Business News Holding

Category: voip

  • Roccat Launches Lightweight VoIP Headset For PC & Mobile


    Roccat has launched the first headset to provide a microphone and earphones that can be used with PCs as well as mobile phones.

    The Vire Mobile Communication Gaming Headset is designed for use with VoIP solutions and more general communications.

    The lightweight device offers an in-line microphone and earphones, which can be used for online gaming, mobile communication or as an attachment on MP3 players.

    With a microphone that filters out background noise and enhances the clarity of speech, the headset is well-suited to VoIP solutions.

    The rubberised earplugs have also been designed in an open style – rather than encasing the whole ear, making them comfortable to wear for long periods.

    Roccat, based in Hamburg, Germany, says the headset was designed to unite gaming, communications and music in one headset.

    Roccat’s Erik J. Dale said the microphone shields out unnecessary background noises and ensures a user’s voice is transmitted clearly when chatting over VoIP or on the move while making calls.

    "The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said," he said.

    The headset has an RRP of EURO €39.99 (USD $55) and is due for official release in July.

  • Yuuguu Extends Instant Collaboration To Include Skype


    Yuuguu has expanded its screen sharing cross network application to include Skype.

    The Yuuguu for Skype Beta enables Skype users to screen share and collaborate with one or more contacts.

    Yuuguu can also use the VOIP calling feature of Skype.

    The application also allows users to combine their contacts on a variety of instant messaging services such as Google Talk, MSN, AOL, Yahoo and AIM into one place.

    Each month, Yuuguu is free for 100 minutes with a maximum of five participants in a session.

    Users can upgrade to Yuuguu Plus for USD $15 per month, which includes unlimited screen sharing and web conferencing usage.

    Co-founder and CEO of Yuuguu, Anish Kapoor said the Yuuguu for Skype Beta is the simplest and quickest way for Skype users to instantly screen share, and collaborate in real time with one or more of their contacts on Skype.

    "Our product developments over the last 18 months have been geared to strong customer demand for instant real-time collaboration tightly integrated with their instant messaging services," he said.

  • Skype Gets its Own Oprah Show


    Skype president Josh Silverman’s invitation to appear as a guest on ‘Oprah’ may not come as much of a surprise to fans of the show.

    The VoIP giant has already been featured on the program and Oprah Winfrey often uses it for interviews.

    But while Oprah is well known for promoting Skype, Kindle and Twitter, she doesn’t usually give over whole shows to them.

    What was the excuse for Thursday’s episode-long commercial for Skype?

    Josh Silverman Skype President

    Well the show was billed as an opportunity to discuss the features the technology offers to its subscribers.

    Titled "Where the Skype Are You?", it features people calling in from exotic locations around the world, with video chats on an airplane, a submarine, Antarctica, and London’s Harrods department store.

    It might have been interesting to have included a slot discussing Skype’s troubled relationship with eBay, would it not?

  • IPsmarx Streamlines Bundled Services' Billing


    Billing can be a complicated process for VoIP service providers and calling card operators – especially if they want to diversify and offer more than one service.

    In some cases customers end up receiving separate bills or a third system has to be used to generate them.

    Now Ipsmarx Technology is offering a solution which it claims streamlines the billing process.

    Called Unified Customer Management (UCM) it enables service providers to offer calling card, PINless dialing, IP phone, and video over IP services to the same customer and provide only one bill for all the services.

    It also makes life easier for end users, who get the convenience of signing up for each service using one web interface.

    Carrie Fedders, account manager with IPsmarx, told voip.biz-news that if a service provider does not have an all-in-one solution, they may have one system that manages their calling card platform and another system that manages their VoIP business.

    "Then, they cannot send only one bill to their customer or they have to generate the bill using a 3rd system, while pulling information from their calling card and VoIP systems, so it can be quite complicated," she said.

    With the IPsmarx package billing feature, service providers can decide to bill for all services on a per minute or flat rate basis as well as create selling packages, or "bundles", for different services.

    Fedders said the UCM solution streamlines the billing process and gives operators the ability to offer a complete suite of VoIP and calling card services to their end users.

    This in turn has the potential to increase revenue for operators, which are increasingly looking to diversify their services.

    So an operator with an established client base who are making international calls could can capitalize on this by offering additional long distance services and increase their market share.

    "A calling card company can now add VoIP service, for example, and advertise it to their calling card users, in order to increase their usage and call volume, thus generating another revenue stream," she said.

    "Also, operators avoid the expense of multiple systems and 3rd party billing/invoicing software."

  • Skype For iPhone App Offers 3G Calls


    A new app is offering iPhone users a way of making Skype calls using 3G by turning outgoing calls into incoming ones.

    Appropriately called Incoming, it connects to any landline or mobile phone over Edge, 3G, and WiFi – whereas the official Skype for iPhone app is limited to WiFi.

    Calls made on the iPhone using the Incoming app are routed through a user’s home PC’s Skype software and turned into an incoming call.

    This means users don’t eat into wireless dialplan minutes if they have unlimited inbound minutes.

    There’s obviously a cost if SkypeOut credits are required but that can be limited by signing up for one of Skype’s unlimited call plans.

    How it works:
    1. Open the Incoming app and enter a phone number and press CALL.
    2. Receive an incoming call, once answered, the dialled number is called
    3. Wait to be connected

    The app costs USD $4.99 on the iTunes store.

    Other features include:

    • Make a visual favorites list for fast dialing.
    • Access contacts from your address book.
    • Conference Calling supporting up to nine callers.
    • International Calling

  • Rising Demand For VoIP Tied To Bundled Packages


    A growing number of UK broadband users plan to start using VoIP in their homes, according to research.

    The study by consultancy Booz and Company found that 44 per cent of consumers plan to use VoIP in the next six months.

    It also showed that 45 per cent of respondents want to bundle their communications packages to include telephone, broadband and television.

    John Ward, principal in Booz and Company’s UK CMT practice, said the recession is revealing characteristics about consumers that operators can capitalise on.

    He said that the successful service providers will be the ones that offer the most innovative ways of purchasing telecoms and media services.

    Other research in the UK found that very few broadband users in the UK switch their service provider in order to get the most affordable package.

    Comparison website Consumer Choices reported that just ten per cent of broadband users switched their service in 2008 for a better deal.

  • T-Mobile Germany Back-Tracks on N97 VoIP Strategy


    T-Mobile Germany is reconsidering its VoIP strategy as a rival carrier works on special VoIP plans.

    The change of heart is in sharp contrast to T-Mobile’s threat to cut off VoIP users – both physically and contractually – after Skype announced the release of its iPhone app in March.

    The carrier is considering ways of dealing with VoIP – which could include VoIP-specific monthly plans.

    It comes as Vodafone Germany is reported to be considering offering special VoIP plans.

    T-Mobile Germany is to launch Nokia’s flagship smartphone the N97 this summer but Skype will not be pre-loaded on the device.

    This is despite Nokia having a deal to preload the VoIP client on to the new devices.

    The carrier has now said that it will be up to subscribers to decide if they want the app.

    Those that do will be able to download it to their VoiP compatible N97s.

    It certainly seems as though T-Mobile Germany has paid attention to consumer displeasure following its initial outburst.

  • FCC Slashes Number Porting Delay To 1 Day


    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US has cut the time allowed for wireline, mobile and certain VoIP providers to transfer a customer’s existing telephone number to a new provider from four to one business day.

    The move will make it easier for consumers to switch voice service providers.

    Delays in number porting cost consumers money and hamper the selection of providers based solely on price, quality and service.

    Now the FCC is requiring all providers – with the exception of small carriers – to implement the new number porting interval within nine months from the time the Commission receives key input from the North American Numbering Council (NANC).

    This is due 90 days after the effective date of the order.

    Small carriers have 15 months after the NANC recommendation to implement the new interval.

    In a second order, the FCC expanded consumer protections for customers of interconnected VoIP providers.

    Interconnected VoIP providers are those whose customers can place calls to and receive calls from the public telephone network.

    These providers are now required to notify customers before they discontinue, reduce or impair service, as conventional providers currently must do.

  • Mobivox Links VoIP Services With New Micropayment System


    Mobivox has announced an agreement to make its voice-activated mobile services platform the engine for the VoIP-services component of a new global online e-wallet system called WorldAxxess.

    Under the agreement, MTC Telecom plans to use Mobivox-powered international long-distance services to attract customers and build revenue for MTC’s new WorldAxxess micropayments business.

    Both service lines are to be introduced in August.

    The WorldAxxess micropayment application will allow users to make small-metered online purchases of goods or services – such as newspapers, or downloaded music or ringtones – and pay from small amounts of currency they store online.

    It has been designed to be a simple, easy-to-use online debit system that is convenient for users and also gives retailers an alternative to processing credit-card payments for small purchases.

    Jan Kling, MTC Telecom owner, said that as a complement to the micropayment system, WorldAxxess users will be able to place low-cost international calls from and to virtually anywhere.

    He said WorldAxxess will rely on Mobivox for the full range of its platform’s capabilities, including voice-activated calling, online storage of users’ address books, and network origination and termination services.

    "We wanted to introduce a combination of international VoIP services and micropayments based on tremendous synergies between the two offerings," he said.

    "We chose Mobivox after considering partnering with other VoIP providers or building our own platform. The Mobivox platform is a turnkey solution we can get up and running rapidly.

    "It’s very sophisticated, yet easy to use."

  • Service Level Reporting Is Crucial For VoIP Quality


    The use of service level reporting (SLR) could help VoIP users to addresses any quality issues on their networks.

    An increasing number of IT professionals are using SLR to manage their network quality, according to the latest report compiled by Light Reading’s VoIP Services Insider.

    The report indicates that the overall goal for firms introducing SLR is to "learn as much as possible about the quality issues on their networks".

    However, it adds that the reporting industry may face various challenges over the next 18 months due to possible reductions in IT staff in response to the economic downturn.

    Denise Culver, research analyst and report author, said: "Worries about the economy continue to top the list of concerns for vendors of SLR solutions.

    "Confusion in the SLR marketplace could become an issue because of the prolific nature of some solutions."