Source: www.voip-news.com

VoIP Watch says that Google Voice is going to support local number portability. YAY! That’s a good move on their part.

Smith on VoIP wonders which you’d prefer: good service or good pricing for VoIP … since you just can’t have both. Or can you?

A new smartphone that supports Skype video conferencing? Yep. Elektrobit MID Reference Device does that. Read about it on VoIP & Gadgets Blog.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new conferencing solution available from Konftel. The Konftel 300W is a wireless conference phone with a rechargeable battery that can run for up to 48 hours (talk time) without recharging. It’s being shown off this week from June 17-19 at the InfoComm 2009 event in Orlando, Fla.

Since it’s a wireless conferencing solution, it can be used anywhere in a building — whether there is a phone line or not.

According to the company:

DECT is a thoroughly tested wireless standard in terms of safety and audio transmission. A coverage range of up to 650 ft (200m) allows you to move the conference phone to wherever a meeting is being held. The Konftel 300W is GAP compatible and can be integrated with existing DECT systems.

Konftel 300W is easy to connect to your cell phone or computer via USB for VoIP calls. Its embedded Line mode function enables you to switch between DECT, cell phones and USB and combine them for multi-party calls.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Sipera Systems has launched a business communications solution. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.

Video conferencing got some mainstream coverage. What does it mean? Read VoIP Watch to find out.

Smith on VoIP offers up four keys to a successful VoIP gateway purchase.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Skype is sharing their SILK wideband audio codec for free. Read about it on Voice Over IP Weblog.

VoIP News of the UK reports that Ixia has launched a VoIP testing service.

VoIP Watch chats a bit about the travel industry and video conferencing.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The C3 Desktop Videoconferencing and Collaboration solution from Avistar Communications Corporation has been named the Best Unified Communications and Collaboration Solution in the 15th Annual IBM Lotus Awards. The awards recognize Lotus software solutions from IBM PartnerWorld members that excel in quality, innovation and services.

“Desktop videoconferencing offers significant opportunity for cost savings and productivity gains, especially when it is used in conjunction with other unified communications applications. To take advantage of these technologies, companies must pay attention to performance and bandwidth management to achieve maximum success,” said Melanie Turek, Principal Analyst, Enterprise Communications, Frost & Sullivan.

According to Avistar:

In addition, Avistar is working with IBM to provide bandwidth management for IBM Lotus’ unified communications and collaboration solutions, which include IBM Lotus Sametime, an award-winning and market-leading platform that offers integrated, enterprise unified communications tools such as IM, VoIP, video chats and web conferencing. Avistar’s patent protected dynamic bandwidth management is a key feature of its C3 videoconferencing technology, making intelligent and automatic adjustments to support connections with external VoIP services, video within web-based instant messaging clients, room-based videoconferencing systems and high-end, high-definition telepresence environments.

“This recognition from IBM Lotus illustrates Avistar’s continued leadership in business-class videoconferencing,” said Simon Moss, CEO, Avistar. “The combination of our highly competitive price, extensive capabilities to deliver a videoconferencing solution quickly and comprehensive product functionality allows businesses to realize a speedy return on their investment while achieving significant productivity gains.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Avistar Communications Corporation is working with ClearOne to deliver a new videoconferencing solution. The companies are pairing up Avistar’s C3 desktop videoconferencing solutions with ClearOne’s CHAT 50 personal speakerphone.

“With heightened economic concerns, corporations around the world are taking a fresh eye towards videoconferencing,” said Mark Child, Director of Product Marketing – Telephony, ClearOne. “Videoconferencing does not have to be expensive, but it has to be good. And, to be effective, it has to have good audio. The crystal clear sound from the CHAT 50 and the simple-to-use and rich capabilities of Avistar C3 make working remotely as effortless as working in the office, with no communications downsides. In addition, companies enjoy the added benefit of improving their green initiatives by reducing their carbon footprint.”

According to the companies:

ClearOne has been in the audio conference business for more than 20 years, and Avistar’s experience in the desktop videoconferencing business goes back more than a decade. This combined expertise brings a “best of breed” approach to every product each company sells. With an uncertain economy, rising travel costs and a renewed appreciation for the “human element” of communication not found in email or instant messaging, the demand for videoconferencing has taken on a new level of importance in corporations around the world. Growth in the audio market has been brisk, and expansion into desktop videoconferencing has reached new milestones. Both markets are included in the area of unified communications, which some industry analysts estimate could reach $30-40 billion by 2011.

“ClearOne has earned a strong market and product leadership reputation and is in sync with how Avistar approaches the market and its customers. Avistar has enjoyed increasing momentum in distributing C3 via resellers and distributors since we began working with the indirect channel earlier this year, and ClearOne is one of the best brands for both product quality and service. Just as ClearOne only partners with the best, we only partner with winning organizations that seriously want to grow their business through videoconferencing. We believe our strategy is working quite well,” said Simon Moss, CEO of Avistar.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is still money to be raised and used in telecom and VoIP, says Andy Abramson. And he points to a recent round of fundraising to illustrate that. Read about it on VoIP Watch.

Interested in inexpensive video conferencing? There is a new, cheap service that leverages on Skype. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.

Time Warner and Comcast have topped the Keynote VoIP study. Read about it on The VoIP Weblog.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Now that internet on planes is a reality, videoconferencing is only a half-step behind. Seriously.

And if Cisco’s CEO has anything to say about it, that will come much sooner than later. (Hey people, what? You thought you deserved a few minutes break from work on the plane?!? Think again, fools.)

According to ComputerWorld:

“I want to be on a plane and have TelePresence in front of me,” quipped Thomas Bittman, one of the Gartner analysts who interviewed Chambers onstage here.

“Well, the answer is, you are probably going to,” said Chambers, who predicted that the arrival of Wi-Fi services and other types of Internet connections on planes will enable travelers to hook up devices to the Web — potentially moving in-flight Internet access well beyond mere entertainment options. Chambers said he sees such capabilities becoming available within 18 months or so.

Source: www.voip-news.com

It’s good to be king . . .

An independent survey recently revealed 100 percent satisfaction with Global Crossing’s collaboration services — as in conferencing. The survey was conducted by KS&R, but was paid for by Global Crossing.

Eighty-five percent of respondents said that they were very likely to recommend the service to others.

“The latest survey results reflect our commitment to providing a superior customer experience and high level of account support that differentiates us from our competitors,” said Dan Wagner, executive vice president enterprise sales and collaboration services. “Now, especially as use of Global Crossing’s collaboration services around the world continues to accelerate, our award-winning collaboration services take the element of geography out of the business equation and allow companies to improve productivity, while reducing their travel costs and carbon footprints.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Avistar Communications Corporation is going to be offering desktop videoconferencing through a partnership with City Information Services Limited.

“CityIS is a significant player in our strategy to deliver our C3 solutions through the reseller channel. CityIS has more than a decade of specialized experience in the videoconferencing space, and knows first-hand what its clients need to remain competitive in today’s challenging global marketplace. With offices around the world servicing global clients, CityIS offers a breadth and depth of channel coverage that will be instrumental in our goal of making Avistar desktop videoconferencing as ubiquitous as large room implementations,” said Darren Innes, General Manager of Worldwide Sales for Avistar.

The companies say that the product fills a much-needed area of the market as more and more companies seek ways to cut costs and travel less.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Avistar Communication’s C3 desktop and room-based videoconferencing and collaboration software will now have firewall traversal technology

“With Paradial, Avistar has taken a significant step forward in increasing the availability — and therefore the impact — of videoconferencing and collaboration tools in the workplace,” said Chris Lauwers, Chief Technology Officer at Avistar. “Our C3 software is now capable of independently managing interconnectivity with different vendor systems, and is a cinch to deploy and manage. These factors make it realistic, indeed even compelling, to extend the rollout of more effective video-enabled communications beyond the borders of an enterprise to include external clients, suppliers and home-based or mobile workers.”

Paradial’s RealTunnel Firewall/NAT is embedded into all versions of Avistar C3 including Desktop, Teamroom, Teamroom MP, Executive Teamroom and Mobile Teamroom.

“A key challenge for the video communications industry is to move from being an intra- to an inter-company solution. The agreement to embed our software within Avistar C3 means video and audio collaboration traffic can flow outside of the corporate network without hassle or compromise to security,” Ingvar Aaberg, CEO of Paradial, said.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Web conferences are great. You can get together with peers and collaborate without leaving your (often far apart) locations.

But there are so many choices out there. I loved the GoToMeeting I attended, but there are many other options from Adobe, Microsoft and others with different capabilities.

If you are trying to figure out which one is right for you, check out this feature on VoIP News.