Source: www.voip-news.com

Vonage Holdings Corp. has announced its third quarter results. Revenue grew by seven percent over the previous year to $226 million.

“We reported our fourth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted operating income delivering a record level $15 million in the third quarter. Pre-marketing operating income also represents a record high of $91 million. Shortly after the quarter ended, we refinanced $253 million of convertible debt despite one of the most difficult capital market environments in our nation’s history,” said Marc Lefar, Vonage Chief Executive Officer.

According to Vonage:

For the third quarter of 2008, adjusted operating income(1) was $15 million, an increase from an adjusted operating loss excluding certain charges(1) of $1 million in the year-ago quarter and adjusted operating income of $12 million sequentially. The Company reported a GAAP net loss of $8 million or $0.05 per share, compared to a net loss excluding certain charges(2) of $12 million or $0.08 per share reported in the third quarter 2007.

“As we look forward, we continue to maintain our focus on fixing the business fundamentals. We are becoming more selective in our product investments, continuing to improve customer care and reevaluating our marketing messaging and media investment. Although we anticipate modest growth for the balance of the year, the changes we are putting in place should position us for accelerated growth in 2009,” said Lefer.

Source: www.voip-news.com

First - what is the VoIP News LinkedIn Experts Group? If you are a VoIP expert and a member of LinkedIn, you can head on over there and request membership in our group. But for those of you coming here because you are ALREADY members, here is a question for you all. Something sadly rather topical. Please respond in comments.

In the current economic climate, how do you deal with prospective partners or clients or customers or vendors around concerns about cost and ROI?

Source: www.voip-news.com

There is a new whitepaper available from Global IP Solutions that talks about implementing high quality mobile VoIP that addresses challenges and opportunities.

“Smartphones and especially the iPhone present the most promising opportunity for growth of the mobile IP market, and an excellent platform for developing applications that create real-time VoIP. However, mobile application developers, wireless service providers and handset manufacturers need to ensure the end user experience is first-class to ensure success in the market. GIPS audio processing expertise is recognized worldwide and ensures high-quality VoIP, even under adverse Wi-Fi conditions,” said Roar Hagen, CTO, Global IP Solutions.

According to Global IP Solutions:

The paper addresses how developers can overcome problems inherent in mobile IP communications, such as packet loss and delay, jitter, acoustic echo and OS tuning. It also explains how applications can be VoIP-enabled to take advantage of the unique capabilities of today’s smart phones, like access to the internet. To download the paper for free, visit http://www.gipscorp.com/.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

My friend, (and noted Emmy award winning journalist) Patricio Espinosa, just introduced me to a new webseries for Latinos by Latinos.  Even though AT&T does offer Hispanic programming, there are alternatives directly on the web. Here’s a great example of innovation and creativity you won’t find elsewhere.

"Ylse" Unapologetically Latina! from Patricio Espinoza on Vimeo.

Created by Ruth Livier, Showtime Resurrection Blvd., "Ylse" (ee-l-say) for those Spanish impaired is the story of a Latina journalist looking to break in, and the challenges she must face… from political correctness to bra "pads". Part irreverent comedy, part drama and part activist "Ylse" is someone everyone should meet, and a Latina, Latinos would most certainly identify with.

The web-only series is bilingual but mostly in English "Ylse" it’s pretty much a work of love at this point. E.P. and director Joe Camareno and Ruth Livier, E.P., Creator, Writer talk to espiBlog.org Emmy award winning Journalist Patricio Espinoza.

Web TV - Worth Watching!

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Even though I am sure we are going to get through this financial mess, economic reality does set it and there are times when families or individuals need to cut back on their cable / IPTV bills.

If you decide to totally unplug from TV here are some other alternatives  Some are free. 

Some cost money.

Your mileage may vary. 

If you need to totally  unplug, then give it a try for a month and see if you can do something else, like reading!  Personally, I can see giving up TV, but not DSL for the family. 

If it’s just you, then get a wireless aircard so you can have broadband access at home and wherever you go.

Here are some choices:

AppleTV:  I’ve got an AppleTV device and I really like it.  I find myself watching YouTube videos, including my own,  on my big screen (free) and renting movies from Apple, instead of from AT&T, as they are less expensive.  Also, you can port your movies for viewing on your computer or your iPhone for when you travel. 

Hulu.  I’ve noticed that I’ve started to watch The Daily Show on Hulu rather than on my big screen.  Sometimes I just need a break at work and want to see an episode, or part of an episode I missed.  Hulu’s interface is great and easy to navigate.

Joost. The new and improved Joost is somewhat akin to Hulu.  In its opening pitch, they are even talk about "social stuff" so I supposed they are trying to help like minded viewer communities.

DailyMotion They bill themselves as being about finding new ways to see, share and engage your world through the power of online video. You can find - or upload - videos about your interests and hobbies, eyewitness accounts of recent news and distant places, and everything else from the strange to the spectacular.

Vudu.  You still have to buy the $299 set top box, but can rent movies for $1.99 each.  I guess it saves a trip to the video store and is less than renting a video from AT&T.

Netflix.  No web access required.  You get your videos in the mail.  Or, you can buy their $99 set top box from Roku and download their movies.

PrimeTimeRewind.com.  This is from my pal, Jeff Pulver, who’s always out there on the next thing in disruption.  Jeff’s site is really cool because, like its name, you can get free prime time shows and re-wind them.  Hate to miss Family Guy?  No problem, Jeff’s got ‘em.

These are just a few samples of the best of the best. 

If you are hunkering down, but still want to scale back on your monthly bill, try going to a less expensive package.  In the case of U-verse pricing, you can save money by going from the U400 to the U100 package. 

Packages start at $44 per month.

Source: www.voip-news.com

I daresay we will be hearing a lot of these stories in the coming months.

Word has it that VoIP company EQO has cut its workforce by an estimated 65 percent. According to Gigaom, it was only of the first companies to allow you to use Skype from a regular phone.

Here’s an excerpt from the Gigaom article:

Funny thing about these rumored job cuts is that the company has been supporting more and more mobile phones and was supporting all high-growth devices. The job cuts, if true, don’t bode well for the long-term health of the company. VoIP as an industry has proved to be hard nut to crack for startups, especially those aiming for the consumer market. Jangl and TalkPlus were two startups that hit the deck earlier this year. We are going to see more of these “save money on LD” phone apps with no discernible business model and relatively little traction or loyalty to follow suit.

Source: gigaom.com

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

AT&T has  announced that its AT&T U-verse TV ranks highest in customer satisfaction among residential television customers in all three regions where it was ranked, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study.

In the annual study of television service, customers cited AT&T for exceptional performance and reliability, customer service, cost of service, billing, and offerings and promotions.

While all of these issues are important, I wonder why J.D. Power is not asking more in-depth questions about how and why users are switching to AT&T- and why.

I also think it would behoove J.D. Power to ask if users know and understand what an IP network is, what you can do with an IP network in your home, and how / why IP is a disruptive force.

Anyone out there care to chime in?

Email me: alan at weinkrantz dot com.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

Here’s AT&T’s Larry Meyers doing a very cool and very real world video demo of the  Samsung Rugby™ ruggedized cell phone.

The Samsung Rugby™ is a rugged device loaded with enhanced features. This phone touts Push to Talk, aGPS and AT&T Navigator for navigation, Video Share Calling, and is certified to Military Standard MIL-STD 810F. The Samsung Rugby is available in black, yellow and burgundy.

If you do construction,  or have a really bad temper and like to throw stuff when you are mad, this phone might be the one for you!

Source: www.voip-news.com

telent is broadening their footprint in the telecommunications sector. The company, which provides technology services, has acquired Premises Networks Management, a UK telecommunications systems integrator.

Premises provides design, supply, installation, support and management of telecommunications solutions including VoIP, ICT, UC and mobile communications. The company works with providers including Ericsson and Global Crossing.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for both businesses,” said Mark Plato, Chief Executive Officer of telent. “Premises Networks is a very complementary business to telent in terms of its service offering and telecoms expertise. Like telent, Premises Networks has developed a reputation for excellent customer service within the industry. telent has the financial scale and customer focus needed successfully to grow a business, and Premises Networks has enviable skills and long-term customer relationships. Together, we provide a compelling proposition of skill, experience, domain knowledge and financial scale.”

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

AT&T Inc.  has just announced  the launch of "My Communities," a new downloadable gateway that lets users create and manage multiple social networking accounts through a single dashboard view on their mobile phone.

My Communities was developed by Intercasting Corporation, a leading mobile social networking company. The launch coincides with recent data showing that a majority of social networking users maintain multiple accounts and that a growing number are maintaining their social networks primarily by using wireless handsets.

Uh….Where’s FaceBook?

At first glace this looks great, but digging deeper into this, even with MySpace, Xanga, LiveJournal and many more, FaceBook somehow fell off the face of this offering.

A few cool features though:

• Through My Communities, subscribers can register for social sites directly from their phone without ever having to go to the Web, a feature not common with most other social networking applications
• From an easy-to-use dashboard view, My Communities users can upload photos from their phone, view and respond to new messages, approve and deny friend requests and view and post new comments across multiple sites. Users can alternatively click to enter a specific site for a more customized experience. Updates are synched across mobile and online channels in real time.
• Subscribers can also access their phone, camera, media gallery and address book while My Communities is running, which enables them, for example, to upload photos to use on one or more social networks and send site content to phone contacts without closing the application.

If you have an iPhone, you can download most free Social Networking sites and not have to pay for this type of service.

My Communities is available on more than 30 devices for a monthly subscription of $2.99. It can be downloaded from the AT&T MEdia Mall, accessible via AT&T handsets and online at www.att.com/mediamall.

My suggestion:  upgrade to the iPhone and get on any major social network for free.

Source: alanweinkrantz.typepad.com

I am getting lots of calls and emails about yesterday’s announcement from AT&T in regards to Total Home DVR.

Here are some answers:

1.  What do I have to do to upgrade to AT&T’s Total Home DVR?

Nothing.  No equipment.  No software.  No magic.  When AT&T is ready to deploy to your market, you will be notified and your upgrade will happen via your phone line.

2.  How much will the upgrade cost?  Are there additional fees for the upgrade after this happens?

Nothing.  Nada. No salesman will call.

3.  When will Whole Home DVR come to my market?

I don’t know.  I wish I did.  But I know that AT&T is hoping to get this deployed in all markets by year-end.

4.  What is all this stuff I hear about HomePNA?  Do I have this?

HomePNA is an industry standard that enables your home network.  AT&T has adopted it.  Nothing for you to do.  They basically make sure that the vendors who provide products like your set top box or your residential gateway can do  triple-play home networking solutions for distributing entertainment data over both existing coax cable and phone lines.

5.  How many TV’s will this work on?

Currently up to 8 TVs  (why do you have 8 TVs anyway?)

6.  How much storage will my DVR handle?

37 hours of HD content and 133 hours of SD content.

7.   How many HD shows can I watch at the same time?

You can watch up to five HD programs simultaneously throughout the home, including two live HD programs and three recorded HD programs.  Personally, if your family is watching that much TV, trying turning off the TV and spend some family time together.   

Also, get your kids to read more.  Without the TV, the PC or their cell phones.

8.  How many shows can I record at once?

You can record up to four programs at once on a single DVR.

Also, repeat- TV is great.  Reading and quiet time is also good.