JAJAH offers free calls from any mobile phone

JAJAH now enables most mobile phones to make free global calls. JAJAH will announce on Tuesday their new service which enables consumers to make free or low-cost long distance international calls directly from their cell phone. This extends their previous "free calling", to the mobile phone realm, which was previously only available via a computer browser.

The JAJAH Mobile Suite will allow virtually any mobile phone to make JAJAH calls. JAJAH is starting with Symbian and Java-based J2ME phones and soon will enable text messaging and smart-phone/browser solutions. Between all of these methods, just about any cell phone can use JAJAH. Even Blackberries now work with JAJAH, as I recently reported.

JAJAH mobile is seamlessly integrated into the JAJAH desktop solution allowing consumers to manage their account directly on the JAJAH web site. To use the service, you first need a JAJAH account. To take advantage of JAJAH’s Free Global Calling Plan, it only applies when both call participants are registered JAJAH users.  In countries where free phone calls are not available, or if someone is calling a non-JAJAH member, calls are then subject to JAJAH's rates, usually less than 3 cents a minute.

According to Jajah's Frederik Hermann, here's how it works. "In short, you go to the Jajah site, look to see if your phone is currently supported - the first phones supported are Symbian based, like Nokia N70 and Java based such as the Nokia 6630 (J2ME). We are adding phones everyday and the software is done for many phones. If your phone is supported, you pull down a small plugin. Your phone will then know that when you dial an international number, it will send the call through the Jajah "network" (you can change theses preferences if you wish and make only some calls, or all calls, go through Jajah). Regardless, you just dial the number and Jajah makes the call. Thats it. The back end is all integrated with the Jajah system (billing, call history etc.). Basically its the same price structure as with a regular Jajah call - free to other Jajah users etc."

Update: 9:32am Tuesday
It's now official - check out the announcement

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Tags: cell phone, free phone calls, jajah, mobile phone, wireless
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 25th, 2006 with no comments.
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Free phone calls on your Blackberry

Want to make free phone calls from your Blackberry? Well, there is now a piece of software called BBCalls (Blackberry Calls) that when used in conjunction with Jajah, grants you your "free phone calling wish".

Jajah announced back in June free phone-to-phone calls to almost anywhere. The JAJAH Free Global Calling Plan applies to both landline and mobile phones to many of the most-called places in the world.  

JAHJAH uses a unique method of initiating the call. You go to a website, enter in your phone number and the number you wish to dial and JAHJAH dials both legs of the call and connects the two. Free calls from your Blackberry? Sweeet...


Hat tip to BlackberryInsight

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 13th, 2006 with no comments.
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Truphone SIP client for mobile phones with free calling

Truphone today announced availability of a free beta VoIP software download for Wi-Fi-enabled, mass market mobile handsets. The first download is available for Nokia's latest E-series handsets, with the N-series handsets to follow imminently.  Support for additional Wi-Fi-enabled phones, including those built on the Windows Mobile platform will soon follow.

Calls between 'on net' Truphone handsets are free worldwide. However, in the footsteps of Skype's free U.S./Canada SkypeOut promotion (amongst others), Truphone has a launch offer to the end of the year (Dec 31st 2006) that gives USA users free calls to USA/Canada and UK users will be able to call some two billion landlines in major countries for free. All other Truphone calls from the user's mobile will be charged at low VoIP rates. (e.g. UK 2.7c/min, China 2.8c, Mexico City 3.1c, Japan 4.8c)

Provisioning, installation and use are a breeze. Users send an SMS with the word 'TRU' to a designated number, provisioning takes place 'over the air' and the software installs itself quickly and easily on the mobile handset. Truphone integrates seamlessly with the phone using the existing address book, so there's nothing to re-type. Once set up to use a Wi-Fi hotspot, the handset connects automatically next time the phone is in range.

Dialing is a breeze using this software since it is seemlessly integrated Simply dial or select a contact as you normally would and press the Call (Green) button. Call behaviour is identical to using your handset over your usual GSM/Cell provider. The handset will attempt to make a Truphone call before trying a GSM/Cellular call. If you want to manually select the call type, dial or select a contact as you normally would and select Options>Call>* Call where * = Voice, Video or Internet.

Support for Truphone SMS messaging is imminent, while presence functionality will also follow. The SIP-based software incorporates several leading-edge techniques, including the self-healing, small-footprint AMR codec to ensure optimal call quality even under less than optimal conditions; and, unlike other Wi-Fi applications, Truphone uses smart, low-level coding to minimise battery usage.

James Tagg, Truphone's chief executive, said: "Truphone is the natural evolution of VoIP. First people talked to a PC, then they were tied to fixed-line handsets and now Truphone takes VoIP mobile. Free calling has arrived on mass-market handsets."

To get Truphone:
- Users in the UK should send an SMS with the word TRU to shortcode 60030
- Users in the USA should send an SMS with the word TRU to +44 7624 000 000
- Users elsewhere should send an SMS with the word TRU to +44 7624 000 000

Truephone is certainly leveraging some good open-source stuff, as well as several popular Linux components.

The major telecoms components are:
- OpenSER: Open source version of the SIP Express Router
- Asterisk: Open source SIP PBX

Other components that they use are:
- Apache Tomcat Servlet Container
- MySQL Databases
- Debian Linux Build
- Spring, Hibernate, JSF, Shale - Clay, Acegi for the web site build
- Roller for blogging
- Nagios and Monit for status monitoring
- OTRS for trouble-ticketing
- Jira for bug tracking

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Tags: free calls, mobile phone, nokia.e-series, sip, truphone, voip
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 12th, 2006 with no comments.
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VOX for Skype for mobile phones

VoxLib announced the launch of VOX for Skype, a plugin application to Skype that enables Skype to be used on any mobile device.  This plugin enables users to benefit from Skype while away from their desktop. VOX for Skype requires no mobile data plan, mobile browser or software to download or install on the mobile device. It also works regardless of the user’s mobile carrier. So how does it work?

Continue reading VOX for Skype for mobile phones...

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on September 11th, 2006 with no comments.
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MINO Wireless now runs on Symbian phones

MINO Wireless, announced its new mobile application for making inexpensive international calls designed for Symbian OS phones. Symbian OS supported mobile phone, such as Nokia, Sony Ericcson, and Motorola can call any phone worldwide at rates starting from 2.2 cents per minute using MINO.

Considering the popularity of these mobile phone brands and how expensive international calls are using your mobile phone, the ability to make inexpensive VoIP calls to PSTN numbers using your mobile phone has a huge convenience factor.

MINO began offering its service in early 2006 and has signed up over 90,000 users in more than 50 countries.

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 31st, 2006 with no comments.
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How About a Mobile Phone without the Keys? Read On …

Can't wait to see this one in production units!

Fascinating article in online verson of PC Magazine yesterday about the phone that has no keys.  Yes, that's right -- a touchscreen instead of a keypad (dial pad -- hey, how about a rotary dialer like in the '60s?).

According to the piece, the phone, known as the Onyx, is a touch pad prototype of what developers Synaptics and Pilotfish call a "mobile phone concept," meaning this actual phone will probably never hit the market. You see, it's more of a general suggestion for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) to develop similar phones using this technology.

But let's ask ourselves, why not? Why not a touchscreen? Is that concept that far-fetched? It would certainly get the early adopters all up a lather, won't it?

Anybody have any thoughts in this area?

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Tags: mobile phone, onyx, pc magazine, pilotfish, synaptics, touchscreen
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 23rd, 2006 with no comments.
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Digital Camera Phones Rule! Anyone Remember Film or Digital Cameras?

Ten years ago, camera companies had nothing to worry about except each other.

But poof! along came digital cameras and the Kodak, Fuji and Nikon's of the camera world had to worry about consumer technology companies like Sony or IT companies (at least back then) like HP.

Funny thing is, while the camera companies -- both old and new -- battled each other for survival (market share) their core imaging technology got scooped up as a cool feature in mobile phones. 

Today, there are now more camera phones in the world than there are film or digital cameras.  According to digital imaging analyst firm Lyra Research, the installed base of camera phones will reach approximately 850 million units in 2006, and this number will grow to more than 1.5 billion units in 2010.

Here's what Steve Hoffenberg, Lyra's director of consumer imaging research, had to say:

"In less than five years since the very inception of this product category, camera phones have gone from nonexistent to predominant. We're still in the early stages of market development for mobile imaging. Picture quality is still immature, and market penetration has largely been supply-side driven.

"But camera phone picture quality will improve substantially over the next several years, upstream transmission bandwidth will increase and consumers will become increasingly familiar with the incredible inherent benefit of wireless connectivity for images."

Will be interested to see what 2010 looks like ...

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Tags: digital camera, fuji, hp, idc, kodak, mobile phone, nikon, sony
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 21st, 2006 with no comments.
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Pop Quiz! Desirable Cell Phone Features

Mobile phone purchasers face a myriad of decisions about their choice of phone and service provider. 

We are all unfortunately spent too much time weighing all of the many factors before we decided.

(It wasn't easy, but do you start with the phone or the service provider?)

Now, to help us all in the future when we face this decision again, can you find the least important factor in choosing a service provider?

Is it:

• Reliable coverage
• Reasonably priced handsets
• Fair-priced monthly service
• Availability of high-quality entertainment

The phone lines are open ...

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Mobile SMS enables free VoIP phone calls

VoiceOne Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of VoIP, Inc. announced today that it has added Text Messaging (Mobile SMS) functionality to its just-released beta version of Click4Me.Net. This enables a Web-click calling service that utilizes VoIP technology for free phone-to-phone calling. Click4Me.Net is available for testing on VoiceOne's Virtual Lab at http://Labs.VoiceOne.com -- an open forum for users to preview, test free of charge, and provide feedback on new IP communications services developed by VoiceOne.

You can connect to a registered Click4Me.Net member by texting "CALL + the member's username" to the Click4Me SMS address and the caller will be automatically connected to the Click4Me member of their choice, free of charge.

More importantly, registered Click4Me members can make free calls to any number by simply texting "CALL + telephone number" to the Click4Me SMS address. In addition, registered Click4Me.Net members also receive FREE 411 (Directory Assistance) from any cell phone by simply texting "CALL 411" or just "411" to the Click4Me SMS address. Similar to my Sprint 411 directory assistance (and probably most cell carriers these days), the information provided by Directory Assistance can be sent to the caller via SMS Text and saved for later reference.

Features for registered members of the service now include: SMS Text messaging to users, an online Inbox allowing people to leave messages for one another on the Click4Me.Net website, email and SMS text notifications of missed calls or new messages, and many more expanded and new features.

VoIP, Inc. CTO Shawn Lewis said, "Adding Text Messaging to Cick4Me.Net opens up numerous opportunities for Click4Me members and the people they communicate with.  With this new technology, Text Messaging is no longer limited to sending notes to other cell phone users but can be used to instantly make calls to people and services for free."

In addition to cell phone calls, Click4Me technology can be integrated into emails, web pages, web advertisements and more using an HTML call me button. Anyone who clicks a Click4Me hyperlink will be automatically connected by phone to the owner, free of charge.

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Tags: mobile phone, mobile sms, sms, voip
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 10th, 2006 with no comments.
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Mobile Phones: Who Needs All of Those Features?

Here's the study I've been waiting for. 

According to a recent PC World/IDB News Service report, feature-rich phones do not drive sales. (Really?)

The study, by J.D. Power and Associates (they of the manmy car satisfaction surveys) showed that U.S. consumers are more interested in the price and design of their mobile phone rather than its advanced features.

(And probably don't intend to use those advanced features, either.)

Here's another useful fact from the survey: Almost 30% of respondents said they selected a particular phone because it was free (the most powerful four-letter word in the English language).

(And what's wrong with a free phone -- haven't we all gone that route?)

Finally, let's not pick on Nokia ...

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Tags: j.d. powers, mobile phone, nokia, pc world/idg news service
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on August 9th, 2006 with no comments.
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LG Goes Chocolate

What's your favorite flavor mobile phone?

(The heat must be getting to me ...)

Well, if you said "Make mine chocolate," then LG has the phone for you.

Yes, that's right, it's "Chocolate," which is now available through Verizon Wireless. The Chocolate mobile phone features V CAST, V CAST Music and VZ Navigator.

(Keep working at that music ...)

Available at www.verizonwireless.com now and at more than 2,100 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores, including those in Circuit City, on August 7.

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Tags: chocolate, circuit city, lg, mobile phone, v cast, v cast music, verizon wireless
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 31st, 2006 with no comments.
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Google Maps adds Traffic Info to mobile phones

Google announced an update to Google Maps for mobile that will enable consumers in the U.S. to view detailed information on traffic conditions in more than 30 major metropolitan areas, as well as partial information in other area from a mobile device. Google also announced that users now have the ability to customize the content that appears on the mobile version of their Personalized Homepage.

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Tags: google, gps, maps, mobile phone, traffic
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 25th, 2006 with no comments.
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MS Goes iPod? Apple Goes Phone?

Much excitement today about Microsoft's announcement that it is planning on developing an iPod competitor to take on Apple directly.

What's funny is that Microsoft goes one way, Apple goes another (so what else is new?).

Seems Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer has strongly hinted that Apple plans to offer a mobile phone. (Slimmer than Moto?)

"We don't think that the phones that are available today make the best music players -- we think the iPod is," he said. "But over time that is likely to change, and we're not sitting around doing nothing."

This from The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Bloomberg.

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Tags: apple, bloomberg, ipod, microsoft, mobile phone, moto, seattle post-intelligencer
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 24th, 2006 with no comments.
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Paragon hipi dual-mode GSM phone

Paragon Wireless released the world first commercial GSM/VoWLAN dual-mode smart phone, hipi, in March 2006 and was my pick to be a winner in this years' TMC Labs Innovation Awards. With a tri-band GSM/GPRS (Class 10) radio and an IEEE 802.11b WLAN chipset, hipi enables users to enjoy broadband multimedia services at WLAN covered homes, offices, hot spots/zones as well as reliable GSM/GPRS service anytime anywhere. Featuring a 2.4 inch TFT touch screen, QVGA, with 260k Colors, the hipi also supports STUN-based NAT traversal, the SIP standard, as well as G.711, G.729a/b, and G.723 codecs. It even has some gadgety-bling via it's built-in MP3 player and a QVGA/QCIF camera. The hipi can perform SIP-based seamless handover between GSM/VoWLAN. Importantly, it utilizes a unified phone book for both GSM and VoWLAN dialing and a unified GUI for the main applications i.e. phone, E-mail, QQ (IM), and browser.

EXCLUSIVE! The current hipi is based on Linux, but I asked about a Windows Mobile 5 version since there are many popular 3rd party applications written for Windows Mobile and they said that a Windows model was indeed in the works - with some beta trials currently and plans for release later this year. You heard it here first - the first dual-mode Windows Mobile 5 phone out later this year! According to Paragon, the Windows-version will have comparable battery/performance characteristics of their current Linux model.

The hipi has excellent performance in power management, mobility management, security, mobile VoIP, and voice quality. hipi has passed most of regulation certification programs and has done interoperability testing with over 40 VoIP service providers, system integrators, and infrastructure equipment vendors worldwide. Standby time >100 Hours (GSM on, WLAN on) >200 Hours (GSM on, WLAN off). Talk time on VoWLAN is 3.3 Hours and for GSM it's 7.8 Hours. With such excellent battery talk times and standby - even with two radios operating - hipi is an ideal device for fixed mobile convergence. Check out the specs...

Hardware Specification (Linux model)
• Intel PXA271 processor with embedded Linux
• 2.4 inch TFT touch screen, QVGA, 260k Colors
• Built-in speaker/microphone, 2.4mm stereo and headset
• 1.3M pixel CMOS camera
• USB slave
• Mini SD
• 1100 mAh Li-ion battery

GSM Specification
• Frequency bands: 900/1800/1900 MHz
• GPRS Class 10
• SMS, MMS, WAP applications
• FTA/CTA certification
• FCC/CE certification

WLAN Specification
• IEEE 802.11b
• RF channels: US: 11, ETSI: 13, Japan: 14
• High-gain internal antenna
• WEP 64/128 bits, WPA, 802.1x
• EAP PSK/LEAP/PEAP/TTLS/SIM
• Power saving modes
• Fast roaming between access points

VoIP Specification
• SIP: IETF RFC 3261
• Codec: G.711, G.729a/b, G.723
• Acoustic echo cancellation
• Dynamic jitter buffer
• Voice activity detection
• Stun-based NAT traversal

Input Methods
• Handwriting Recognition > English > Chinese > Numeric characters
• Soft Keypads > Qwerty > Standard phone dialpad > Symbol

Power Management Features
• Standby time >100 Hours (GSM on, WLAN on) > 200 Hours (GSM on, WLAN off)
• Talk time > VoWLAN: 3.3 Hours > GSM: 7.8 Hours
• MP3 play time > 5.8 Hours (GSM on, WLAN on) > 6.2 Hours (GSM on, WLAN off)

Fixed Mobile Convergence Features
• Simultaneously activated GSM and WLAN air interfaces
• Handling simultaneously GSM and VoWLAN incoming calls
• SIP-based seamless handover between GSM/VoWLAN
• Automatic/manual switch for out-going calls between GSM and VoWLAN
• Automatic/manual switch for data applications using GPRS or WLAN
• Unified phone book for both GSM and VoWLAN.
• Unified GUI for applications (phone, E-mail, browser, QQ)

Call Features
• Call hold
• Call waiting
• Call mute
• Call forward
• Call transfer
• 3-way conference
• Voice mail
• SMS over SIP
• Phone book - (1000 entries with photos)
• Incoming call prompt with picture
• View phonebook during call
• Enter sketch pad during call
• Adjust volume during call
• Auto-answer/flip answer
• Quick silence
• Turbo dial
• Manual/Auto/Earphone redial
• Call history (20 entries) Data Application Features
• POP3 E-mail client (SSL support) > 100 full E-mails with attachments up to 200KB > Document viewer for MS-Office and PDF files
• Web browser: HTML4.01, JAVAScript1.5, SSL3.0, HTTP1.1, CSS1.0
• Instant messaging: QQ Multimedia Features
• Video format: MP4, 3GPP
• Audio format: MP3, WAV, MIDI, AMR
• Picture format: WBMP, BMP, JPEG, GIF
• Camcorder: QVGA, QCIF
• Media Player > Audio: MP3 player > Video: up to 30 frames/second QVGA MP4/3GPP PIM Features
• Calendar
• Schedule management
• Alarm clock
• Voice recorder
• World time
• Currency converter
• Anniversary Other Features
• English <-> Chinese dictionary
• Calculator
• World time
• Notepad
• Sketch pad
• File transfer
• Counter
• Timer

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Tags: dual mode, hipi, linux, mobile phone, sip, voip, wifi, windows mobile 5, wireless
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 23rd, 2006 with no comments.
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T-Mobile blocks MinuteWatcher from tracking cell minutes

T-Mobile is blocking MinuteWatcher, a service that lets customers actively monitor their wireless minutes usage. T-Mobile has changed conditions in their policy and taken technical measures to prevent MinuteWatcher from tracking T-Mobile members voluntary tracking of cellphone usage. Specifically, T-Mobile now includes the following text in their Terms of Use: "With respect to your access to the http://my.t-mobile.com site, T-Mobile hereby specifically reserves the right (a) to limit the number of times you may log in to this site within a certain period of time and/or (b) to restrict your use of automated scripts, plug-ins, and/or other third-party devices to obtain information (e.g., unbilled usage data) from this site."

Way to go T-Mobile! Way to piss off your customer base. As if MinuteWatcher was sucking gobs of bandwidth to pull the customer's cellphone usage. I don't think so. The data downloaded was probably less than 2,000 bytes. Even if it was a bit larger, I'm sure T-Mobile has the bandwidth available. This is clearly designed to block customers from knowing exactly how many minutes left they have on their plan before they start incurring expensive overage charges.

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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on July 12th, 2006 with no comments.
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Tax my Mobile Phone no more!

According to the CTIA, the Wireless Association President and CEO Steve Largent congratulated the U.S. Treasury Department today for its decision to abandon its legal dispute over the federal excise tax (FET) on long-distance telephone service. The 108 year old FET was instituted in 1898 to finance the Spanish-American War, and adds 3% to the monthly bill of every wireless user in America. Today, there are more than 214 million estimated wireless subscribers in the nation.

Don't get too excited though - your next phone bill may not have the federal excise tax, but it will still have plenty of other taxes.

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Tags: cellular, fet, mobile phone, taxes, wireless

Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 25th, 2006 with no comments.
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Planet Funk’s Debut Single: Only on Mobile Phones

Now here’s an idea whose times has truly come. The music group Planet Funk will become the first music group in the U.K. to release a single that will be available only on mobile phones this month.

Let’s see how the “Stop Me” single plays in the U.S. ...

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Tags: "stop me", mobile phone, planet funk

Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on May 1st, 2006 with no comments.
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New T@lkster mobile phone client

Alec Saunders has an interesting post about T@lkster, a solution that lets you make inexpensive long-distance calls from any mobile handset worldwide - without downloading new software to the mobile device.  I think we're now up to 432,459 ways of initiating a call.

T@lkstar also features IM and presence. Alec compares them with Jajah and Rebtel. Go check it out.

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Tags: im, mobile phone, t@lkstar, voip
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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EQO VoIP / IM client now supports Windows Mobile and Blackberry mobile phones

Remember my in-depth overview of EQO Communications and their mobile-to-VoIP (Skype), mobile-to-IM (GoogleTalk, AOL, Skype, etc.) and mobile-to-social communities software?

Well, I had word last week that tomorrow EQO Communications will announce support for RIM Blackberry and Windows Mobile powered devices.  With this latest release, Blackberry and Windows Mobile users will be able to access EQO Mobile, a platform that enables VoIP calling and instant messenger services (including AOL AIM, ICQ, GoogleTalk, Jabber, MSN, Yahoo! and Skype) on mobile devices.

According to EQO, the addition of handsets such as the Blackberry Pearl and Treo 700w brings the number of EQO-supported handsets to more than 400 mobile devices, including Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Palm, LG, Panasonic, Phillips, Siemens, Sanyo, Sharp and Samsung. 

Although I already covered EQO extensively in a prior post, essentially EQO gives you click-to-call mobile VoIP and click-to-chat mobile IM using a patent pending core IP that uses proprietary call signaling that is P2P-based and cross device/network domain. It leverages mobile data (SMS) to control the signalling and the mobile voice network for the media stream to the mobile phone, so for instance you don't need the Skype, AOL, GoogleTalk, etc. clients running on your cell phone.

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Tags: aim, aol, eqo, googletalk, icq, im, jabber, mobile phone, msn, skype, voip, yahoo
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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TalkPlus Voice 2.0 app launches

TalkPlus, Inc. today is launching their unique mobile phone service that leverages VoIP, identity management, scheduling/contact rules, and other advanced business/personal processes that make your mobile experience more productive while enabling privacy controls. In fact, as I told Jeff Black, Founder and CEO of TalkPlus, Inc, that I consider TalkPlus the Voice 2.0 company within the mobile phone space. He wanted to quote me. So be it. You can quote this blog post. I actually met with Jeff Black at Internet Telephony Conference & Expo (ITEXPO) a few weeks ago, and he shared TakPlus' vision to make the mobile phone the central device that manages personal, business, and dating lives for users. TalkPlus has been working on their technology since 2004 and will announce a beta of their service sometime in November (more on that later).

So what does TalkPlus do? Well, essentially TalkPlus gives cell phone users a 2nd virtual phone number with powerful accessibility and privacy rules while leveraging the cost savings of VoIP termination. Thus, you can for instance use your mobile phone to make low-cost international calling, (~$0.02/ minute) which is virtually unheard of within the wireless phone space. But much more than the inexpensive calls you can make from your wireless phone, TalkPlus enhances the calling features  - both inbound and outbound of your phone, making it a premiere example of a Voice 2.0 application. TalkPlus's patented technology is network agnostic, and supports standard cell phones that support the BREW and JAVA platforms. TalkPlus is also WAP compliant which virtually all mobile phones support.



Here are some of its Voice 2.0 features. First, you have the ability to add additional domestic and international telephone numbers, which will all ring your one mobile phone, while simultaneously giving you local presence numbers throughout the world so it is a local call for callers trying to reach you. Even better, when you return the call, it will use the CallerID phone number of the number the person dialed. This is perfect for dating, since you can give out a secondary number and not your main cell phone number. TalkPlus told me they will support "throwaway numbers" so you can even ditch a number if need be. Doctors or lawyers that are calling patients/clients can use their personal mobile phone and yet have their office CallerID number appear to the client/patient instead of their personal mobile number. In essence, this is a form of "CallerID spoofing", often a popular tactic used by hackers utilizing the Asterisk platform.

In fact, Jeff mentioned that you can use your own landline number, Vonage number, etc. as part of the TalkPlus service and then initiate an outbound phone call using this number. Essentially, this is CallerID spoofing your landline number to the remote caller, however, Jeff assured me that the FCC approved their CallerID methods, which works with any phone number that you control. In fact, Jeff said they showed the FCC their authentication system and they said "They have never seen anyone build an authentication system to date when dealing with aliasing of phone numbers." and the FCC was pleased to see that TalkPlus had built one.

In addition, I asked about CALEA and E911 compliance, and he stated that unlike many other mobile solutions that leverage VoIP & virtual phone number identities, TalkPlus is fully CALEA and E911 compliant. He explained that both legs of the call touch the PSTN and therefore can be wiretapped if need be, unlike other solutions that are 100% native IP on at least one end, thereby making E911 address discovery more difficult.

A second Voice 2.0 feature is the full identity management to enable individuals to manage personal, business and dating life with just a single device - namely their cell phone. A third feature is Do-Not-Disturb/Priority Call Lists enable users to create incoming call lists that enable them to be reached how, when and by whom they want to be reached. Lists can be automatically or manually activated or deactivated by the time of day and/or the day of the week. For example, a user can block all incoming calls, yet allow designated contacts to ring through. This is similar to what Iotum does in managing high-priority contacts and schedules, however, this is just one small feature within TalkPlus. Blacklists and whitelists are also part of managing incoming calls. I should also point out that TalkPlus isn't compressing the voice, so there are no voice quality issues.

As part of your separate identities you also have individual voicemail boxes, so you can customize your outgoing messages. Thus, for instance, in your dating profile you may not want to mention your last name since someone could Google your name and find out where you live, where you work, etc. The Java app features powerful voicemail functionality for viewing and managing your voicemail.  You can view how many messages, which profile (personal, business, dating) the message is in, the length, who the voicemail is from, and you can sort you voicemails, You can also forward voicemail to email and you have full web-based access to your messages as well.

Another powerful feature is the ability to setup inexpensive group and conference calling. You simply define your groups and then when you wish to initiate the conference, the system will automatically dial all the participants and conference them.

One final interesting thing we talked about at ITEXPO is that TalkPlus has built their own Skype gateway. In fact, when pressed further, Jeff mentioned they actually reverse engineered Skype's protocol. Although the Skype gateway isn't part of TalkPlus's launch today, Jeff explained that they have tested it in their labs and it's working very well. He explained that from the TalkPlus Java application you will also be able to view the presence of your Skype buddies and initiate a Skype call or even receive a Skype call or even initiate a chat session. I believe he mentioned that they are also working on getting SkypeOut calls to ring to your cellphone as well. Thus, your mobile phone truly becomes your single communications device - able to handle multiple phone identities, and even your VoIP Skype identity. Similarly, they have a SIP gateway will be able to handle SIP calls - including direct SIP URI (email address) calling so you can simply dial "someone@domain.com". Other popular IM clients (AOL, GoogleTalk, Yahoo! Messenger) could be added as well.

TalkPlus mentioned they will have a free beta that will include a free DID number and free termination to try the service. Their pricing model is to be determined, however Jeff mentioned they are looking at a low-end product in about the $10/month range, which includes a virtual number, certain number of fixed minutes, and all the features turned on. They are also looking at a low-low end product that included a virtual number and then "pay as you go" minutes. Finally, Jeff mentioned they are strongly considering offering a high-end product that will feature unlimited minutes and which will truly give the broadband VoIP players, such as Vonage, a run for their money. Imagine, for say $50/month, for unlimited long-distance from your wireless phone. 18 million people in the U.S. have a mobile phone and no landline. Jeff mentioned these 18 million users and said, "What they run into is whenever they register for a product and put their number down, that number gets resold and is getting spammed (telemarketer calls) like crazy. So what they're realizing is there is a big market for 'give me a virtual home number'. This is what I use for registering products and other stuff and they'll never reach me direct on my mobile. That always goes to voicemail. I'll check that when I get a chance."

I was very impressed with the Voice 2.0 features of TalkPlus, which have real, practical uses for everyday users. Keep your eye on Talkplus.

And also check out what TalkPlus has in store for Winter 2006/2007:

TalkPlus has plans to release additional services, with more advanced features that will debut in the winter of 2006/2007. These will build upon the basic features of the single TalkPlus Number.

A sample of planned features include:

- Multiple TalkPlus numbers on a single phone. Subscribers will be able to add multiple TalkPlus numbers to their phone, so that they can have even greater control and flexibility in their mobile lives. For example, a lawyer could have dedicated numbers for major clients, as well as a separate personal phone number. A medium-sized business owner could have mobile numbers for business locations in each region.
- Dial-out numbers. Subscribers will be able to add additional numbers that they already own such as a wire line home or office number to their mobile phone. Since these numbers belong to other phone lines, the subscriber can only dial out from this number on their TalkPlus enabled phone.
This is particularly appropriate to physicians, who would like to have their office number appear on their patients' caller ID screen, even when they are calling from their mobile phone.
- International numbers and low-cost international calling. TalkPlus subscribers will be able to add an international number to their phone, so that they can both give the impression of international presence as well as have in-country callers contact them for very low cost.

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Tags: dating, mobile phone, skype, talkplus, voice 2.0, voip, wireless
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Written by VoIP & Gadgets Blog on January 1st, 1970 with no comments.
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Coming Soon? A Levi Cell Phone

Brand extension?

Jeans to cell phones?

Why not?

How about Levi’s planning to offer branded mobile phones?  

Yes, hard to believe, but Levi Strauss & Co. has joined with ModeLabs Group to create a line of Levi’s-branded mobile phones and accessories that are expected to launch next year.

A denim cell phone?  How about made out of real denim?

Should be nice and soft if you accidentally sit on it …

 

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Tags: levi strauss & co., levi’s, mobile phone, modelabs group
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Bridgeport Networks receives funding

BridgePort Networks is a leader in mobile VoIP convergence and a company I've been following for quite some time. On Monday, BridgePort Networks will announce a new investment of $13 million in Venture Capital financing in the company by its current investors.

Including previous financings of $3 million in seed financing, $10 million announced in January 2004 and $25 million announced in September 2004, the new financing brings the total capital raised by the company to $51 million.

Existing investors TD Capital Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, General Catalyst Partners and BCE Capital all participated in the financing.   Funds will be used for working capital in the support of the many channel partners and integrators currently working with BridgePort Networks on market trials at major telecom service providers of the company’s NomadicONE™ core network convergence software.

According to Bridgeport Networks, "Whilst the company remains the leader in the emerging Voice Call Continuity (VCC) market for seamless voice handover between cellular and Wi-Fi technologies, the new funds will also be used to broaden and deepen applications for its MobileSTICK USB-SIM solution which transforms personal computers into voice, multimedia messaging and presence terminals for mobile operator services, leveraging standards-based VoIP technology."

“BridgePort Networks has largely completed its product and solution development phases and is mid-way through channel development and enablement, with several major relationships already in place”, said Mike Mulica, President and CEO of BridgePort Networks. “As the FMC market transitions to commercial deployment, this new funding positions the company well for the scale-up phase that will occur during 2007 and 2008.  In particular, we are increasing our investment in our MobileSTICK solution, which is experiencing strong demand from Tier One mobile and integrated operators and can quickly scale without dependencies on new converged phones, new standards or IMS deployment.

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Tags: bridgeport networks, mobile, mobile phone, mobilestick, voip
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Globe Dialer mobile app enables cheap international calls

Globe Dialer is a proprietary software application that you download directly onto your mobile phone. Their software allows you to make convenient, low-cost, 'one-click' international calls, which no doubt uses VoIP termination. Of course, as I have reported, Jajah offers something similar, and they even offer free worldwide dialing, though there is a catch. Talkplus also offers a mobile app to download, but its primary purpose isn't inexpensive mobile dialing, though that is one of its benefits.

Globe Dialer has no "catch" and it's sole function is inexpensive international calls. The software can be downloaded onto many different phones and if your phone isn't supported, you can still benefit from their low rates by using any of their local or toll-free Direct Dial-In Numbers to call over 220 countries worldwide. Obviously, with the dial-in numbers you can also use their service from a landline phone.

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Tags: globe dialer, international calls, jajah, mobile calling, mobile phone, talkplus, voip, wireless
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Would a Cell Phone by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?

Shakespearen apologies aside, what if the cell phone was called something else besides a cell phone?

(We call our category here  "Mobile Phones," for instance -- as I am sure all of you are well aware.)

Well, that's the $1 million question that an article in BusinessWeek raises.

And if the ubiquitous gadget did have the oppotunity to dial-in another name, what do you think it would be?

Now that's where the fun starts ...

 

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