Linksys Makes Mobile Phones for Wireless-G Networks
WIP300 and WIP330 are new single-mode Wi-Fi handsets.
Written by VoIP Magazine Featured Stories on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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May 17th, 2006
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Finally, a VoIP headset that doesn’t suck
I've been lamenting the lack of audio quality on VoIP headsets for some time now. Not only the tinny sound, but the fact that these headsets are fragile, and don't survive a lot of user-to-user adjustment. End result: they are brittle, and they break. Listen, I am no audiophile. Barely an audio file. [...]
Written by Russell Shaw on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Cablevision’s Machiavellian Move
Free SkypeOut might be putting the heat on Vonage and others, but the flat rate international long distance plan introduced by Cablevision is truly a move befitting Machiavelli.
The company introduced a $20 a month plan which allows subscribers of its $35 a month voice service to call anywhere in the world. Since the plan is capped at 500 minutes a month, that works out to about 4 cents a minute. Many believe that it is a way to respond to Free Skype or a blatant attempt to take the wind out of Vonage IPO’s sails. But that’s overlooking Cablevision (and its cable-cos brethren) real enemy: the phone company.
The New York-based cable and broadband service provider is trying to turn the screws on its phone company rival, Verizon. The availability of this plan - will prompt Verizon customers to ask questions, and perhaps seek a similar deal from Verizon. There is a good chance that Verizon will have to respond with a similar if not better offer. (Of course, they can let customers switch!)
Since Verizon’s footprint is much larger that Cablevision, it would have to offer a similar package to its entire customer base, and that could start eating into the voice revenues. Cablevision of course could kill birds with one stone - it will force that hand of the likes of Vonage to respond in kind as well.
This dovetails with my previous arguments that Cable guys can leave the phone guys twisting in the wind. The phone-companies video networks are nowhere close to mass deployment, which leaves them dependent on data and voice revenues. Cable guys, as Cablevision’s announcement shows, can do a handful of things that can inflict financial pain to the phone companies. (Oh how I love the sound of two leviathans - phone companies and cable companies - crashing into each other!)
If you look at the Cablevision announcement, it is publicity ploy which doesn’t cost the company much. And instead the can boast about no hidden fees. Of course there are upfront fees - a monthly $35 voice plan - but that is a minor detail when it comes to reporting. Cablevision will have nothing to lose, because of this little trick that will suck-up those 500 minutes in a jiffy.
One-minute rounding is in effect. We round up to the nearest minute. Example: A 25 second call = 1 minute.
Just to nit-pick, if you look at Cablevision’s geographic footprint - in New York, Connecticut and parts of New Jersey, you will find a heavy concentration of immigrants - the most lucrative segment when it comes to long distance dialing - from South Asia, China, Puerto Rico and rest of Latin America.
The $35 a month voice plan Cablevision sells offers unlimited calls to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. That’s one big demographic segment that really doesn’t need to spend an extra $20 a month. Other countries like say India, Bangladesh, China and many Latin American countries have high termination charges, so perhaps its going to cost Cablevision some money. But the $35 a month voice plan, and those rounding-tricks should ensure that the losses aren’t too much.
As I said, its about Verizon!
Written by Om Malik on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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eBay Developers Conference Highlights Skype developer track
I was invited to the attend the fifth annual eBay Developers Conference at the Mandalay Bay on June 10-12, 2006 in Las Vegas. I'm told that at the event, you can meet Skype engineers/staff, learn about the latest APIs, connect with the community, and check out what Skype's "friends" at eBay, PayPal, Shopping.com, and Prostores are doing together. The idea of the conference is so that developers, business leaders, industry luminaries, and employees of the eBay companies can come together to talk about new ways to improve commerce and communications on the web - both on and off eBay. Skype will have their own full track of 7 technical sessions, and 2 training labs where developers can participate in hands on training.Mandalay Bay is one of the newest and nicest hotels in Vegas, making this a tempting business trip. In fact, while one well known VoIP blogger, Jeff Pulver is known for his poker play (he even has his own website - www.pulverpoker.com), I'm a Blackjack fan myself - so it might be time to polish up on my Blackjack skills by heading to Foxwoods Casino just 1.5 hrs away. Actually, I won't be able to attend, new baby and all, so avoiding long trips, but maybe you can. Registration is free for the media, but there is a fee for non-media. The link to register for the conference is here.
According to Skype's PR rep, "Aside from several news announcements, the event will add color to many looming questions, such as:
- What will the next technology revolution be
- How will it impact commerce and communications on the web
- And what opportunities will it provide for developers and technology innovators
- How will the Long Tail Theory play out
- Web 2.0 and how to build revenue streams
Here's the info including the Skype conference track descriptions.
Keynotes - Day 2
30 An Open talk with the eBay Companies
Host: Greg Isaacs, Director, eBay Developers Program
Panel: William C. Cobb, President, eBay North America
John Donahoe, President, eBay Marketplaces
Dana Stalder, Sr.Vice President of Marketing and Business Operations, PayPal
Alex Kazim, Senior Vice President, Skype
You have questions, eBay corporate executives have answers. This is your unique opportunity to hear from the people who are leading eBay, Inc. into the future. You will gain an understanding of the role of each company within the eBay ecosystem, and the strategic direction they will take to ensure continued innovation and market leadership in the future. More importantly, this open discussion will give you a snapshot of the opportunities eBay sees for the developer community. You will leave with the information and insight you need to start creating a new generation of applications for commerce and communications on the web.
112 Opportunities for Developers Using Skype's API 112 Opportunities for Developers Using Skype's API
Speaker: Lenn Pryor, Developer Relations Director, Skype
Are you wondering what exactly Skype is and what it means to you and your application? In a nutshell, eBay + PayPal + Skype = Unparalleled commerce and communications on the web. Come to this session and let us explain the beauty of Skype, why you should incorporate it into your application, and how to use the Skype API to do it. You'll learn about the Skype Developer Program and see examples of cool applications the Skype developer community has already created. The labs in Track 2 will show you how to get started on one of your own.
113 Skype Certified! The 5 Ws 113 Skype Certified! The 5 Ws
210 Lab: Getting Started Building Skype Applications 210 Lab: Getting Started Building Skype Applications
Speaker: Peter Kalmstrom, Product Manager, Skype Toolbars
It's refreshingly easy to get started on a Skype-enabled application thanks to a managed code approach. This lab will give you hands on coding experience using the Skype ActiveX controls and the Skype COM wrapper. You should be familiar with C# to get the most from this exercise.
211 Lab: Using the Skype Application to Application Messaging API (App2App) 211 Lab: Using the Skype Application to Application Messaging API (App2App)
Speaker: Indrek Mandre, Skype Core Services Developer
The Skype App2App API allows developers to build applications that communicate directly—bypassing the chat window. Following up on session 212, this lab will show you how to use this advanced functionality. You should be familiar with C# to get the most from this exercise.
212 The Skype Application to Application Messaging API (App2App) 212 The Skype Application to Application Messaging API (App2App)
Speaker: Indrek Mandre, Skype Core Services Developer
The Skype App2App API allows Skype clients running on different hosts to communicate directly with each other, opening the door to a new breed of networked Skype applications like games, expressive messaging, and collaboration tools. This communication is secure, efficient, and also masked so it doesn't impact the user experience. This session provides a general overview of the API capabilities and architecture and the in-depth information you need to work with its commands, events, and object lifecycles. A discussion about the most typical uses for the API and a comparison with similar systems, including advantages and limitations, will provide insight into common problems and how to solve them.
213 Skype ActiveX Components: Skype Development on Steroids 213 Skype ActiveX Components: Skype Development on Steroids
Speaker: Peter Kalmström, Product Manager, Skype Toolbars
Developers and entrepreneurs interested in quickly adding Skype to Windows applications shouldn't miss this performance-enhancing session. You'll learn all about the entire Skype Active X component family, see components in action in real-life examples, and learn how to use them to boost productivity. Specifics include coding with the Skype COM API, which offers all the objects and events you could ever wish for, how the PNR (Phone Number Recognizer, a component that knows everything about the complicated world of international phone numbers) makes worldwide telephony easier, and practical tips on putting an application together.
220 Using Skype to Improve Buyer/Seller Communications 220 Using Skype to Improve Buyer/Seller Communications
Speaker: Gunjan Bhow, Exective Vice President of Marketing of Product Development, Actiontec Electronics
The continued success of any marketplace is dependent on the richness of communication among its participants and the trust that develops as a result. Leveraging Skype in eBay postings and transactions can elevate this communication and trust to a new level. In this session, you'll learn how the combination of instant messaging, voice, and video can augment the online sales process, particularly for high-touch selling, and enable eBay sellers to offer entirely new kind of services that are inherently personal (advice, tutoring, etc.).
304 Building Voice Applications Using Voice XML (VXML) 304 Building Voice Applications Using Voice XML (VXML)
Speaker: Lester Madden, Developer Evangelist Lead, Skype
Voice applications and applications with a GUI are completely different animals. This session explains why, and covers you what you need to know about building a voice application that communicates via Skype. In addition to an overview of VXML, you will get leading-edge tips on identifying voice application opportunities (think live traffic reports, horoscope of the day, language learning tools, or international delivery tracking systems), creating and deploying your application, and where to find additional help and resources.
311 Servers and Plugins - The Future of the Skype API
Speaker: Mat Taylor, API Product Manager, Skype
Don't miss this chance to see what's coming down the pike for the Skype API. Looking at it from two angles—your application in Skype and Skype in your application—this session is intended for Developers and Publishers interested in either building plug-in games or other widgets to extend Skype features or embedding Skype services into existing applications and services. Following an introduction to the Skype ecosystem, we'll use sample applications to talk about the latest API developments, including the Extensions Framework and how to build and publish an Extension; how to use the SkypeServer API, the Java API, the VoiceAccess API, and the Call Transfer API. We'll also touch on Conferencing Servers, Skype Stealth Mode, Web-based apps, and other neat stuff.
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Tags: blackjack, conference, developers, ebay, poker, pulver, skype, vegas
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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VoIP and Power Protection Webinar
TMC's own legendary Greg Galitzine, Editor of Internet Telephony Magazine, and Alex Koudriashov, Senior Applications Engineer, American Power Conversion Corp hosted a webinar on the need to provide adequate power protection for your VoIP deployment to ensure your VoIP phone system doesn't go down. According to the webinar description, "Without the proper physical infrastructure in place, you could wind up reducing the reliability and availability of your phone systems." Power protection isn't simply buying a few UPS systems and sticking them in front of your critical VoIP applications servers. The webinar should give you a good backgrounder on why this is the case.It's about 60 minutes long and includes both the presentation (screen) and the audio portion, as well as a Q&A session at the end. So if you are a business looking to ensure availability with proper and adequate power protection you may want to check out this webinar. It's free to download, so you have nothing to lose.
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Tags: apc, power protection, ups, voip
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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RTX LAN Cordless DUALphone supports GIPS
The Skype-compatible RTX LAN Cordless DUALphone, which I recently reviewed, has announced support for the Global IP Sound (GIPS) NetEQ technology embedded into their wireless Internet DECT phone. GIPS NetEQ is an advanced jitter buffer and packet loss concealment module that improves sound quality and reduces latency.TrackBack (0) | Comments (0) | Tag with del.icio.us
Tags: dualphone, gips, global ip sound, skype, voip
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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BASF Goes Near Zero: (”Green”) House as One Big Clean Gadget
Why can't a house, particularly a "green" house built as a Near-Zero Energy Home, be considered a giant gadget? (Anyone remember when BASF made audio and video tape?)
What makes me think this is BASF's demonstration of a home that is 80 percent more energy efficient, more durable and faster to construct than conventionally built homes in Paterson, NJ.
BASF, along with more than 150 of its customers and strategic allies, built the Near-Zero Energy Home-Paterson, N.J., to exemplify how BASF chemistry helps further energy-saving, durable, sustainable and affordable building practices. The project is designed to achieve a 95.5 HERS Energy Star score, an unprecedented accomplishment in New Jersey Energy Star history, and is a prototype for the U.S. Green Building Council’s newly launched rating system for the energy efficiency and environmental impact of homes.
The Near-Zero Energy Home-Paterson, N.J., will be the site for a number of seminars and tours to architects, builders, government officials, homeowners, realtors, financial institutions and other interested parties throughout the summer of 2006.
Once the demonstration phases are completed, the home will be donated to St. Michael’s Housing Corporation, which will then turn over the home to a local family with a quadriplegic boy to occupy. As such, the project is also designed to showcase elements of accessible design.
BASF has partnered with the United Nations to provide similar technologies for tsunami relief projects in Sri Lanka and India and is working in the U.S. Gulf Coast region to provide energy-saving, disaster-resistant buildings to replace those lost in hurricane-ravaged areas.
Environmental futurist and architect William McDonough has specified BASF chemistry to help him with his biggest project yet: China. Contracted by the China Housing Industry Association, McDonough has been charged with overseeing the design of seven brand-new cradle-to-cradle cities with enough housing for 400 million people. In the next 12 years, many of these homes will be built using the basic BASF technologies featured in the Near-Zero Energy Home to help China achieve a reduction of energy use by 65 percent by the year 2020.
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Tags: basf, china housing industry association, near=zero energy home, u.s. green building council, united nations, william mcdonough
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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NAT breaks VoIP: so here’s what to do
Interesting set of findings from an Interop Labs' test of VoIP gear run on the Interop Las Vegas show's earlier this month.Network Address Translation, or NAT, for short, (as shown on th Cisco site, above) can break VoIP. NAT does this by its nature as a procedure that masks private IP addresses from public view. [...]
Written by Russell Shaw on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Bot on way to catch YouTube copyright violators?
Now here's an idea that is needed, and may already be in the works.How about a bot that crawls YouTube videos for apparently unauthorized, copyright violations? The type of violations that given the ease of tv-to-PC digital transfer are easy to commit?Such as video clips of tv shows, such as "Lost?" Speaking of, that's a [...]
Written by Russell Shaw on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Skype free call offer “F-ing brilliant” Vonage IPO-killer?
Yes, F(Financially, wink wink)-ing brilliant, indeed. Former hedge fund manager Andy Kessler thinks that Skype's introduction of free calling within the U.S. is an effort to "toy with the mouse" before you kill it.And writing on GigaOm, Kessler thinks the mouse is Vonage. "The buzz on the Street is that the Vonage IPO is on the rocks. [...]
Written by Russell Shaw on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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How Cablevision’s new calling plan Hurts Skype, Vonage
Cablevision has announced Optimum Voice World Call, a new VoIP calling plan that will let users make 500 minutes of calls to anywhere in the world for a flat rate of $19.95 a month.If I am Skype or Vonage, I am very worried- not only because of the strategy but because of who is executing [...]
Written by Russell Shaw on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Get the Urge Today!
Don't forget that MTV's new online music site, Urge, launches today. Be the first on your block to download the beta at www.urge.com.TrackBack (0) | Comments (0) | Tag with del.icio.us
Tags: mtv, online music, urge, www.urge.com
Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Verizon Announces Global VoIP Gateway Service for Wholesale Market
Verizon has come up with three product announcements for strengthening their presence in the wholesale VoIP telephony market. It has made available a global VoIP Gateway Service for the wholesale market.
The company has announced the availability of a global VoIP Gateway Service for the wholesale market. This service enables the wholesale customers to offer full IP Telephony to PSTN trunking services and global termination of calls through one single, scaleable product.
This would result in lower operational costs, competitive wholesale pricing, reduced cost of ownership and access to Verizon’s network and partner relationships.
Via tmcnet
Written by gautam.chabbra on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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A New VoIP Registrar Announced: SPIDER
An announcement has been made regarding a new, non profit VoIP Registrar. It is called SPIDER or Service Provider ID E.164 Record Registry. The registry has been created in order to interconnect the large number of VoIP islands or communities emerging around the world.
It is the only industry managed repository of the addressing information required to enable the efficient exchange of addressing information between the various islands of VoIP services. SPIDER is pitching itself against Neustar but it would be quite difficult to break the monopoly enjoyed by Neustar.
Via voip-magazine
Written by gautam.chabbra on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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Nokia Upgrades Nokia 770 to VoIP and IM
Nokia has come up with an upgrade for their Nokia 770 Internet Tablet which gives the device VoIP and instant messaging capabilities through Google Talk. The announcement of this device was made at the VON Europe conference in Stockholm and it marked the entry of Nokia into VoIP.
Company officials claimed that this technology was not expected to break into the market of traditional mobile telephones. Existing users of Nokia 770 can upgrade their devices in order to use the new Google Talk features for free over the internet.
Written by gautam.chabbra on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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VoIP Usage Increases in Germany
The increased usage of VoIP in Germany is pushing the growth of IP networks in the country. The increased demand for advanced broadband services has resulted in Telefonica deploying one of the largest distributed networks from Cisco.
The expanded network would be supporting the growth of wholesale and retail broadband services and help Telefonica deliver new fixed mobile converged services to consumers and businesses. The work was undertaken by Cisco along with its partner Dimension Data and Cisco’s PGW 2200 Series soft switches, AS 5350 Series and AS 5400 Series Media Gateways were used for this purpose.
Via vnunet
Written by gautam.chabbra on May 17th, 2006 with no comments.
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