, RIM Blackberry, Samsung, Siemens, and Sony Ericsson devices. Chris Richardson of EQO in his blog has promised an EQO t-shirt and the chance to be first to use EQO on your particular phone if you don’t mind sending your GPRS enabled handset to them.
The costs for installing EQO are free but you will have to pay for your cell phone charges and your Skype pals will need to pay for their Skype charges. However, if you have a WiFi card in your mobile phone or have an unlimited data plan you will have a great deal and of course its only worth the trouble if you have more than ten Skype buddies.
Written by shiama on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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To answer our readers about the availability of dual type cell phones I’d say you don’t need a new phone to get VoIP - especially with EQO coming your way! Read on…
Key in the words “Skype†and in the Internet results page it says "Skype – The whole world can talk for free". I can remember there was a time not so long ago when net2phone services were available on Yahoo Messenger for a short time. Thereafter it became a paid service and many discontinued using that service.
With over 100 million subscribers, Skype is definitely regenerating that lost interest by making calls over the Internet absolutely FREE. In order to make a free call from one PC to another, it is mandatory that both ends be connected to computer terminasl with the rest of the associated gadgets like microphone and headsets.
So what happens when you want to call someone who is not connected by a PC at home? For them Skype has the Skype Out - a paid service where you get to call almost anyone anywhere around the world to their regular phones. Costs have been kept fixed and low anytime of the day to make it attractive.
Now a Vancouver based company called EQO (pronounced Echo) is taking it one step further by announcing the availability of its free BETA EQO Mobile Internet Phone Service for Skype(TM), which allows people to access Skype from a regular mobile phone.
While VoIP WiFi phones will have to be in a WiFi area to function correctly, if EQO proves its technology, ordinary mobile phones could get to access the Skype software and enjoy the benefits of a low priced call over the Internet.
So it would be a clever way of tapping into the benefits of VoIP without having to change your phone for a WiFi enabled one. While EQO is available for limited models are available for now, EQO is not charging for the software that’s going to bridge the gap between your PC and your mobile handset.
Written by shiama on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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The SWISSMEMORY USB cirrusWHITE is a powerful, little, white high-speed USB (2.0) stick that offers a read and write performance class of up to 28MB/s and storage capacities ranging from 128MB to 2GB.
The optically integrated protective cap with a round eyelet allows the stick to be attached to key-rings and lanyards with only minimal weight – only eight grams.
As a bonus, the integrated software provides users with a wide range of additional features. Outlook Express settings, personal Internet favorites and data from My Documents can be synchronized with ease, while the "no trace surfing" function deletes all traces of Internet surfing. All data is compressed to save space and protected by a password. The only part not to be protected is the Lost&Found file, which provides information on the stick's owner in case of loss.
http://www.swissbit.com
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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Interesting survey from
Infonetics that I thought I'd share regarding Triple Play expenditures. Service providers are really starting to ramp up their spending. Service providers around the globe see triple play services not merely as a means of increasing top-line revenue, but as a means of self-preservation, says a new study by Infonetics Research. Network operators are redefining and realigning themselves to be the one-stop shop for all things digital for residential and enterprise subscribers, and they believe triple play services will give them the competitive edge they need to succeed.
Take as evidence the fact that North American, European, and Asia Pacific service providers participating in the study ("Service Provider Plans for IP Triple Play") report that on average nearly 40% of their capital expenditures were spent on triple play network equipment in 2005.
The majority of service providers in the study plan to further increase capex spending in the next 12 months on
IPTV equipment, broadband CPE, broadband aggregation equipment, and voice over broadband equipment, and they expect revenue growth in all areas of triple play services in the next 12 months.
And a big chunk of revenue it is: The average percent of total company revenue from triple play services ranges from 43% to 48% between 2005 and 2007. (Infonetics interviewed a mix of large incumbent providers and smaller, more focused providers; for the large providers triple play revenue represents a much lower percentage of total revenue.)
"With nearly 40% of their capex budgets going to triple play service infrastructure, service providers are sending a clear message that the combination of voice, data, and video services is a long-term differentiator for them," said Jeff Heynen, directing analyst at Infonetics Research. "Carriers are demanding complete interoperability, full standards compliance, and an open and flexible architecture from their suppliers to ensure the content and services they provide will work right out of the box and far into the future."
IP voice is a big draw for triple play providers, but it's video that's really the newest, most exciting, and most technically challenging part of triple play services, and
IPTV is where all the action is. In fact, all but one of Infonetics' service provider respondents already offer IPTV, and that one offers it by 2007.
Sample Findings
- The top 2 drivers for respondent service providers deploying triple play services are 1) increased broadband revenue per user and 2) new revenue streams
- 58% of respondent service providers rate vendor interoperability a key technical challenge when rolling out triple play services
- The most pressing business challenge triple play service providers face is securing broadcast and on-demand video content; acquiring content is also a challenge
- iTV (interactive TV) is the fastest growing video service offered by service providers, bringing Internet capabilities directly to the TV screen, including instant messaging, shop at home, click to call and click to purchase capabilities, and, most significantly, online gaming services.
- 2/3 will deploy IP/Ethernet DSLAMs by 2007
- 67% rate low cost very important when considering IP set top box features
- Though more respondents currently use Cisco for their triple play aggregation, when it comes to unaided brand awareness for triple play infrastructure providers,
Alcatel leads Cisco, and
Microsoft is third
Infonetics' triple play study examines the trends, drivers, barriers, strategies, and implementation plans of North American, European, and Asian services providers offering triple play services, and includes their product expenditures, preferred manufacturers and products, services offered, technology choices, and more.
Infonetics also offers an
IPTV Equipment forecast, including subscriber, revenue, and capex projections through 2009.
Download sample data at
www.info.infonetics.com.
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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Skype tomorrow will reach a major milestone when it passes the 100 million registered users mark. Still a long way to go to catch up to
McDonalds' "Billions Served", but
Skype certainly is the fastest growing VoIP company. The company achieved this milestone in just two-and-a-half year’s time, and has nearly doubled in size from September 2005 when it had 54 million registered users.
"Skype has grown in leaps and bounds by making it simple for anyone across the world with an Internet connection to do something they could not do before – talk for as long as they like, to whoever they like for no cost. Passing 100 million registered users within such a short time reinforces how much people love how easy
Skype makes it to call friends, family and colleagues all over the world for free,"said Niklas Zennström, CEO and co-founder of Skype. “We owe the
Skype community a debt of gratitude for helping us realize this exciting milestone and look forward to keep growing together."
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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No, I have not gone on vacation. Instead, I am busy writing the next cover story for the magazine, along with a couple of other short pieces, and am horribly late. So posting is going to be light for a couple of days. And if I haven’t answered your email, don’t take it personally - there are 600 messages that have piled up in just day. Still, couple of things which have been sitting in my inbox and are worth sharing.
- Future of The Bells Is DSL
Did anyone notice that AT&T introduced a three tier DSL pricing structure and are now offering a 6 megabits per second connection for $28 a month. (1.5 Mbps and 3 Mbps cost $13 and $18 a month respectively.) That’s twice as much as what BellSouth is charging for the same speeds. In other words, either AT&T will raise its prices after the deal with BellSouth closes or BellSouth will drop the prices.
Nonetheless, BellSouth added a record 263,000 DSL net adds in the first quarter equating, while AT&T added 511,000 new DSL users for the same period.
John Hodulik of UBS thinks that while voice might be making them the most money, it is DSL which is strategically more important and is now the “anchor product of the consumer bundle.” In other words, it is going to be the proxy for their future (residential) market share.
Talking about the new Ma Bell, AT&T will soon start offering “Vongo” Internet movie-delivery service to its DSL customers. The companies will feature a co-branded AT&T and Vongo Web site and special promotions. Vongo works only on Windows-PC and costs about $10 for unlimited access. PPV is $4 a month. First Akimbo, and now Vongo, I tell you that either someone is having a change of heart over in San Antonio, Texas or that IPTV this isn’t going too well.
- For Comcast, Broadband, VoIP are hot
So just to ensure a little balance, a quick take on Comcast’s earnings report for the most recent quarter - they added 437,000 new broadband subscribers, better than most analyst estimates of 345,000. Average revenue per unit (ARPU) - $43.14. Doesn’t look like the competition is having any impact, because it is higher than fourth quarter ARPU of $42.38. Broadband revenues: $1.1 billion. Forget all that - the biggest news is that Comcast added 211,000 VoIP subscribers, though 141,000 are “net new customers.” And this when VoIP is not even available in the entire footprint of Comcast. Someone should be extremely worried... don’t you think?
[Clarification from Comcast PR: we added 211K net new Comcast Digital Voice (VoIP) voice subscribers, and lost 70K customers for our circuit switched phone business (this was expected – we’re not trying to grow or expand). Netting those two out, we gained 141 K total voice customers (digital voice and circuit switch combined)we added 211K net new Comcast Digital Voice (VoIP) voice subscribers, and lost 70K customers for our circuit switched phone business (this was expected – we’re not trying to grow or expand). Netting those two out, we gained 141 K total voice customers (digital voice and circuit switch combined) ]
Written by Om Malik on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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Five 9s with VoIP? It's possible but your call center IT staff will have to look at solutions beyond just hardware redundancy.
Written by VoIP Magazine Featured Stories on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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This week’s PodSession is about eBay shopping for partners. This is inspired by recent buzz about eBay looking to take on Google with new allies such as Microsoft and/or Yahoo.
EBay is voicing its concern with its checkbook and looking for new preferred advertising partners and cross-promotional opportunities. Should eBay be afraid of Google? How many management consultants did it take for eBay to wake up and realize its business direction? Is anyone safe from the growing power of Google over search and commerce?
Here are five things we suggest they do instead of mucking around with half-baked alliances.
- Come up with eBay 2.0 and figure out a role for the company in the digital future.
- Focus on core strengths. Buy Intuit (Quicken) to give eBay buyers and sellers accounting features.
- Focus of the company should be Paypal and turning it into Citibank of online world. (Very Very Important.)
- Figure out a way to get into shareware sales business. Perhaps acquire eSellerate. This is where Ebay can put its heft to good use.
- Get into digital media sales. The recent Skype-EMI deal could be a good start.
This is just for starters. In the very near future, I am going to write a five-day series on eBay’s strategy and what they can do to grow even bigger. Funnily enough, Skype might be part of that strategy, though not as eBay might have thought. And the best part - all the advise is going to be free. McKinsey not required. I am sure one of you can even cook-up a nice PowerPoint presentation as well.
Anyway more here in week’s PodSession which is 20 minutes in length, a 9 MB download.
Written by Om Malik on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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Teams up with Intel, Nokia, RIM, and others to bring voice-ready wireless networks to the enterprise.
Written by VoIP Magazine Featured Stories on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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The Lavalife World Chat service for Singles was introduced recently and it can be great way to meet like-minded people. You do not need to worry about talk time, as VoIP is much cheaper than the regular landline calls.
The Lavalife World Chat service for singles features the ability to create profiles from personal voice recordings, listen to other profiles and exchange voice messages. Users can also join the Lavalife World Chat room for live talk sessions with singles from all over the world.
Lavalife for Skype is free for a limited period and users can activate it by dialing +9907LAVALIFE in the Skype software.
Via TMCnet
Written by gautam.chabbra on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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SOYO Group Inc. has introduced the SOYO U201 IP phone. It is a USB phone meant for Skype users.
Using the keypad and LCD screen on the SOYO U201 IP phone, users can handle Skype software and make calls without having to check the computer monitor.
The SOYO U201 IP phone comes with a headset jack, mute button, and hands-free speaker. This VoIP phone model also provides personalized ring tone, caller ID, Skypeout balance display, call history and more.
The SOYO U201IP costs $49.99
Via MobileWhack
Written by gautam.chabbra on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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Vonage has announced that its UK subscribers can soon make VoIP calls on mobile phones.
Vonage has done a deal with wi-fi hot-spot operator The Cloud, and the duo will jointly a VoIP-over-Mobile service in nine hot spots in various UK cities, which The Cloud operates.
When you are in the coverage area of any 9 hotspots, you can make a call on your special handset. This service won't cost extra for all Vonage customers who pay $14.25 plus line rental to make unlimited VoIP calls to UK and Irish landlines.
You will have to pay about $142 for the special hotspot. The handset looks like an over-sized mobile phone.
Via Silicon.com
Written by gautam.chabbra on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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NICE Systems has released the next generation of VoIP active recording solutions. The latest version of NICE's solutions incorporate the latest VoIP enhancements in the market.
NICE's new active VoIP recording solutions is included in Nortel's new Duplicate Media Stream over IP (DMS-IP) architecture. They are also present in active recording for Cisco's CallManager, and for Avaya's Communication Manager API, and IP-phone applications.
NICE's scalable VoIP software solutions are certified by all major VoIP switch vendors and are aimed at all segments of the market.
Via SecurityPark
Written by gautam.chabbra on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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Company exceeds revenue projections but reports net loss.
Written by VoIP Magazine Featured Stories on April 27th, 2006 with no comments.
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