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  • Verizon Challenged on their VoIP Shift


    A consumer advocacy group has recently challenged Verizon for forcing their customers to shift to VoIP and wireless services from the traditional telephone services. The complaint was filed by The Utility Reform Network (TURN).

    It is alleged that Verizon is ignoring repair and maintenance of its copper network as a means of forcing its customers to migrate to the Voice over IP or the wireless services. In doing this the communications company is going contrary to the state and federal laws that require them to provide telephone services to the residents of California. According to TURNs research director Regina Costa, the thing that makes this situation worse is the fact that most of these shifts and migrations are done without the knowledge of the customers.

    However according to Verizon, the company’s main aim is to provide their customers with the best services they can across all their platforms, be it the traditional telephone services or the latest technological platforms. They also said that they would look into the complaint they have received and will respond accordingly.

    The complain TURN filled was as a result of the complains it received from Verizon  customers  who were moved to VoIP without their consent and  the fact that VoIP did not have the same regulations as other  services making it less secure. It has been noted that VoIP does not function during power shortages, and cannot be linked to other services like fax, medical systems among others.

    This just comes after the federal Communications Commission allowed communication carriers the change to run trials to shift customers to IP networks. They are now examining the implications such a shift might have on the customers. As for now TURN wants FCC to order Verizon to repair the copper networks.

  • VoIP Portal: Velocity’s New Addition to The Telecom Sector


    Velocity VoIP has recently launched a VoIP Portal that is said to facilitate easy access to all the services that Velocity offers to its customers. Velocity, being a major provider of hosted VoIP switching and billing solutions for most VoIP services providers, has just brought their services closer to their customers.

    According to Velocity, the main reason as to why they came about with the portal is to enable their customers have access to the services they offer them and make it easier for them to manage their accounts. These latest VoIP addition has a number of benefits in the telecommunication sector.

    To begin with this service allows one to find numbers within the United States and 58 different countries in no time. This is the live provisioning DIDs. Secondly, the VoIP Portal gives one the ability to port in different international carriers and submitting the information electronically as you receive status updates as the numbers are processed. This is termed as the automated LNP Process. The other advantage of this new VoIP Portal is it’s easy to use AIP for all features, including the integration and linking of your website to streamline the new accounts and customers.

    Velocity, which was founded in 2005, has aims to provide the best field for their customers to prosper and at the same time compete in a more advanced and manageable environment.

  • Pocket Friendly LTE Smartphones


    LTE smartphones have become a necessity in today’s society and there are different brands and varieties that emerge every day. However large the smartphone pool is, many people are looking for a smartphone that won’t break their banks. There are smartphones that are both economical and at the same time have phenomenal features. Two of these are the Huawei Kestrel and the Nokia Lumia 635.

    Having just been launched recently, the Nokia Lumia 635 and Huawei–made Kestrel are powered by Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon that runs at 1.2 GHz. The main objective of using the Snapdragon, which was launched June last year, was to reduce the overall cost of the LTE smartphones. The Huawei Kestrel phone has a screen resolution of 960×540 pixels while the Nokia Lumia has an 854×480 pixel resolution.

    Just like the almost similar processor and screen resolution, the weight of the two phones is almost similar, too. The Nokia Lumia weighs 134 grams while the Kestrel weighs 145 grams. On the other hand the Kestrel measures 131×65.3×7.85 millimeters while the Nokia Lumia 129.5×66.7×9.2 millimeters. The integrated storage in both phones is 8GB but have external microSD card slot . The Kestrel has a 1GB RAM while the Nokia Lumia has a 512 MB RAM. An added advantage to the Nokia Lumia 635 is its 7GB online storage.

    Camera wise, the two smartphones have a 5 megapixel camera and video at 720p and 30 frames. The Huawei Kestrel also has an additional 1 megapixel  camera at the back. The two phones also have additional applications installed that help to enhance the phone’s camera. The Huawei Kestrel will be available from the end of April and will retail at $160 while the Nokia Lumia while be available during summer and will retail at $189 without taxes.

  • HTC Releases HTC One M8

    HTC showcased its new smartphone on Tuesday. The company hopes to capture its lost market share to Samsung through the Launch of HTC One M8, an upgrade of their award winning HTC One.

    The new smartphone boasts an improved camera technology, a faster processor, a larger display than its predecessor and upgraded software, the company said.

    During a meeting held in London, Cher Wang, the company’s Chairwoman said that the new smartphone was more advanced than HTC One.

    The smartphone has won numerous awards the latest being ` Smartphone of the Year` in February at a Mobile World Congress.

    She was full of praise for their new model terming it as the best smartphone in the world.

    Despite all the awards and praise by critics, the company still experienced declining sales as it scrambled for a share of the market dominated by market leaders, in terms of sales, such as Apple and Samsung.

    Research conducted by Neil Mawston, a Strategy Analyst, shows a decline in the company’s global market share to 2 percent in 2013 consideringthat over two years ago, a HTC phone was sold out of every 10 smartphones sold in the world.

    Sales figures in February are 36 percent lower compared to the sales of the previous year.

    HTC has introduced cheaper handsets to regain the market share not forgetting its new smartphone HTC One M8.

    Analysts at CCS Insight view the HTC One M8 as the smartphone that will define the success of the company. They also noted that the company had learned vital lessons from the award winning but underperforming predecessor.

    They also added that the phones new design and premium materials would help the company regain its lost market share.

  • Amazon Lowers Its Cloud Prices after Google Slash

    Recent cut by Amazon of its cloud prices are still not enough to rival Google's cloud storage prices. The slash by amazon comes after Google announced a reduction of its storage costs – Google made a reduction on its pricing by a very high margin compared to those of their competitors such as Microsoft, Rackspace, and HP.

    Google newly introduced "sustained use" pricing model has enabled it to pass savings onto users of its cloud. This compares to Amazons model, which guarantee customers saving after they pay upfront.

    Amazon`s senior vice president defended its stand on not responding to Google new model. He said that the company lowered their prices on many occasions without any external or competitive pressure.

    Amazon and Google seem to be at the same level though their prices on key areas such as storage are still significantly different. Google has a flat rate pricing for storage while Amazon does tiered pricing.

    Amazon`s price change indicates an emerging competition among businesses offering cloud computing services. Amazon's strategy, using lower prices, has enabled it to build a successful brand. Google price change is a threat, one that deserves a response, to its cloud business margins. This comes at a time when Google and Microsoft have made continuous investment aimed at grabbing a portion of the revenue streaming into Amazon Web Services.

    Both companies have being experiencing problems that affect their core businesses. Google, for instance, has closed some of its business such as Google Reader and Wave and at times made price changes without warning their customers. This has negatively affected their customers who are now skeptical of their innovations.

    Microsoft despite having the most successful software business customers are suspicious of their products as they will be difficult to license or be costly.
    Amazon`s core business-retail- ensures use of cheap storage, ideal cloud computing, and relatively low margins.

  • Top 3 business VoIP providers

    Many business face obstacles as they aim to become successful and profitable due to a number of things including persistent communication barriers between them and their partners. For businesses that use landlines, they find them slow and outdated. The emergence of Business VoIP providers has come at a good time to not only help businesses grow but also ensure an efficient and faster communication process.

    It is advantageous to switch to business VoIP providers. They have cheaper services than landline costs. For those with international and long distance clients, it is cheaper making calls over the Internet. These services provided by Business VoIP providers among others are aimed at maintaining new relationships.

    Voxilla.com recently announced the Top 3 businessVoIP providers. The criteria used considered additional enhancements, customer satisfaction among others to come with the list of the best business VoIP providers. The top 3 in the list are:

    RingCentral

    RingCentral has an affordable package for their clients. Their services are easy to use, quick and simple to install, as they do not involve use of hardware. Their cloud-based system offers a range of services including fax service, conferencing, call management and mobile apps. Their customer support staff is excellent.

    Vonage

    Their strategy, no installation fees and contracts, has enabled them to rank among the best business VoIP providers. Their international call rates are low and customers can use them whenever they travel. They also offer a virtual assistant, smart phone apps, and voice to email options among many more.

    Mitel

    Mitel services are best suited for small and medium sized businesses. Their phone calls are characterized by clear sound quality. Their clients do not need to worry about loss of important information as they use secure data centers. They have low rates.

    It is important to have the right company for your communication needs.

  • Panasonic: High hopes for 4K TV


    Panasonic has come out to strongly support their latest technological advancement in the 4K TV technology, claiming that it is bound to succeed as there is more drive to it as compared to the 3D that has really failed to gain attention in the market. Although Panasonic 4K TV costs approximately $4100, which is quite a large amount to be spent on a TV, they are optimistic that the 4K TV will rise.

    The product manager of Panasonic, Craig Cunningham on being questioned by Trusted Reviews  on whether the drive that is behind the 4K is greater than the 3D  revealed that the race to shift to 4k and to get it out there where more and more content is going to be shot in 4K. According to him, 3D still has a place in home entertainment and that they have learnt from the failings of 3D in that there was lack of content  when the 3D was unveiled hence causing the technology  not to rise. He pointed out that the main concern for the customer is if the 4K TV is great and whether they would be able to get content to play on it.

    Despite this concern the Japanese manufacturer hopes that the 4K TV will be an easy sell especially in the UK market. This is because it is easy to see the deference in picture quality between the HD TV and the 4K TV.

    Despite the fact that the lack of 4K content will make the rise of 4K a little bit slow, Panasonic is confident that by the end of the year there will be a lot of 4K content  available . They are also taking measure to facilitate this by enabling their cameras to shoot 4K so that more 4K content can be created. He also added that sporting events could play a major role is the rise of 4K.

  • Oppo’s New Mega Phone: Find 7


    With all the advancements that have been made on the smartphone, it is easy to think that there isn’t anything new that can be added to it. However, Oppo has been able to prove many people wrong with the unveiling of their latest smartphone Find 7. What is remarkable about Oppo’s Find 7 is its ability to shoot 50 megapixel images.

    This is the highest specs ever in the history of the Smartphone. Oppo's Find 7 software is able to use a 13 megapixel camera to turn photos into 50 megapixel images. Even the Nokia Lumia hasn’t gotten to this capacity as it only provides 41 megapixel images. Although the Find 7 is being launched in China, it will be available to the rest of the world beginning next month.

    In addition to the phenomenal camera setting, Oppo’s Find 7 will also have the following specifications: A 5.5-inch quad HD display, that is (2,560 ×1,440) pixels, 3000mAh battery, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage micro card slot that is able to support up to 128GB external storage, Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.5 GHz processor and is Android 4.3 with custom color OS.

    As is evident from the specifications, the processor , display and RAM are very high as compared to other smartphones, and all this topped up with a 50 megapixel camera makes the Find 7 a must have. This device is set to be priced at $599. They also have a second version, the Find 7a with lower specifications that will retail at around $499, $100 less than the Find 7. The Oppo’s Find 7a will have a 1,920×1080 pixels display, 2.3 GHz processor, 2,800 mAh battery and 16 GB storage. It is evident that Oppo’s Find 7 will take the smartphone sector by storm and will be one of the most sought after smartphone soon!

  • Sony Xperia Z1S Waterproof Smartphone almost Right


    The Xperia Z1S is Sony’s first smartphone launch since it took over the company from its former partner, Ericson. Sony and T-Mobile almost got it right with the Z1S.

    The phone is built with remarkable technology: a 20 M camera, a 5” screen with 441 pixels per inch (ppi) pixel density, and a quad core 2.2 GHZ Snapdragon 800 processor. Not forgetting, of course, that it is waterproof.

    The Z1S, though gorgeous, is a late entrant to the 5” competition and its competitors may come better recommended because of a few design hiccups that the Sony smartphone has come with. The unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S5, which is coming very soon does not make things better for the Z1S either.

    AT 6 ounces and 5.67” x 2.91” x 0.33”, the Z1S looks very different from the Samsung Galaxy S4, LG G2, HTC 1 or the iPhone S5. It is a little bigger and heavier than the other 5” screen phones.

    Most of the ports and jacks on the phone have are covered by a flap and there is always a quick reminder to keep the covers closed in order to secure its waterproofing every time you awaken the phone with open flaps.

    The on/off button has cleverly been placed around the middle of the right perimeter which makes it easy to to awaken it when holding it, lifting it, or balancing it on your hand.

    The volume button is also right below the on/off switch, making it easy to use during a call.

    Unlike the Samsung Galaxy S4 waterproofing, the Z1S is only waterproof in fresh water. The camera closes after 20 seconds under water and the phone goes back to the latest open application.

    The smartphone’s power cell can last 13 hours of talk time and power saving modes can lengthen this further.

    The Sony Z1S is a unique 5” smartphone and its rear camera resolution is the second highest in the market. Although the camera takes poor indoor shots, the 5-inch screen and waterproof features are one of its best selling points.

  • New Details of Boeing’s self-destructing Black smartphone

    The new Boeing high security smartphone ‘Black’ targets clients from the security and defense industry. Boeing, which is traditionally a satellite, fighter jet and airliners manufacturer, now wants to venture into the cell phone industry.

    According to the company, the high security smartphone that Boeing has created is specially designed for United States security and defense organs.

    Very little information has been revealed about Boeing’s Black smartphone but it is known that the phone uses an Android OS to run, has a self destruct mechanism and has an option for encrypted storage to save sensitive data. The self destruct is said to activate if a person tries to tamper with the device. All the information and software on the device is erased, making the phone un-usable.

    According to Boeing’s company spokes woman, Becky Yeamans, Boeing made this smartphone with an aim of solving the emerging needs of the security and defense community. The smartphone will enable secure communication and data transfer over a mobile device, which is quite impressive.

    There is a pressing need for secure means of transferring intelligence and sensitive data among soldiers and defense personnel, which has led to development of mobile apps that serve that purpose by defense contractors and software companies. Tests are also being conducted on smart devices to find those that are best suited for all branched of the military.

    A promotion video on the Chicago based company website reveals that the Black smartphone contains sophisticated biometric and location tracking sensors and has the ability to pass information through satellite transceivers and discrete radio channels.

    It is not yet clear when the smartphone can be accessed by its targeted customers or how much it will cost