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Covers the latest news, insight, analysis, blogs and product reviews of unified communications equipment and software. Topics include transmission of voice communications over a wired or wireless network using technologies such as VoIP, IP Telephony, IP PBX, press-to-talk and computer-based voice.
Top VOIP & Telephony News
Social networking start-up Company.com offers cost-conscious businesses tools to spur growth and save money through an interactive online business community.
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Building on the Starent ST40, Cisco introduces the ASR 5000, a platform dedicated to the mobile network to create an end-to-end IP next-generation network.
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Google has cut a fee charged to users who cease using its Nexus One smartphone before four months from $350 to $150. The move comes in the wake of a broad probe into ETFs by the Federal Communications Commission, which Jan. 26 sent letters to AT&T, Google, Sprint and T-Mobile asking how ETFs are charged and if consumers are adequately informed of the ETFs. Spotty 3G is one reason Nexus One users might cite as reason to void their contracts with Google and T-Mobile. To help mediate the 3G service and other complaints, Google expanded its service for the Nexus One to include phone support: 888-48-NEXUS (63987) is now live from Google.
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Linus Torvalds, the man who created the Linux operating system on which Android is based, said he likes using the Google Nexus One smartphone for its Google Maps Navigation turn-by-turn GPS software. Torvalds said he "generally hates phones because they are irritating and disturb you as you work or read or whatever," but is intrigued by Linux-based phones. The Google navigation Torvalds enjoys is the Google Maps Navigation turn-by-turn GPS feature so many users have found useful since it launched on the Motorola Droid in November.
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Google's YouTube video-sharing service announces support for IPv6.
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Siri's application that lets users ask their phones to complete e-commerce transactions and other tasks is now available for the Apple iPhone 3GS smartphone. Siri's technology recalls speech recognition technologies Google uses for its search by voice feature, or speech input technologies for smartphones based on Android. Dig a little deeper and it's clear there is more to Siri than basic speech recognition and search. Siri takes into account users' locations, pointing them to local services. Moreover, once users set up their accounts, the app picks up info and stores it for context.
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Skype announced that a Skype for iPhone app that can place calls over 3G networks is coming soon, now that Apple has changed its SDK. While iCall already offers one, Skype says it’s waiting until it can offer CD-quality sound, along with other benefits for customers.
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The Symbian Foundation has announced its completion of the open-sourcing of the Symbian Platform with the release of Symbian 3.
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Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers says the economic recovery appears to be gaining speed and Cisco will add as many as 3,000 jobs over the next few quarters as it looks to continue its expansion into new markets. Cisco reports a solid fiscal second quarter that included a 23.2 percent increase in income over the same period in 2009 and an 8 percent jump in sales.
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Enterprises looking to drive down costs and improve communications increasingly are turning to video conferencing, according to a survey done for Global IP Solutions. The survey echoes what other studies are finding, and supports the strategies of such vendors as Cisco, Polycom, Juniper, Tandberg and Radvision.
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Google Feb. 2 said it is adding a multitouch mechanism and a software fix to improve 3G connectivity on its Nexus One smartphone. Users may now pinch-to-zoom on the smartphone's core browser, gallery and Google Maps applications. Also, Google Maps will be updated to version 3.4, which includes starred items synchronized with the desktop version of Google Maps; personalized search suggestions; and night mode in Google Maps Navigation. Finally, the Google Goggles visual search application will now be available directly on the device by launching it from the Nexus One All Apps menu.
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Pepsico taps Cisco and BT for a telepresence initiative that will roll out in the company’s major offices worldwide. The project will use Cisco’s TelePresence technology and BT’s services. The move illustrates the growing enterprise demand for telepresence technologies, and the need for interoperability between vendor systems. Cisco and Polycom differ on the ways to establish interoperability standards.
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Businesses will continue expanding their use of such technologies as VOIP and UC over the next few years, according to In-Stat and Dell’Oro. By 2013, 79 percent of U.S. businesses will have deployed a VOIP solution, In-Stat said. By 2014, revenues generated in the UC space will outpace those in the larger enterprise voice market, Dell’Oro group said.
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Blogs Brighthand and Engadget have found evidence that the Federal Communications Commission has blessed what could be a version of the Nexus One that runs on AT&T's 3G network. The unknown device supports 3G on WCDMA Bands I, II and V, meaning that it'll work on AT&T's network and most of Europe. The Nexus One could use the additional carrier support. Those who bought the device with T-Mobile service are suffering from spotty 3G service or even prolonged outages and complaints have been overwhelming Google's Nexus One support forum since the phone launched.
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If Apple replaces Google with Microsoft's Bing as the default iPhone search engine, it will sting, according to online ad network Chitika, which says Google searches account for 50.5 percent of all Internet traffic on the iPhone. BusinessWeek recently reported that Apple and Microsoft are discussing replacing Google with Bing as the iPhone's search provider. With $2 billion in profit from its recent fourth quarter and $24.5 billion in the bank, Google may not have to worry about money now. But will that still be true in a few years if Bing supplants its search engine on the leading smartphone?
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The Plantronics Voyager Pro UC provides heavy callers with an excellent way to use the same Bluetooth headset for both cell phone- and PC-based unified communications systems. eWEEK Labs tested the Voyager Pro UC WG200/B, which comes with an earpiece and a pre-paired Bluetooth dongle. The system is designed to work jointly with a Bluetooth 2.0-enabled cell phone or smartphone plus a Windows-based PC softphone via the dongle.
The current economy, business climate and technology trends have combined to make this a perfect time for hosted IP PBX systems. 8x8's Virtual Office is a turnkey system that provides all of the functionality of full-featured corporate PBX systems, without the upfront implementation and management costs. However, much of Virtual Office's Web-based interface is unintuitive, making ongoing management chores more difficult than they need to be.
Despite current iPhone limitations, Skype 1.0.1 for Apple iPhone performed well in eWEEK Labs' tests, providing most of Skype’s functionality--including instant message chats, presence and profile editing--on Wi-Fi, EDGE or (most likely) 3G. Voice calls are limited to Wi-Fi, but that can be a plus, depending on AT&T network coverage in your area. Next up is Skype support for (some) BlackBerry devices.
Savi Office, from Plantronics, offers more than a wireless headset solution with simultaneous connection to both a desk phone and PC. Savi Office also offers the PerSono software suite for controlling device behavior and for bridging content between communications channel. However, the flexible solution comes at a steep price and is not yet enterprise-ready. And it can only be used with Microsoft Windows-based PCs, though Plantronics says users of Apple Macs will be able to use the Savi Office devices as headsets.
With the recession raging and IT budgets contracting, enterprises looking to deploy unified communications solutions need to ensure that they're focused on the business objectives behind the plan. Even in this troubled economy, enterprises need to resist the urge to cut corners, which could hamper UC projects at the onset. IT administrators also must be careful with UC products that are on the market. Some UC solutions, like the ones from Unison, come up short on features that address all an enterprise's UC needs. Others, like those from Microsoft, fill most of a business's UC needs, but come at a high price.
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