Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

About 18 months ago, I asked Ralph de la Vega when I could control my AT&T U-verse^SM TV with my iPhone.  Well now, I can.  Sort of.  As long as you are away from home. 

AT&T has a free application from the Apple App Store to make scheduling and managing recordings on their DVR even easier when you’re away from home. 

The U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App for iPhone and iPod touch lets customers record their content from virtually anywhere and is another example of U-verse TV applications and DVR enhancements that have been rolled out to customers at no extra charge.

The app allows users to easily search U-verse TV program listings from the full program guide, view descriptions of selected programs, schedule program or series recordings, manage or edit scheduled recordings, and delete stored DVR content.

The Mobile Remote Access App is available for free from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

The launch of the new U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App follows several DVR enhancements that are currently being rolled out to U-verse TV customers, including an exclusive new Total Home DVR feature that allows customers to schedule and delete recordings from any U-verse receiver in the home — all from a single DVR.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There are two new Unified Communications solution products being released by GN Netcom. The new products are the Jabra GO(TM) 6400 and PRO(TM) 9400 Series, which are the first Bluetooth and DECT headset solutions that feaure a touch screen base.  They are scheduled for release in September.

“We are dedicated to working with today’s industry leading unified communications solutions providers to help change the way office professionals communicate,” said David Grazio, Director of Channel Marketing, GN Netcom. “The Jabra GO 6400 and PRO 9400 series are the latest innovations that secure our commitment to the Jabra brand’s position as the number one choice for unified communication solutions.”

According to the company:

The Jabra GO 6400 and PRO 9400 Series feature several state-of-the-art sound technologies to ensure optimum call clarity and hearing protection, regardless of which phone (mobile, desk and softphone) the user is connected to.

Wideband/Narrowband Sound and DSP
– High definition sound and digitally enhanced speech deliver crystal
clear calls ensuring both parties are able to hear clearly, minimizing
disruptions

Noise Blackout(TM) Technology
– A dual microphone technology eliminates virtually all background
noise, transmitting only the user’s voice

SafeTone Technologies
– PeakStop(TM) technology protects users from sudden sound spikes and
loud noises, while Intellitone(TM) keeps sound levels within a safe
average throughout the day

DECT Technology
– The Jabra PRO 9400 series features DECT technology, providing up to
450 feet range; dependable connectivity gives users the freedom to
move around the office without losing sound quality

Source: www.voip-news.com

Taridium has released an ipbx iPhone interface for its enterprise PBX solution. The iPhone interface compatible with Apple’s iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S.

“One of the big advantages of the Taridium ipbx iPhone interface is that users can now access internal PBX extensions directly from their mobile phone with a single click — it basically allows you to take your office extension with you,” says Dominique Kull, Taridium’s CTO.

According to Taridium:

With the ipbx mobile interface your employees always stay ahead of the game. Visual voicemail allows them to listen to their office voicemail directly from their iPhone, check their recent calls, call users back as if they were at their desk and even host telephone conferences. This does not only save money, but also allows access to the Taridium unified voicemail system, where a single mailbox serves VoIP phones, mobile phones and any other phone that supports conditional call diversion.

If required for compliance reasons, all calls passed through the mobile phone can be recorded and immediately reviewed on the phone. Users are presented with a familiar interface that seamlessly integrates their iPhones into the office telephone system.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new handset coming from TCM Mobile that will work on both the TCM Mobile Cellular VoIP Network and on traditional GSM cellular networks. The dual band phone is scheduled for release in two to three months.

“While our new handset is scheduled for release in two to three months, we can currently take any existing dual band handset available on the market and, together with its manufacturer, embed TCM’s revolutionary, patented software into it. This represents a significant opportunity for these manufacturers to grow sales of their own branded handsets in conjunction with the deployment of TCM’s Cellular VoIP network,” said a TCM Mobile senior executive.

According to TCM Mobile:

With existing dual band handsets currently on the market, the GSM cellular service is the default mode while WiFi is a value added feature allowing for lower cost service in home/office enterprise environments. TCM’s dual band device, however, is the first of its kind whereby the Cellular VoIP service is the default mode while a GSM network can be used when outside TCM’s coverage area.

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

KT Networks is adding a new VoIP feature to its Windows Mobile smartphone. The company is using HD voice technology from Global IP Solutions.

“We knew it was necessary to use a VoIP product for KT Networks’ smartphone that would provide our customers with superior voice quality, especially under challenged network conditions. GIPS was able to handle all the complex voice processing tasks that met KT Networks exacting standards,” said Kim Young-Joo, Vice President, KT Networks. “KT Networks is a company that creates value for our customers and we are committed to developing high-quality products that exceed our customers’ expectations.”

According to the companies:

GIPS VoiceEngine can provide HD voice quality on mobile phones enabling clear, consistent conversation in addition to optimizing bandwidth on congested networks. GIPS has set the standard for the industry’s highest level of voice quality over IP networks. The Company’s cutting-edge technology for processing real-time voice and video over IP is used globally by hundreds of millions of users every day.

“KT Networks is a company with a reputation for excellence. By selecting GIPS VoiceEngine technology, KT Networks has validated the quality of GIPS’ products above all our competitors,” said GIPS Chief Executive Officer, Emerick Woods. “Here at GIPS our customers are the first priority and we always strive to deliver the best products and services to them. Our technology and skills will enable KT Networks to clearly differentiate themselves from the competition by providing HD voice capabilities on a mobile phone.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Love this! VoIP and Gadgets Blog traces rudimentary computer technology that the writer used as a kid to the VoIP service that he now bases his career writing about.

The VoIP Weblog explores Sipgate  in its competition with Skype.

Truphone 3.0 has launched for the iPod Touch. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new softphone available from CounterPath Corporation that works seamlessly with BroadSoft’s BroadWorks VoIP Application platform. Bria for BroadWorks is based on open standards so it a softphone that works with VoIP, Video over IP, Instant Messaging, Short Message Service and Presence.

“In our continuing efforts to help enable small business and enterprise markets with unified communications (UC), we are pleased to announce this new version of Bria, which is tightly integrated with BroadWorks so we can offer rich, productivity-enhancing capabilities to our joint customers and their end users,” said Todd Carothers, Vice President of Product Management, CounterPath. “The Bria for BroadWorks softphone simplifies and enhances the management of voice communications and was jointly engineered to leverage the power of CounterPath softphone technology and the BroadWorks platform. With this out-of-box solution, our service provider customers will get to market more quickly and cost effectively.”

Here’s the features:

- Using one number for all incoming and outgoing calls, regardless of
phone (BroadWorks Anywhere)
- Viewing call history across all devices
- Connecting easily with colleagues through click-to-call in contact
directory
- Escalating communications from IM, to an audio call, to a video call
- Monitoring status of a workgroup through BroadWorks’ Busy Lamp Field
features
- Using presence to intelligently interact with peers

“The ways in which individuals communicate continue to expand, driving the need to have a consolidated interface to manage each communication method. Bria for BroadWorks unifies personal calling services across any device an individual may use and can be controlled right from the desktop,” said David Bukovsky, Vice President of Products, BroadSoft(R). “Using BroadWorks Device Management and BroadSoft’s Xtended Web Services, CounterPath delivered a softphone that simplifies the deployment process for service providers and provides seamless integration with BroadWorks’ advanced communications features. Our service provider customers now have access to a superior softphone that is specifically designed for BroadWorks.”

Source: www.voip-news.com

Ifbyphone, a company that just announced its first carrier customer for its advanced hosted telephony services, will be taking part in ClueCon in August. CEO Irv Shapiro will be among the speakers at the event. His session topic hasn’t been officially announced yet.

However, on the Ifbyphone blog, they say this:

Yesterday the ClueCon blog announced that Irv Shapiro, Ifbyphone’s CEO, will be presenting. Here is a description of the session:

With the barriers to entry dropping, many new companies are appearing with a variety of web service APIs designed to facilitate the placement and receipt of telephone calls. While this is an exciting development, which will empower thousands of developers, it is not enough. In this session Irv Shapiro will look at successes in the software as a service space, compare these to the cloud telephony space, and apply these lessons to telephony. He’ll include case studies of successful, revenue producing cloud telephone solutions. And, he will review both the technical architecture of the solution and the business models.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Back in late December, I managed to negotiate a pretty dramatic reduction in my triple play AT&T services from $169 to $99 per month.  

This lead to some pretty amazing media coverage with my story being told inThe Wall Street Journal, NPRand even an appearance on Good Morning America.  

In telling my story my goal was to help save the American consumer millions of dollars, especially during this economic downturn.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The first-ever TSG-6 SIP-compliant phone has been released by Tone Commander and it’s already approved by the National Telecommunications Security Working Group (NTSWG)  for government and military use. The US-made Tone Commander 7810 TSG-6 IP phone can be integrated wherever IP networks are available.

“We are proud to offer this dynamic, cutting-edge new phone,” said Steve Hill, president of Tone Commander. “This new device provides our customers with the best of both worlds – best-in-class quality and top-of-the-line functionality with excellent flexibility. And with NTSWG certification, the phone can now be deployed for sophisticated government and military applications.”

So what are the perks of this phone?

Among its key features and benefits, Tone Commander’s 7810 TSG-6 IP phone offers:

– RTP voice encryption (AES-128) and TLS signaling encryption included
in FIPS 140-2 approved algorithms.
– Unique DoD features specified in DISN RTS GSR (Defense Information
Systems Network, Real Time Services, Generic Systems Requirements).
– Multi-level precedence and preemption, providing barge-in capabilities
for high-priority calls.

Source: www.voip-news.com

The U.S. Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has now fully approved ActiveMine from Active Control Technology. The wireless voice communications and locating system is designed for use in mines to link workers with the outside world.

The approval includes ActiveMine’s wireless Wi-Fi phones, which can be used in all areas of the underground coal mines.

“This is great news for customers who want to get the productivity and safety benefits of ActiveMine to work as quickly as possible in their mines,” said Steve Barrett, President and CEO, Active Control. “We thank customers for their confidence in ActiveMine’s successful approval, and MSHA for their assistance throughout the process.”

According to Active Control:

The completion of ActiveMine MSHA approvals comes approximately two months before the June 15, 2009 MINER Act deadline for all underground coal mines in the U.S. to submit mine safety plans that include provisions for wireless two-way communication and electronic tracking. There are approximately 650 underground coal mines in the U.S.