Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

AT&T has  announced the launch of the BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8110 smartphone, which includes built-in global positioning system (GPS) support for location-based applications and services. Combined with navigation and mapping applications such as AT&T Navigator, the handset provides turn-by-turn voice and on-screen directions with colorful 3-D moving maps that can be used in vehicles or while walking. AT&T Navigator also alerts users through voice and on-screen prompts to traffic slowdowns and incidents along their programmed travel route, and it provides customers with the option to choose an alternative route.

3Screens News Summary:

• The small and stylish BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone from AT&T measures just 4.2 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.5 inches, weighs approximately 3.2 ounces and is available in a glossy titanium or rich red finish.
• It features the popular BlackBerry e-mail and messaging capabilities, including RIM’s SureType® QWERTY keyboard system for easy typing and phone dialing — enhanced with word completion and a spell-checker with a user-customized dictionary. The smartphone features a display that supports more than 65,000 colors and automatically adjusts brightness based on surrounding light levels. The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 also is the first BlackBerry that enables users to wirelessly download AT&T’s popular — and free — YELLOWPAGES.COM Mobile application directly from an icon on the smartphone.
• Customers can easily find and map local businesses, save favorite listings and get step-by-step directions to or from any location.
• The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 also features impressive multimedia capabilities, including an advanced media player that is ideal for users who want easy access to music and videos while on the go. It also includes a 2-megapixel camera that supports video recording,1 a 3.5-mm stereo headset jack, externally accessible microSD™/SDHC memory slot for additional storage, high speed USB and Bluetooth® 2.0 with support for headsets, car kits, stereo headsets and other Bluetooth accessories.
• The global capabilities of the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone from AT&T utilizes AT&T’s industry-best domestic and international wide area wireless data coverage.
• The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 is powered by AT&T’s nationwide2 EDGE network — the largest high speed national wireless data network in the U.S. — with availability in more than 13,000 cities and towns and along almost 40,000 miles of major highways.
• The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 can also keep users who are abroad connected with wireless e-mail, Internet access and other mobile applications through data services in more countries than any other U.S. carrier, with data-roaming in more than 145 countries.
• Customers can also use the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 to make or receive voice calls in more than 200 countries.

Pricing and Availability

The new BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone from AT&T is available now at AT&T retail stores nationwide, via and through AT&T’s business-to-business sales teams for as low as $149.99, with a two-year contract, unlimited data plan and $39.99 voice plan. Customers who want personal e-mail access and Web browsing with BlackBerry® Internet Service can choose the BlackBerry Personal Unlimited data plan for as low as $30 a month with a qualified voice contract. Unlimited corporate e-mail and data access via BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or BlackBerry® Professional Software are available for as low as $45 a month when a qualified voice plan is also chosen. Customers who travel overseas can select the BlackBerry International Unlimited data plan for as low as $65 a month with a qualified voice plan. AT&T Navigator requires a separate subscription of $9.99 a month.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 also supports AT&T Mobile Music subscription services and AT&T unlimited Push To Talk for walkie-talkie-like communications; both services are an additional $9.99 a month with a qualifying voice plan. Small business customers also can couple their BlackBerry data plans with AT&T’s new BusinessTalk voice plans, which start at $60 a month for five users and 700 Anytime Minutes and can be expanded for $9.99 a line to accommodate up to 40 users and 20,000 Anytime Minutes. When combined with BlackBerry Professional Software, BusinessTalk provides small businesses with a complete voice and data solution. Companies may also choose BusinessTalk with either unlimited Mobile to Mobile or Push To Talk features.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

WeSeePeople: Mobile Social Networking With Facebook For Blackberry Smartphone Application.
Take social networking to the next level with your BlackBerry® smartphone. With almost anywhere access, you can enhance your personal and professional connections. According to an press report the application has already surpassed the 1,000,000 mark.

With the Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones application, Facebook users can wirelessly send and view messages, photos, pokes and Wall posts. The rich, native application goes beyond browser-based access, automatically pushing notifications to the user’s BlackBerry smartphone as friends and colleagues send notes, Wall posts or pokes. The application allows users to take a photo, upload it to the site with captions and tags; quickly and easily invite friends; manage events; manage photo albums; and manage their status while on the go.

Since its initial launch, Facebook for BlackBerry Smartphones has added language support for French, German and Spanish. The software application is available as a free(i) download from www.facebook.com/blackberry or www.blackberry.com/go/facebook and can also be downloaded using a BlackBerry smartphone from m.facebook.com or mobile.blackberry.com.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Raketu, an internet communications company, debuted their new web application,  specifically geared towards Blackberry users of the BlackBerry Curve, 8800 and Pearl product series.  In addition to a host of other features, this new application will let users make free calls and send SMS text messages worldwide.  

“With over twelve million users of the BlackBerry worldwide, the introduction of our Raketu BlackBerry Application marks our definitive entry into the mobile business market,” said Greg Parker, president and CEO of Raketu, in a recent press release. “For businesses whose employees initiate a significant number of international calls from their BlackBerry mobile devices, Raketu’s BlackBerry Application is a great way to reduce monthly calling costs.”

Raketu’s BlackBerry application features include:

Raketu’s new BlackBerry Application is entirely web-based and does not require consumers to download any software. BlackBerry users can sign up and access the service via their BlackBerry web browser at BlackBerry.raketu.com. Using Raketu’s BlackBerry application, users can call Internationally for free or at Raketu’s ultra-low cost VoIP calling rates. Raketu users who sign up and make a payment of USD 9.95, USD 24.95 or USD 49.95 to their Raketu account are eligible for up to 600 free calling minutes per month towards BlackBerry initiated phone-to-phone calls. See www.Raketu.com for details and free zones.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Looks like Blackberrys are going Social Networking, no!, Business like Social Networking
WeSeePeople: BlackBerrys On your Face, Facebook

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Looks like Blackberrys are going Social Networking, no!, Business like Social Networking
WeSeePeople: BlackBerrys On your Face, Facebook

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

If you read the previous post on chan_mobile on asterisk, here is the follow up, straight from Asterisk SVN.

Configuring chan_mobile :-
The configuration file for chan_mobile is /etc/asterisk/mobile.conf. It is a normal Asterisk config file consisting of sections and key=value pairs.
See configs/mobile.conf.sample for an example and an explanation of the configuration.

Using chan_mobile :-
chan_mobile.so must be loaded either by loading it using the Asterisk CLI, or by adding it to /etc/asterisk/modules.conf
Search for your bluetooth devices using the CLI command ‘mobile search’. Be patient with this command as it will take 8 - 10 seconds to do the discovery. This requires a free adapter.
Headsets will generally have to be put into ‘pairing’ mode before they will show up here.

This will return something like the following :-

*CLI> mobile search
Address Name Usable Type Port
00:12:56:90:6E:00 LG TU500 Yes Phone 4
00:80:C8:35:52:78 Toaster No Headset 0
00:0B:9E:11:74:A5 Hello II Plus Yes Headset 1
00:0F:86:0E:AE:42 Daves Blackberry Yes Phone 7

Above is a list of all bluetooth devices seen and whether or not they are usable with chan_mobile.
The Address field contains the ‘bd address’ of the device which is like an ethernet mac address.
The Name field is whatever is configured into the device as its name (default name of the device).
The Usable field tells you whether or not the device supports the Bluetooth Handsfree Profile or Headset profile.
The Type field tells you whether the device is usable as a Phone line (FXO) or a headset (FXS)
The Port field is the number to put in the configuration file.
Choose which device(s) you want to use and edit /etc/asterisk/mobile.conf. There is a sample included with the Asterisk-addons source under configs/mobile.conf.sample.
Be sure to configure the right bd address and port number from the search. If you want inbound calls on a device to go to a specific context, add a context= line, otherwise the default will be used. The ‘id’ of the device [bitinbrackets] can be anything you like, just make it unique.
If you are configuring a Headset be sure to include the type=headset line, if left out it defaults to phone.
The CLI command ‘mobile show devices’ can be used at any time to show the status of configured devices, and whether or not the device is capable of sending / receiving SMS via bluetooth.
*CLI> mobile show devices
ID Address Group Adapter Connected State SMS
headset 00:0B:9E:11:AE:C6 0 blue No Init No
LGTU550 00:E0:91:7F:46:44 1 dlink No Init No
*CLI>

As each phone is connected you will see a message on the Asterisk console :-

Loaded chan_mobile.so => (Bluetooth Mobile Device Channel Driver)
— Bluetooth Device blackberry has connected.
— Bluetooth Device dave has connected.

To make outbound calls, add something to you Dialplan like the following :- (modify to suit)

; Calls via LGTU5500
exten => _9X.,1,Dial(Mobile/LGTU550/${EXTEN:1},45)
exten => _9X.,n,Hangup

To use channel groups, add an entry to each phones definition in mobile.conf like group=n
where n is a number.
Then if you do something like Dial(Mobile/g1/123456) Asterisk will dial 123456 on the first connected free phone in group 1.
Phones which do not have a specific ‘group=n’ will be in group 0.
To dial out on a headset, you need to use some other mechanism, because the headset is not likely to have all the needed buttons on it. res_clioriginate is good for this :-

*CLI> originate Mobile/headset extension NNNNN@context

This will call your headset, once you answer, Asterisk will call NNNNN at context context

Dialplan hints :-

chan_mobile supports ‘device status’ so you can do somthing like

exten => 1234,hint,SIP/30&Mobile/dave&Mobile/blackberry

MobileStatus Application :-

chan_mobile also registers an application named MobileStatus. You can use this in your Dialplan to determine the ’state’ of a device.
For example, suppose you wanted to call dave’s extension, but only if he was in the office. You could test to see if his mobile phone was attached to Asterisk, if it is dial his extension, otherwise dial his mobile phone.

exten => 40,1,MobileStatus(dave,DAVECELL)
exten => 40,2,GotoIf($["${DAVECELL}" = "1"]?3:5)
exten => 40,3,Dial(ZAP/g1/0427466412,45,tT)
exten => 40,4,Hangup
exten => 40,5,Dial(SIP/40,45,tT)
exten => 40,6,Hangup

MobileStatus sets the value of the given variable to :-

1 = Disconnected. i.e. Device not in range of Asterisk, or turned off etc etc
2 = Connected and Not on a call. i.e. Free
3 = Connected and on a call. i.e. Busy

SMS Sending / Receiving

If Asterisk has detected your mobile phone is capable of SMS via bluetooth, you will be able to send and receive SMS.

Incoming SMS’s cause Asterisk to create an inbound call to the context you defined in mobile.conf or the default context if you did not define one. The call will start at extension ’sms’. Two channel variables will be available, SMSSRC = the number of the originator of the SMS and SMSTXT which is the text of the SMS.
This is not a voice call, so grab the values of the variables and hang the call up. So, to handle incoming SMS’s, do something like the following in your dialplan

[incoming-mobile]
exten => sms,1,Verbose(Incoming SMS from ${SMSSRC} ${SMSTXT})
exten => sms,n,Hangup()

The above will just print the message on the console.

If you use res_jabber, you could do something like this :-

[incoming-mobile]
exten => sms,1,JabberSend(transport,user@jabber.somewhere.com,SMS from ${SMSRC} ${SMSTXT})
exten => sms,2,Hangup()

To send an SMS, use the application MobileSendSMS like the following :-

exten => 99,1,MobileSendSMS(dave,0427123456,Hello World)

This will send ‘Hello World’ via device ‘dave’ to ‘0427123456′

DTMF Debouncing :-

DTMF detection varies from phone to phone. There is a configuration variable that allows you to tune this to your needs. e.g. in mobile.conf

[LGTU550]
address=00:12:56:90:6E:00
port=4
context=incoming-mobile
dtmfskip=50

change dtmfskip to suit your phone. The default is 200. The larger the number, the more chance of missed DTMF. The smaller the number the more chance of multiple digits being detected.

Debugging :-

Different phone manufacturers have different interpretations of the Bluetooth Hands free Profile Spec. This means that not all phones work the same way, particularly in the connection setup / initialization sequence. I’ve tried to make chan_mobile as general as possible, but it may need modification to support some phone i’ve never tested.

Some phones, most notably Sony Ericsson ‘T’ series, dont quite conform to the Bluetooth HFP spec. chan_mobile will detect these and adapt accordingly. The T-610 and T-630 have been tested and work fine.

If your phone doesnt behave has expected, turn on Asterisk debugging with ‘core set debug 1′.

This will log a bunch of debug messages indicating what the phone is doing, importantly the rfcomm conversation between Asterisk and the phone. This can be used to sort out what your phone is doing and make chan_mobile support it.

Be aware also, that just about all mobile phones behave differently. For example my LG TU500 wont dial unless the phone is a the ‘idle’ screen. i.e. if the phone is showing a ‘menu’ on the display, when you dial via Asterisk, the call will not work. chan_mobile handles this, but there may be other phones that do other things too…

Important: Watch what your mobile phone is doing the first few times. Asterisk wont make random calls but if chan_mobile fails to hangup for some reason and you get a huge bill from your telco, dont blame me (not ME, the developer!)

Feedback, Support, Please can you make Mobile Phone X work… etc :-

as always, bugs should be reported at http://bugs.digium.com

email the man responsible for this mess at david.bowerman at gmail.com or dseeb_ on #asterisk & #asterisk-dev irc.

Source: voipcentral.org

Its complete freedom for Skype users. They can now enjoy VoIP services without sitting before PCs because iSkoot has launched its much-talked iSkoot v1.1 mobile application. It brings Skype services for the BlackBerry smartphones.

With iSkoot v1.1, Skype users can instantly chat with their Skype friends. They can also make/receive Skype calls. At the same time, they can make calls to traditional numbers from their BlackBerry devices using SkypeOut services.

The iSkoot v1.1 also enables the users know their friends Skype status. It means that the BlackBerry device will display you who is online and offline. You are also empowered to manage your online presence.

The most striking feature of iSkoot is that it purges the need for special hardware, headsets, microphones, broadband connections, USB phones and even PCs, and consumers don’t have to go looking for a WiFi hot spot for VoIP services.

The iSkoot v1.1 is a free downloadable software.

Image:

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

BlackBerry users can call and chat with their Skype™ contacts using iSkoot on their mobile handsets

CAMBRIDGE, MA - July 9, 2007 - iSkoot, the leading provider of mobile Internet communications solutions, today announced the highly-anticipated release of the iSkoot v1.1 mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones. The new iSkoot v1.1 delivers a comprehensive mobile Skype experience on BlackBerry: With the click of a button, users can instantly chat with their Skype contacts, make and receive Skype calls, and use SkypeOut™ to inexpensively call regular phone numbers nearly anywhere in the world. iSkoot v1.1 also displays complete Skype contact status information, so BlackBerry users can see which friends, family members and business colleagues are available, as well as manage their own online presence. This latest release features a next generation, easy-to-use interface especially designed for BlackBerry users and will offer additional features soon. iSkoot works without any need for PCs, special hardware, custom phones or Wi-Fi hot spots, and utilizes the existing mobile network infrastructure to route Skype calls through the voice channel.

“We are extremely pleased to bring mobile Skype to the BlackBerry. iSkoot enables BlackBerry users running OS 4.0 or higher to take advantage of the benefits of their Skype accounts without having to rely on their PCs. With this new release of our software, we are bringing another key piece of the Web to the BlackBerry,” said Roy Erez, VP of Business Development, iSkoot. “BlackBerry commands a vast and rapidly-growing customer base, so extending support to this community marks a significant achievement for iSkoot. We will continue to work on ensuring seamless integration and expanding support for Skype across the entire line of BlackBerry devices.”

How iSkoot Works

iSkoot for BlackBerry is now available for free at www.iskoot.com. BlackBerry users can simply download iSkoot’s thin-client application to their BlackBerry devices, log on to their Skype account, and start making and receiving calls and chatting with their online Skype contacts. When a user selects a contact to call, the iSkoot solution connects the call to Skype’s peer-to-peer software so that the BlackBerry user only pays for air time on the smartphone. If the user makes a SkypeOut call, it works the same way, but the user also pays SkypeOut minutes, just as if the call were made from a PC. When a user receives Skype calls on a BlackBerry, SkypeOut charges also apply.

Supported Blackberry Handsets

iSkoot v1.1 currently supports the following devices running OS 4.0 or higher:

• 7100
• 7500
• 7700
• 8100 (Pearl)
• 8300 (Curve)
• 8700
• 8800

iSkoot will continue to work to extend support to other BlackBerry devices soon.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

BlackBerry users can call and chat with their Skype™ contacts using iSkoot on their mobile handsets

CAMBRIDGE, MA - July 9, 2007 - iSkoot, the leading provider of mobile Internet communications solutions, today announced the highly-anticipated release of the iSkoot v1.1 mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones. The new iSkoot v1.1 delivers a comprehensive mobile Skype experience on BlackBerry: With the click of a button, users can instantly chat with their Skype contacts, make and receive Skype calls, and use SkypeOut™ to inexpensively call regular phone numbers nearly anywhere in the world. iSkoot v1.1 also displays complete Skype contact status information, so BlackBerry users can see which friends, family members and business colleagues are available, as well as manage their own online presence. This latest release features a next generation, easy-to-use interface especially designed for BlackBerry users and will offer additional features soon. iSkoot works without any need for PCs, special hardware, custom phones or Wi-Fi hot spots, and utilizes the existing mobile network infrastructure to route Skype calls through the voice channel.

“We are extremely pleased to bring mobile Skype to the BlackBerry. iSkoot enables BlackBerry users running OS 4.0 or higher to take advantage of the benefits of their Skype accounts without having to rely on their PCs. With this new release of our software, we are bringing another key piece of the Web to the BlackBerry,” said Roy Erez, VP of Business Development, iSkoot. “BlackBerry commands a vast and rapidly-growing customer base, so extending support to this community marks a significant achievement for iSkoot. We will continue to work on ensuring seamless integration and expanding support for Skype across the entire line of BlackBerry devices.”

How iSkoot Works

iSkoot for BlackBerry is now available for free at www.iskoot.com. BlackBerry users can simply download iSkoot’s thin-client application to their BlackBerry devices, log on to their Skype account, and start making and receiving calls and chatting with their online Skype contacts. When a user selects a contact to call, the iSkoot solution connects the call to Skype’s peer-to-peer software so that the BlackBerry user only pays for air time on the smartphone. If the user makes a SkypeOut call, it works the same way, but the user also pays SkypeOut minutes, just as if the call were made from a PC. When a user receives Skype calls on a BlackBerry, SkypeOut charges also apply.

Supported Blackberry Handsets

iSkoot v1.1 currently supports the following devices running OS 4.0 or higher:

• 7100
• 7500
• 7700
• 8100 (Pearl)
• 8300 (Curve)
• 8700
• 8800

iSkoot will continue to work to extend support to other BlackBerry devices soon.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Tom Van Aardt from MyADSL lead me to a poll held by ZDNet’s Russel Show;
if you could have one for free: Apple iPhone or BlackBerry Pearl?
I voted for ???? and it has 7% of the vote. (no it is not a BB). Go Vote yourself and see who the winner is.

Links;
MyADSL post on iPhone Poll
Russel Show’s Poll, iPhone or BlackBerry?

Source: voipcentral.org

Smith has informed me that Iotum,the Voice 2.0 company is now seeking beta users for its latest product Iotum Talk-Now. The striking feature of Talk-Now is that it can share your contact specific availability to let people know when to reach. It shows the personalized availability of your favored contacts. It also notify you the status of a contact. The Blackberry 8700 and PEARL users can sign up here for the beta test.

Source: voipcentral.org

EQO Communications has brought Skype services over BlackBerry and other Windows Mobile devices, a company statement explained this week.

EQOs EQO Mobile application which consists of free multi-format IM and VoIP platform would support AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype and Yahoo on RIMs BlackBerry handheld sets.

Colin Quon, founder and CTO of EQO comments,

Many smart-phones bring the benefits of a full keyboard, which provides a richer IM experience, and are often bundled with wireless data services, making EQO Mobile a natural fit for these users.

The EQO Mobile application is free for download. By making Skype service available for the BlackBerry devices, EQO makes VoIP services more attractive than before.

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