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  • AudioCodes Announces HD VoIP Strategy


    AudioCodes has launched new high definition VoIP technology – VoIPerfectHD – that it believes delivers higher voice clarity, better intelligibility and richer sound.

    The company says that it also significantly improves a user’s experience by doubling the audible voice spectrum.

    It expects the introduction of HD VoIP to extend its reach to both enterprises and service providers, allowing entry into new market segments which will benefit from enhanced clarity and better speech intelligibility.

    Among key segments expected to benefit from this new introduction are banks, government, military, health, telemedicine and education.

    AudioCodes’ HD VoIP is designed to enable enterprises to improve worker collaboration resulting in higher productivity and enhanced customer service quality.

    Service providers are expected to benefit from differentiating their VoIP offering and services by increasing call length and having a higher Average Revenue per User.

    In addition, application providers and ISVs are capable of effortlessly enhancing their solutions in order to meet stringent voice quality standards.

    AudioCodes plans to embed HD VoIP across its product portfolio throughout 2009.

    AudioCodes says its new product is aimed at what it believes is VoIP’s general failed to deliver ‘better-than-PSTN’ quality mainly due to its 3.4 kHz bandwidth limitation connected with the use of legacy narrowband speech codecs in VoIP networks.

    A statement from the company said that, with the advent and growing spread of IP broadband networks, wideband speech codecs which encode 7.1 kHz of the voice spectrum can now be effectively deployed to double the bandwidth and improve everyday voice communication quality to a level similar to that of conference room quality and/or FM radio.

    "AudioCodes has been working over the past few years and increasingly in 2008 to implement a group of standards-based wideband speech codecs including G.722, AMR-WB, Microsoft RTAudio and others for use in wireline, wireless, cable, enterprise and internet applications with the goal of leading the transition towards increased use of HD VoIP in evolving voice communication networks," the statement said.

    AudioCodes VoIPerfectHD implementation of HD VoIP relies primarily on AudioCodes leadership in DSP, voice coding and voice processing technologies, and their application to VoIP communications and conferencing.

    It implementation as a unified infrastructure for all AudioCodes’ products allows the offering of HD VoIP capabilities and benefits across all of its products ranging from Multi-Service Business Gateways, Media Servers, Media Gateways and DSP chips to IP Phones.

  • Indian VoIP Market Ripe For Growth

    The Indian market for VoIP is second only to China amongst the Asia Pacific countries and, with ever increasing numbers of broadband users, has vast potential for growth.


    biz-news.com blogger correspondent Jolsna Rajan gives her perspective on the internet communications outlook for the nation.

    The VoIP market in India is growing phenomenally. It has picked up and is all set to become the second largest market in the APAC countries after China.

    According to research by iLocus the carrier VoIP equipment market, softswitch and media gateways generated combined revenues of $2.2 billion in 2007, which represents about 24 percent growth over previous year.

    And 1,079 billion minutes of VoIP traffic carried by service providers worldwide was reported as in 2007.

    Of these minutes, 382.3 billion was local call volume, 614.4 billion was national long distance (NLD) call volume, and 82.6 billion was the international long distance (ILD) call volume.

    "India’s telecom market is one of the most dynamic telecom markets in the world, presenting high revenue potential for equipment vendors," said Jahangir Raina, an analyst at iLocus.

    "As carriers in India build next-generation networks that compete globally, we expect very rapid adoption of VoIP services not only in ILD but also in the domestic long distance segment. VocalTec is poised to meet the explosive growth expectations forecasted in our study."

    Competition

    The big players in the market like Skype, Jaxtr , Jajah continue to do well while it is interesting to note that entrants like Phonewala and TringMe have already begun to do exceedingly well.

    The growth of these new companies is very evident:

    • While Phonewala’s promoter Net4 recently got listed at BSE, TringMe is all set to capture a part of market share through its unique offering. Tringme has an embeddable flash widget that allows users to entirely get rid of their phone and call though a landline or even GTalk. Users only need a microphone connected to their computer. Calls are entirely free, and users can choose to keep their phone number private. It is already embarking onto expansion plans and is adding two more products in their portfolio, one of which is in the beta stage and the other will be a first of its own kind video product.

    The Booming Potential

    Lower cost is the most compelling reason to switch to VOIP service.

    It is one among the deregulated markets in India. Hence competitors are increasingly finding ways to cut costs.

    Also, consider the fact that CISCO alone has already shipped in excess of 200,000 IP phones to India. It also recently set up a pilot facility through their global manufacturing partner Foxconn for the production of internet protocol (IP) phones in Chennai.

    According to the Telecom Regulatory Authorty Of India (TRAI) document by 2010 India will have 20 million broadband users. This may give VoIP just get the right boost it requires.

    The Underlying Myth

    Perhaps the biggest misconception about VoIP is that it is illegal in India. Recently TRAI has been providing measures to tackle this misconception among users and hence has recommended removing earlier restrictions by appropriate licensing fees or service tax as captured.

    The second other assumption is that “low cost calls usually face problems with sound quality and reliability”. This misconception is yet to be tackled which would give a wide opportunity space especially with the corporate.

    All these disadvantages will be overcome in time and by 2010, India will witness a much better consumer acceptance.

  • Will Apple Challenge iPhone Clone?


    Meizu is planning to launch its M8 smartphone in various markets around the world before Christmas.

    The Chinese-made touchscreen handset bears a striking resemblance to the iPhone.

    Quite what Apple’s response will be is uncertain.

    So far, the US company hasn’t acted against perceived copyright violations in China.

    It has, however, frequently filed lawsuits and tried to prevent sales of companies with imitative designs in countries with stricter copyright laws.

    Meizu is now saying it will launch its device in China before the end of the month before rolling it out to India and then Europe, Hong Kong and the US, possibly by Christmas.

    According to Meizu CEO, J.Wong, the company is waiting for a license for the phone from the Chinese government but will release a test version to users there even if the license isn’t issued by the end of the month.

    The M8 is based on a heavily modified Windows Mobile interface with numerous references to Apple’s cellphone, including a Safari-like web browser front end, an iPod-like media player and a similar overall look.

    Where it differs is the three-megapixel camera and FM radio at the expense of 3G data, using EDGE instead when away from Wi-Fi.

    Prices for the M8 have been reported as USD $348 for an 8GB version without subsidies and USD $421 for a 16GB model.

  • Wyless Appoints New Group CEO


    Wyless Group Holding announced this week that Rami Avidan was appointed group CEO as of 1 November 2008.

    Avidan has acted as a non-executive board director of Wyless Group for several years.

    As Group CEO he will have direct responsibility for all Wyless operations globally. Mr. Avidan previously served as COO of Cryptzone AB, a Swedish listed company.

    Michael Jeffries, chairman of Wyless plc, welcomed Avidan to the business.

    “His professional and industry experience will be invaluable in taking the Wyless business to the next level,” he said.

    Wyless Group Holding is the parent company of the expanding Wyless Mobile Data Network Group, with offices in the UK, Boston, Gothenburg and Malaga.

    Wyless, an international wireless data communications group, pioneered, developed and manages a global wireless data network, which enables organizations to securely and reliably communicate with their remote and mobile devices in over 120 countries, using a single network provider.

  • Handshake App Simplifies iPhone Contact Passing


    Passing your contact entry to other iPhone users just got a whole lot easier thanks to a new app called Handshake.

    The free app, which also runs on the iPod Touch, allows contact information and photos to be exchanged with another user nearby.

    Handshake works by using Core Location coupled with other technologies to send address book cards over the air.

    Straightforward to use, Handshake sends data over WiFi, 3G, and EDGE connections.

    The iPhones don’t connect directly to each other – instead the connection goes via Handshake’s server, so it only works on the iPod Touch when there’s good Wi-Fi.

    When first launched, it will look for the address book card – or the user to specify a card if that can’t be located.

    Handshake then connects to its servers and the user’s card, contact’s card or a picture can be sent by selecting one of the main three buttons.

    The app also allows the default card to be changed by choosing the wrench in the top-right corner of the application and hitting the blue arrow under "My Card".

    Available from the iTunes Store it comes in two versions: free or the ad-free paid option. An updated version is due out any day.

  • Price Deals Fuelling Surge in HDTV Sales

    Sales of high definition plasma TVs have risen by 37 per cent in the third quarter compared to last year’s figures.

    A survey by DisplaySearch has shown that consumers are being enticed to buy plasma sets by sweeping price cuts, especially on 32-inch sets.

    The leading brand is Panasonic, with around 40 per cent of revenue on plasma TVs, followed by Samsung (29%), LG (22%), Pioneer (5%), and Hitachi (4%).

    The clear favorite in terms of screen-size for plasma is 42-inch sets (49%), although 50-inch sizes are increasingly popular (29%).
    Shipments of 32-inch screens accounted for 12% of the market.

  • WD Brings Simplicity To Streaming


    Storage expert Western Digital has launched a standalone media box that streams content from your USB drive.

    Rather than hooking your computer to your HDTV and streaming video and other multimedia files, the WD TV HD Media Player accepts content from a separate WD portable backup drive.

    The media player has two USB ports that will also connect to flash drives and flip video players, and connects to your HDTV via an HDMI cable.

    It can playback virtually any type of multimedia file including most picture formats and H.264, DivX, and MPEG-2 video in 1080p resolution.

    The media player costs USD$129, but compatible storage devices are sold separately.

    As friendly to use as it is, WD’s new product is entering a market which is attracting increasing attention.

    Various companies are focussing on consumers’ living rooms, including Netflix which is working alongside Microsoft, Roku, and several Blu-ray manufacturers to make its streaming service more widely available in the living room.

    The WD TV HD Media Player’s basic features:

    • Compatible with My Passport portable hard drives and other USB storage devices
    • Full HD 1080p video playback and navigation
    • Dock-and-play convenience
    • Provides access to 2 USB drives simultaneously
    • HDMI and composite video interfaces for easy connection to a TV
    • Ultracompact design for easy portability
    • Includes My Passport hard drive stand, compact remote with batteries, composite A/V cable, AC adapter, media converter software and owner’s manual

  • FootageBank Launches HD Content Service For Mobiles


    FootageBank HD has launched a new royalty-free division offering high def content for online and mobile platforms.

    Called footagehead.com, the service provides web accessible HD content for use in PodCasts and webisodes.

    Paula Lumbard, founder and president of FootageBank HD, said the new service had more than 10,000 new clips with more coming weekly.

    "Early on, we recognized the value of HD footage, which allowed FootageBank HD to prepare for the high demand," she said.

    "With an eye on the future, we anticipate the same need for programming and tools to create content for PodCasts, webisodes or anything in the mobile media space."

    The LA-based HD footage specialists shot most of the content with Panasonic P2 and Sony XD cameras within the last year.

    All the clips are offered in their native codecs, without compression.

    The HD 16 X 9 widescreen format is immediately downloadable and royalty free.

    footagehead.com is offering the clips at one price point.

    "It is our intention to be the leader in serving the growing demand for downloadable 16 x 9 content in digital files created with the new mobile HD camcorders," states Lumbard.

    "We are seeing growth in this market around the world, and expect demand to continue as the consumers of media more and more turn to their mobile ‘third screens’ for their entertainment."

  • Mobiles To Receive Unprecedented US Election Coverage


    Whatever the outcome of the Obama-McCain contest, the unprecedented level of mobile US election coverage is expected to do much to introduce mainstream consumers to mobile content.

    Media companies and mobile operators have teamed up to offer extensive coverage of the US presidential election results direct to mobile phones.

    The hope is that huge numbers of people unfamiliar to the world of mobile content will continue using it long after election day.

    News, analysis and results will be available across a wide range of operating platforms.

    For Microsoft Windows Mobile-enabled phones, NewsGator Technologies is providing content from WashingtonPost.com and Newsweek to wireless users via its free Campaign Tracker app.

    iPhone users can receive a mobile version of online magazine Slate.com’s Election Scorecard thanks to its partnership with Seattle’s Chimp Software, which is offering a downloadable version of its interactive polling application for the Apple handsets.

    Google is offering an array of elections-based mobile offerings, including a mobile election site with links to election-related news, mobile YouTube channels from both John McCain and Barack Obama and links to search results for both candidates that eliminate the need to type in names for every search.

  • Shoppers To Be Tempted With Reduced Price HDTVs And Bundled Blu-rays


    Greatly reduced HDTV price tags and packages bundling sets and blu-rays are among the retailing treats likely to be on offer to US shoppers this holiday season, according to DisplaySearch.

    With the US economy ailing, Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch’s director of North America TV market research, said stock market declines have impacted on people’s investments and consumers weren’t generally saving very much money.

    Paul Gagnon, director of N.American TV market research,DisplaySearch

    He said this could impact on their purchasing decisions during the Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday holiday period, traditionally one of the busiest weeks of the year for the US CE and PC industries.

    “It’s an interesting time we’re in now," he said. “To combat this, retailers are expected to pull out all the stops this holiday season—lowering HDTV prices, offering bundled electronic packages with HDTVs and Blu-ray disc players, using ‘creative’ financing deals when possible such as in-store credit or ‘pay when you get your tax return’ options with the hopes of achieving their sales targets this holiday season.

    "Keeping shopper traffic high for the holiday season will be a priority for both retailers and TV manufacturers.”

    Speaking in a webinar exclusively for DisplaySearch clients, Gagnon detailed several potential TV scenarios for the 2008 holiday season:

    •   Consumers will become increasingly conservative in discretionary holiday spending, despite discount and promotion opportunities—leading to negative Y/Y Q4’08 shipment growth.
    • Consumers will take advantage of the best bargains and low price points—causing retailers to hit their unit sales targets, but miss revenue goals and negatively impact margins.
    • Consumers will continue to spend as they have on larger sizes and better featured sets—taking advantage of dramatically lower prices and sggressive retail promotions.
    • Consumers will turn to discount stores such as Costco and Walmart in greater numbers for electronic purchases this holiday season, in order to save money and get more shopping done in fewer trips.