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  • Velocity VoIP Uses PortaOne and OpenCNAM to Offer Caller ID to Wholesale/Retail Customers in Seconds


    Velocity VoIP is one of the most innovative hosted VoIP infrastructure providers out there. In 2011, the Boca Raton, Florida-based company took a major step in its quest by choosing PortaOne PortaSwitch Procinctus. This is PortaOne’s fully redundant and high capacity product and is its core convergent softswitch billing software.

    Jason Silverman, Director of Sales for Velocity VoIP indicated that the company’s reseller clients are always looking for different ways to grow their business. He added that Caller ID is not a new service, but the need to offer the service quickly, on a customer to customer basis is paramount. He indicated that the company has realized that there is need for a strategy to offer CNAM products through all the underlying carriers and CLEC relationships in such a way that both of them benefit economically.

    The CNAM, or Caller Name Delivery enables customers to instantly see the Phone number information and caller name for any incoming phone call. In the past, adding the CNAM to a system was a very involved process, however, this process has been simplified by OpenCNAM. The OpenCNAM is now available as a simple web service and is widely used throughout the industry to provide Caller ID information for mobile applications, phone systems, CRM systems and fraud prevention systems for large financial institutions. Its elegant API is well suited for IT professionals, developers and enterprise telecommunications companies.

    Silverman noted that customers are always demanding for low cost, higher quality services with a broad list of features. These kinds of solutions will now be provided thanks to PortaOne.

  • SugarSync Cloud Storage Service Abandons Freemium for a Paid Account Model


    SugarSync that has long been viewed as a Gladiator in the hosted cloud storage service has decided to go mercenary. The company has announced that it is doing away with the free storage tiers for a ‘paid only’ service model. Current customers will still be able to access their files and are set to get discounts of up to 75%.

    CEO Mike Grossman said that the company has decided not to offer free storage forever. He added that SugarSync is unique as compared to other service providers because it provides more than just basic file storage. Instead, the company offers premium services that offer unprecedented control and flexibility for prosumers and small businesses over their data through the unique multisync capabilities.

    This basically means that the company is targeting more business clients. SugarSync is, in a way, pivoting since competitors like Google Drive, box and Dropbox are taking the oxygen from the casual cloud market.
    The free accounts will be closed on 8th February 2014 while users can still sign up for a 5GB 90 day trial or a 60GB 30-day trial. However, SugarSync will attempt to monetize the customers as soon as possible instead of letting you keep your free storage.

    Grossman indicated that there are many companies that giving away free storage, however, these companies may not be viable in the long run. He indicated that the company is already in a solid financial position and is set to further strengthen its business. This is definitely an interesting maneuver by one of the major players in a world with dozens of GBs for free.

  • iPhone 5s – the world’s bestselling smartphone for two months in a row


    According to market researcher Counterpoint, both the Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5 outsold Samsung’s Galaxy S4’s worldwide in the month of October.

    In the latest report Counterpoint indicated that the iPhone 5S retained its premier spot in the global smartphone market. This is despite the supply shortage that forced customers to wait for it. The research firm expects Apple to meet even greater demand for the 5S in November and December as supply has ramped up.

    According to Counterpoint’s rankings, the iPhone 5 took second p[lace while the Galaxy S4 was left in the third position. The number 4 slot was taken by the iPhone 5C, followed by the Galaxy note 3, Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4 mini in that order.

    Apple fared well across different parts of the world but most notably China, where its market share surged from 3% in September to 12% in October. It has now been transformed into China’s third largest smartphone vendor. Apple’s share among the Chinese market is set to be driven further following reports of a deal with China mobile.

    In a statement from Counterpoint analyst Tom Kang, with the expected China mobile deal, price wars are in the offing between Apple’s iPhone S5 at all the three Chinese carriers that are likely to boost the overall iPhone 5S sales in the country. This might just see Apple reach the number 1 position in Smartphone sales in China in December or January.

  • Hilarious Reviews For Samsung’s $40,000 HDTV on Sale on Amazon


    Often whenever people purchase products from Amazon, they write a short review of the product. This is true for a Samsung TV that is for sale for $39,997.99. By viewing the Amazon site, the TV actually looks like quite a deal.

    The 85-Inch Samsung TV is 4K Ultra HD and has a micro dimming for the best possible picture quality. The TV also has a smart TV voice control that allows people to interact with streaming content as well as the web. The price has been reduced by more than $5,000 and 2 AA batteries are included as well as free shipping.

    So which customers can buy this? Well, we are not sure but there are already 613 people who have written reviews and rated it with 4.2 out of 5. However, we are guessing… that most of these reviews are not genuine, but are hilarious:

    My wife and I bought this after selling our daughter Amanda into white slavery. We actually got a refurbished. It's missing the remote, but oh well– for $10K off, I can afford a universal, right? – James O. Thach

    At first I hesitated to make the purchase, but then I saw the two AA batteries were free with the remote, and I was all in! Having this really fills in that empty space we called a bathroom! – Cheryl A. Gustafson

    I am very thankful that it has low energy costs as I am on a very tight budget. – Nick

    So much better than the crappy 84" we used to have. – Guy Hutchinson.

    Check out all the reviews here. 

    If you are not able to afford the discounted version, there are two used sets that are available for $31,499 as well as two refurbished ones that are available for $35,000. If you need a new one, there are only three left on the shelf. However, Amazon indicated that there are more on the way in case you are searching for stocking stuffers.

  • Russian Yota Smartphone with Two Screens Saves Battery


    Russian company Yota has released a smartphone with two screens and a prolonged battery life. The phone is already in the market in Russia, France, Germany, Spain and Austria. The two screens are layered on top of each other. One of them is a normal LCD and the other, which is always on, uses e-link technology.

    The e-link technology is used in e-readers and requires less energy than the much brighter LCD displays. The Yota phone transfers text-heavy pages to the e-link display, so that the LCD screen does not drain battery when reading.

    The Android powered phone allows users to view information and notifications without waking up the phone. According to Yota Devices chief executive Vlad Martynov, the typical smartphone user activates their phone more than 150 times each day. This is because the users worry about hidden messages behind their Smartphone’s black screen.

    Technology experts are of the view that the phone will be definitely welcomed by people who are frustrated by their smartphone running out of battery.

    Ben Wood, a mobile phone analyst with research firm CCS Insight indicated that the Yota phone is an ambitious project, which might be considered as a gimmick by critics but has merit in design. He also added that having a phone with an option of a second screen that uses little power could be very attractive to people who struggle to keep the battery on their smartphone for a day.

    The device also features a 12-megapixel rear camera as well as a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Yota plans to launch the phone in 20 other countries by March 2014 at a cost of 499 Euros.

  • My Cloud from Western Digital

    Nowadays, it is almost impossible to create a digital baggage. You need to start by backing up your PC’s data. Your devices also need more storage space for backups, offloading photos to storing secondary media libraries. If you think like me, then you definitely need cloud based storage services.

    With the help of a 2TB external NAS Western Digital’s WD My Cloud, you can create your personal cloud at home and consolidate your data within easy reach.  Any Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device can read and write to the drive because the external hard drive connects through Ethernet cable to your wireless router instead of the traditional USB to your PC, Android or iOS devices.

    The WD My Cloud hardware sets up instantly by plugging in the AC adapter and snapping the Ethernet cable into your wireless router. There are downloadable and administrative apps for PCs and Macs and also apps for Android and iOS mobile devices. You can also type in a URL in any browser to connect to the drive’s onboard management tools, much like you would do to gain access to your browser based dashboard on the router.

    After login in to the WD portal and creating a My Cloud password account, all your mobile devices connected can read and write to the drive whenever they are connected to Wi-Fi.

    You can move content into folders called ‘shares’ that can be either private or public. It is possible to set up permissions for users of any of the shares. You will start off with some preset shares that include a private share with your name, a public folder SmartWare folder for backups and a “TimeMachineBackup” folder for Mac users.

  • VoIP Provider Jajah Shattered By Telecom Giant Telefonica after Skype and Others Drive Prices to Bottom

    European telephone giant and 5th largest carrier worldwide, Telefonica said that it will shut down Janah, its VoIP unit on January 31st 2014. This is yet another sign of mounting trouble in the VoIP industry.

    The shattering will end what was once considered a success story in the industry. Janah was once of the very few companies offering VoIP services that survived the onslaught of consolidation in 2010. Telefonica was sold by Skype for $207 million, at a time when even competitors like Jaxtr and Jangl were sold for pennies in asset sales or went out of business.

    The closure means that Jajah Direct services and Jajah.com will no longer be offered and customers will not be able to make any calls. According to the company, Janah account holders will continue to use their accounts until31st January. However, the statement did not shed light on why Janah is closing.

    It is possible that Janah was not making any meaningful profit and may even have been getting losses. The company had clearly lost the race to Skype that was acquired by Microsoft in 2011. Earlier this year, Microsoft indicated that Skype now had 33% of worldwide VoIP calls.

    However, industry experts have pointed out that the voice traffic is dying; has become commoditized and overall prices, revenue and traffic are dropping. This means that Skype’s victory may be a hollow one for Microsoft, which has declined to indicate whether Skype is profitable or not.

    All this has not been helped by the large number of popular VoIP providers including Viber, Vonage Google Voice and FaceTime from Apple.

  • University Community Linked By Unified Communication


    The University of Washington has sought the services of unified communication to combine its data, voice and networks as well as to build a platform that supports diverse products.

    The University of Washington finds the effective connection of data and people extremely paramount. The university serves more than 51,000 students as well as about 31,000 faculty members across 3 different academic campuses as well as 500 buildings scattered across Bothell, Wash, Tacoma, and Seattle.

    About three years ago, the communication infrastructure in the University was out of date. It was not sufficient for supporting many of the systems and applications that are needed in today’s education environment such as BYOD, mobility and video conferencing. Roland Rivera, UW's director of network strategy and telecommunications noted that better integration of data services is extremely critical and it was apparent that there is need for getting unified communications infrastructure.

    The unified communication system supports products from different vendors such as AVST, Microsoft Lync, Polycom and Cisco. With the use of a web-based management console, the IT tem can isolate different communities of use, oversee routing and dial plan management and also better manage licensing and security.

    Rivera indicates that the unified communication solution has brought the school’s infrastructure to the digital age. In the long run, it is expected to trim IT costs as well as administrative overheads while providing greater flexibility and simplicity.

  • mSpy: A Terrifying Smartphone And Tablet Spying App


    If you are keen in preserving your privacy, then you should definitely be weary of the mSpy app. When installed on an iOS or Android device, the app can track phone records, keyboard strokes and location data in the background without your knowledge.

    It is specially designed for legal monitoring use, and there are legitimate reasons for installing it if you intend to use it for legal matters. For instance, companies can use the app for monitoring company phones for security purposes. Parents can also use the app for monitoring the usage of devices that they give their children.

    The app dances around the issue of legal surveillance and has a disclaimer stating that it is intended for use by companies or parents who own or have legal consent for monitoring. The disclaimer further indicates that the users of such devices should be notified that they are under surveillance.

    However, on mSpy’s website, you can also see that it is indicated as a bugging tool for gathering evidence from a phone. It further ominously refers the tapped phone as the target and states that the app is 100% undetectable. However, this information is not necessary if users are informed that they are being monitored.

  • For Greater Insight And Control over Content, Cloud Storage Provider Box Buys dLoop

    Box, a cloud storage company has acquired dLoop, a data analytic firm. This acquisition is expected to add protection, enterprise content discovery and insight to Box’s platform that offers employees easy sync and sharing between several apps and devices and platforms.

    According to an announcement that was made this week, dLoop technologies is expected to provide permission level, control and visibility of files that enterprises require in order to trust cloud storage.

    The acquisition comes just a week following the announcement by Box of its intentions to raise another $100 million in venture investment that will be in form of Series E-1 Preferred stock.  This is according to a recent regulatory filing.

    Box had earlier developed a powerful admin tool that helps to protect business critical content. These tools are expected to expand following the acquisition of dLoop and offer administrators even greater safeguards on enterprise content.

    At the moment, dLoop is able to discover documents that would normally be unreachable by pattern matching solutions or the normal search. This is done by creating continuous documents graphs as well as clusters from unstructured content with the use of machine-learning algorithms that find related and relevant content.

    Following the announcement, dLoop co-founder Divya Jain will be joining Box in order to lead their efforts in advanced content analysis and data classification.