Saturday, May 29, 2010

iPhone or Android?


Increasingly there are more and more VoIP smartphones on the market but the most popular models are probably the iPhone and the Android.
Industry insiders seem to think that the Android could be on its way to overtaking the iPhone in terms of usership. There are a number of reasons for this.
Firstly, these phones use different network providers, and it may be that the reliability of the network provider becomes the most important component.
Basically in the United States iPhones run on AT&T, and the coverage can be a little patchy. Yes you get a faster service in some places than on the Android, but what good is that if the connection is dodgy? Many users are jumping ship from the iPhone to the Android simply because they feel they get a better service from Verizon than AT&T.
Furthermore the versatility of the Android makes it more accessible to many phone operators. Google has also churned out so many apps that there is a wide choice of features. Apple meanwhile is discouraging the production of third party apps for the iPhone. They have also refused to support flash, unlike Google in the new Android OS.
However the competition is always hot, and there are rumours that Apple may ditch AT&T in favour of the Verizon network.
Keep an eye on this blog for all the latest news, and let us know you think about which VoIP phone is better?

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

BT offers Ribbit voice services


British Telecom is to launch Onevoice Ribbit in Beta with such benefits as voicemail speech-to-text transcription and intelligent call routing. The Onevoice Ribbit also gives you one telephone number for all incoming and outgoing calls.
Vice President of BT Global Services Neil Sutton said: "Ribbit will enable Onevoice customers to be part of a growing trend towards unified communications.”
The product will help customers with Onevoice Virtual Public Network (VPN) systems to get even more from their IP telephony.
For instance when using a cloud-based Ribbit softphone abroad you could tap into another wi-fi network so that you were not liable to pay roaming charges. With the Onevoice service you only pay for the cost of the VPN, with no extra call charges. Business users can also transfer most of their voice traffic onto the VPN to get full use out of the Onevoice service.
BT bought Ribbit in 2008 for over $100 million. The company creates technology which allows automated transcription of voicemails into text or email form, as well as mobile phones and other telephony products.
In the future the Onevoice Ribbit may be available on devices like the iPad.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

VoIP is way of the future

The study conducted by market research company Frost & Sullivan found that the demand for mobile VoIP will skyrocket over the next few years.
Because of this trend it warned mobile providers not to resist making VoIP available to its customers.
Market analyst Saverio Romeo said: "70% of the top European mobile providers restrict access to VoIP. These operators are continuing to discourage subscribers from using VoIP despite the fact that there is a high user demand for such a cost effective service."
Romeo added that this didn't make sense as many mobile platforms supported Session Initiation Protocol for third party apps. Meanwhile phone companies could provide benefits such as High Definition voice which VoIP companies like Skype might not be able to.
This demand will be fuelled by the increased availability of broadband, smartphones and flexible pricing as well as the success of iPhone apps which are convincing other smartphone makers to create phone apps.
In 2008 Europe, Asia, North America, and Latin America were responsible for $605.8 million of mobile VoIP revenue. By 2015 that revenue will reach a staggering $29.57 billion.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Google expands VoIP Solutions




Google is seeking to improve its VoIP and videoconferencing capabilities by purchasing Global IP Solutions (GIPS).
Google has offered to pay $68.2 million for the Norwegian company.
Rian Liebenberg, an engineering director at Google, said in a statement: "The worldwide web is quickly evolving as a development platform. Audio communication over the Internet and real time video are becoming important new user tools."


"Because GIPS provides high quality audio communication and real time video over an IP network, Google is looking forward to a innovative collaboration."

The GIPS board is advising its shareholders to accept the offer from Google. The company said in a statement that large shareholders, including Kistefos Venture Capital II DA, have irrevocably committed to accepting the offer with respect to approximately 50% of the outstanding shares and votes of GIPS.

The announcement comes just a day before Google begins its I/O conference. Aside from its internet advertising the company is looking to branch out into other revenue streams. Google has already developed VoIP technology in the form of Google Voice and Gizmo5.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Telecoms analyst encourages mobile operators to use VoIP


The VoIP industry analyst Ovum has said that unless Mobile operators embrace VoIP, they will be overrun by low cost calling alternatives.
The warning comes only a few days after internet calling company Skype announced a reduction of its calling charges.
According to the Ovum report, preventing mobiles from getting VoIP capability could backfire.
The principal analyst at Ovum, Steven Hartley, said: "Blocking VoIP is like stopping the tide. While most mobile operators are hindering the use of VoIP, they would do better to try and work with it.
"Right now all they are offering are special VoIP tariffs to avoid regulator attention, but these are not viable for end-users.
"Unfortunately without outside pressure, operators would not even be concerning themselves with VoIP.”
Mr Hartley added that it is only a matter of time before VoIP is widely adopted in such a competitive environment.
One company which sees a future in VoIP is Verizon which plans to offer Skype to mobile customers.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Android smartphone to get Flash Player 10.1 beta


Smartphones which run Google's Android OS will now have Flash Player 10.1, thanks to a beta released by Adobe.
This will allow them to stream web videos and bring up flash websites. Adobe has in the past tried to get lesser versions of the Flash Player onto smartphones, but this is the first time that the full version will be employed.
The Chief Technology Officer at Adobe, Kevin Lynch, said: “A public beta will be demoed at the Google I/O conference of May 19th and 20th. That will be followed by a full version in June. Google also plans this technology for Android OS 2.2.”
Lynch added that Adobe is also working on flash players for other smartphones including Symbian, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry and webOS. However Apple does not want Adobe to create flash capability for its iPhone.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

JooJoo touch screen computer will rival iPad



The Fusion Garage product is a computer tablet. It has a large screen with a 16.9 ratio but unlike the iPad, uses a Linux-based operating system.
Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan, the Fusion Garage CEO, said:" Although our main product is the browser OS, we have decided to launch the OS with a tablet device".

There will be two versions of the JooJoo, one which uses Wi-Fi connectivity only, with a 3G-capable version launching later this year. The JooJoo will cost £319 plus shipping and tax.