Source: www.voip-news.com

snom has released snom klarVOICE, a wideband headset that can be adapted for all of snom’s VoIP phones. It boasts twice the voice frequency spectrum.

“Telephones have remained unchanged for so long, most people have no idea what limitations they have lived with,” explains Dr. Michael Knieling, Executive VP of Marketing and Sales. “But VoIP also lays the groundwork for a revolution in the quality of voice we communicate with!”

According to snom:

The new snom klarVOICE handset works with the codec G.722. This codec is able to shrink the bit rate of the voice channel down to 12.65 kbps, offering excellent quality. In standard narrowband VoIP calls, the voice signal is sampled at 8,000 times per second, resulting in an effective voice pass-band of about 200 to 3,300 Hz. The new wideband handset offers a doubled sample rate, providing an effective pass-band of 50 to 7,000 Hz.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Sip-based Snom has launched in the UK. Read about it on VoIP News of the UK.

If you are in North America and have Skype, you can now have caller ID — Read about it on VoIP Watch.

Lucafiligheddu talks about sending SMS messages from the iPod Touch. Read it here.

Source: www.voip-news.com

3CX Phone System for Windows and snom, a developer of VoIP phones, have collaborated on a cost-effective combined solution that is an easy to install, manage and use VoIP telephony system. According to the companies:

3CX, developer of the award-winning software-based IP PBX for Windows, and snom technology AG, developer and manufacturer of Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones, have announced that interoperability testing between their products has been completed successfully. This certified interoperability ensures that small and medium businesses have access to a reliable and affordable VoIP solution when using 3CX’s software-based IP PBX for Windows together with snom’s VoIP-based products.

“Companies can now implement a complete and reliable software-based IP PBX solution that is more manageable and scaleable than traditional PBXs and also costs a fraction of the price, whilst delivering more features,” Nick Galea, 3CX CEO, said.

Advantages of the new system include more mobility, lowered costs and more time efficient (since you can see if someone is in or out before calling.)

 “Interoperability is extremely important in the world of VoIP nowadays and we are pleased to have completed all the required tests to secure that snom and 3CX can offer the SMB market an excellent value and innovative solution that poses no instability risks to businesses,” said Dr. Michael Knieling, executive vice president of marketing and sales for snom technology AG. 

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Snom, the company based in Germany and the provider of one of my earliest VoIP gateway experiences(I think six years ago!), has always been working with Digium, the developer of Asterisk. They have recently renewed their business bonds so that they can continue to provide interoperability to their respective customers.
The Phones from Snom which adhere to IETF’s latest recommendations for standards-based authentication and content security (SIP(s)/sRTP). The range of phones offered will fit in nicely in an enterprise’ executive table as well as on a kitchen table.

Following is the press release from Snom.

snom technology AG, developer and manufacturer of Voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephones, and Digium® Inc., the Asterisk® company, today announced their renewed partnership agreement to offer integrated, SIP-based telephony solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. snom has signed on as a Digium/Asterisk Premier Interoperability Partner, which will give broad support for Asterisk Business Edition telephony features on snom phones. SMB customers will receive a tightly integrated, standards-based solution with simplified provisioning, and the delivery of new capabilities and features.

“By partnering with innovative companies like snom we can offer the business community more options and features when building high-end telephony systems based on Asterisk,” said Bill Miller, VP of Marketing and Product Management. “The interoperability between Asterisk Business Edition and snom IP phones ensures flexibility and broad support for Asterisk. We look forward to furthering our reach in the marketplace through this partnership.”

snom’s highly configurable and interoperable IP desktop phones and the new snom m3 IP DECT phone will be combined with Digium’s Asterisk Business Edition, the professional-grade version of Asterisk. Through a combination of the snom and Digium offerings, SMB customers will have access to advanced telephony solutions which are more affordable compared to proprietary systems. Additionally, these new offerings will give customers the control, rapid feature development and deployment, and rich feature base that the Asterisk community and its partners provide.

“Digium’s Asterisk Business Edition offers a high-end solution for SMBs,” said Michael Knieling, CFO and executive vice president of marketing and sales for snom. “Combined with snom’s family of phones, companies can now have a VoIP phone system that offers all of the high-end features of an enterprise solution.”

All snom VoIP telephones, including the 300, 320, 360 and 370, are highly configurable and easy to manage through the keypad-cursor, dedicated function keys and menus, or Web browser, and offer user-friendly features like full-programmable keys and downloadable ringtones. snom phones offer a complete implementation of the IETF’s latest recommendations for standards-based authentication and content security (SIP(s)/sRTP). Their new IP DECT, the snom m3, is the company’s cordless offering, the snom m3 provides an optimal VoIP communication system for the enterprise, SMB or home office.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

snom technology AG, developer and manufacturer of Voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephones, today announced that they have received the annual “Deloitte Technology Fast 50” award for the strongest growth in sales volume within the past 5 years in Germany. Every year the international auditing firm, Deloitte, recognizes the 50 fastest-growing technology enterprises for their outstanding entrepreneurial accomplishment in six different categories. snom represented the Communication and Networking category.

"As a medium-sized Berlin enterprise in the relatively new VoIP market, we are particularly pleased by this award since it acknowledges years of hard work by our highly motivated team of developers, sales, and marketing professionals,” says Dr. Michael Knieling, executive director for sales and marketing at snom. “It shows us that by choosing the open SIP standard and high security standards, we are targeting the exact technologies the market wants. This award is a big success for us and it was made possible thanks to the outstanding cooperation of our technology and sales partners.”
The “Deloitte Technology Fast 50” award was started in the US in 1995 and this was the fifth year the award included German entrepreneurs. The ranking is based on the percentage revenue growth over a five-year period. In the overall standings snom is ranked twelfth, with 1313%, well above average determined by Deloitte.

Source: goebel.net

Paul Kapustka at GigaOM reports about a new VoIP device from Microsoft, called Response Point. The interesting text also tells how Microsoft has failed so far in VoIP and why neither the new device neither is intriguing.

Microsoft’s VoIP strategy is also puzzling to me. And I have to add an example I saw last week: Microsoft had to rely on Linux for its VoIP.

Their booth at Hanover’s CeBIT computer fair showcased VoIP on IP phones from German producer Snom, together with the German PBX solution PBXnSIP. The phones are based on Linux and the PBX runs on Windows, Linux and NetBSD.

Snom says that this is the first CeBIT where it’s possible to voip at the booth of the software giant. So why didn’t Microsoft rely on an own technology? Read more in Snom’s press release.

Source: goebel.net

GigaOM tells some news that seem interesting at first sight:

GrandCentral, the single-phone-number Web-based service launched last fall, is adding support for the free Gizmo Project Internet VoIP service, which may open up a whole new way to decrease spending on international or long-distance calling.

Still in beta, the GrandCentral service is the latest entrant in the often-attempted single phone number scheme. The Fremont, Calif.-based startup uses a combination of VoIP technology and softswitch-based applications to give users ways to tie multiple phone numbers, services (voice mail, etc.) and devices to a single inbound number.

This news seems more like a good piece of Public Relation work than a technical breaktrought to me and I want to tell you why:

If we all would be using ENUM the deal between GrandCentral and Gizmo wouldnt be big news. With ENUM I can already route my PSTN number to my Gizmo account. VoIP users that call this number and do an ENUM lookup can call me for free.

Why bother for another number from GrandCentral?

I can implement the same call routing features of GrandCentral in my analog telephony adapter (ATA). I actually do. So whenever somebody calls my years old PSTN number I can let it ring wherever I want (for instance on my Gizmo Project soft phone or my mobile phone) and I can also filter the callers like GrandCentral offers.

Why pay extra for a service which I can already use at no extra cost at home?

Well, some might say that ENUM is difficult or that they just don’t know it. But the point is that its totally easy to do an ENUM lookup before every call. SNOM VoIP phones do it automatically before they start the call. The VoIP providers could do it automatically before the VoIP call starts. Also they could enlist all their numbers in ENUM. The client wouldnt even notice that ENUM is working in the background. It would just be all over IP and for free. But the VoIP providers dont do it because the earn very well not doing ENUM and charge for calls that technically could be for free.

Others say that we should at least give GrandCentral credit for is their rules processing.

Well, the newest versions of the Fritz!Box do this out of the box. No complicated acronyms needed for installation. Just some clicks in the browser.

Incoming calls can be treated individually. You can for instance block unwanted calls or pass them to an answering machine. Friends and business partners can be redirected to a mobile phone, even if the call signal of the phone thats connected to the Fritz!Box is switched off.

I am using such a Fritz!Box at home. Its connected between my old telephone and the DSL connection. So all my calls go for free or for very modest prices over the internet. I do the configuration in my browser and its very easy. You can see an example here.

In fact the Fritz!Box is an entire PBX and cost me only 30 Euros, because I bought it used. It can do everything that GrandCentral does. Even an ENUM lookup before every call. But this is a hidden function for which you have to tweak the Linux that runs on the box. The Fritz!Box is getting better and better with every firmware update.

So to me GrandCentral is no big news and no necessary service. But I am always courious about new stuff.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Yesterday, snom technology announced the availability of the snom 370.  This new VoIP phone “offers an improved and extended presentation of call lists, address books and caller information. Caller information can be customized easily through XML to depict the information the user wants displayed.” “This means for users and administrators a decisive ease of information and configuration management”, stresses Michael Knieling, CFO and executive vice president of marketing and sales for snom.

By using the phone’s mini browser, users have direct access to their own applications through the display screen. They will have the option to customize the display’s design and also view news tickers, public phone directories and more.  An added benefit is that the snom 370 can support several audio devices at the same time.  For example, you can use use the handset, headset, and loudspeaker simultaneously.

Additional highlights include:

- Tiltable, high-definition graphical display (240 x 128 Pixel)

- Large LED (red) for incoming calls

- 47 keys, 13 LEDs

- 12 programmable function keys

- Speakerphone

- Dual Ethernet connection

- Power over Ethernet

- Support for several audio devices

- Additional keypads with 42 programmable function keys

- SIP RFC3261

- Security: SIPS/SRTP, TLS

- STUN, ENUM, NAT, ICE

- Codecs: G.711, G.729A, G.723.1, G.722, G.726, GSM 6.10 (Full rate)

- National Language Support

Complete details can be found in their press release.

Source: voipcentral.org

When it comes to business VoIP, the name Snom comes first. For it has emphasized quality, security and customization in its VoIP phones. The latest Snom phone, dubbed as snom 370 is a perfect device for business enterprises ensuring all these functions.

The SIP-based 370 model has a large display screen, enriched memory and VPN access. The inclusion of these features make snom 370 an attractive VoIP phone for enterprises who look for an effective communication process in a business environment.

The latest SIP phone allows users to customize the display by drawing graphics and high resolution pictures to highlight the status of contacts. It also supports different types of audio devices including handset, headset and loudspeaker.

Snom plans to bring it to market in the month of April with a expected price $280 for each device.

Source: www.voip-news.com

Snom’s Linux-based VOIP phones support Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2007 and they will demonstrate this at conferences later in the week in both Germany and Spain.

Snom’s CFO, Michael Knieling said, “snom is setting a new standard in the world of professional office communication with the interconnection of IP phones and the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. This interoperability offers a great deal of advantages to consumers as well as SIP based IP communication.”

Their complete press release can be read here.

Source: voipcentral.org

When VoIP security is such a major issue and a cause for concern with various vulnerability factors attached to it posing a threat from hackers, spammers and other cyber-criminals, a press release by snom technology AG says that it is going to showcase its new SIP-based VoIP phone snom 300 for secure use in SMEs and home offices that has the potential to take care of the problem.

The starter model snom 300 emphasizes on user friendliness and security. It has six free, user- or administrator-configurable (or carrier-preconfigurable) function keys that can easily be allocated to security-related menu functions or assigned to multiple lines. Furthermore, it will be flexible enough to suit the needs of every user.

On this Marketing Director, snom says;

Due to its rapid growth, Internet Telephony is becoming increasingly enticing for illegal eavesdroppers, data thieves and advertising calls; so with the snom 300 we have placed particular emphasis on security features like SRTP and SIPS. It is precisely in the price segment around 100 Euros that most VoIP telephones are lacking effective protection mechanisms like these.

What remains to be seen is how well it works. As I have mentioned before, major attacks on VoIP networks is imminent and it will not surprise me if it becomes a norm like we counter everyday in internet.

Read the full snom report here