Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Although first thing that came to my mind was "How is my ear going to see your ear?" quick research showed that it has speaker and also ear phone that is of similar length to iPod ear phone. So you can set the phone in front of you or hold it in front of you while using the said ear phone or speaker phone.
Just imagine people having video conferences while walking around!
If you get a VP6500, you can connect it to your TV, portable TV, via provided video cable or if possible upcoming iPOD TV for recording the conversation to be uploaded to Youtube later.
You will also need to be near WI-FI hotpot or WI-FI router connected to internet and of course an account with a VOIP provider. When Google Wi-Fi comes to San Francisco, peer 39 will be viewed from Tokyo, Japan, Live.

But if you are planing to have a long vvoip call, better to charge your batteries, the phone is powered by AA rechargeable batteries.

Here are some technical data from the documents provided by FCC;
Display
• High quality 2,2" TFT display
• 65k colors
• QCIF+ (176 x 220 pixels)
• Progressive LCD backlight
Camera
• VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels)
• Rotating mechanism (over 240 degrees) with automatic image adaptation
• CMOS sensor
• Digital zoom: 1,6x
• Brightness control
TV mode (Only VP6500)
• Connection to TV with cable (audio & video output)
• Remote video displayed: CIF, QCIF, SubQCIF
• Local video displayed: QCIF
General telephone features
• Voice-only calls mode
• Caller name & number identification
• Ring profiles
• 15 polyphonic ringer melodies
• Emergency call feature (when keypad locked)
• Customization of user interface (theme, colors, wallpaper)
• Earphones jack
Contacts list and Call history list
• 500 contacts with 4 numbers & 1 picture each
• Fotocall (show picture of caller)
• Call history list with 50 numbers max. (dialed, received, missed)
Wireless
• WiFi certified IEEE802.11b/g
(up to 54 Mbps)
• IEEE802.11e
• IEEE802.11i
• Integrated antenna
• WiFi Signal strength indicator
• Security WEP-WAP-WAP2
Battery
• 2 x NiMh standard AA batteries
Weight and dimensions
• 168 grams
• 134 x 24 x 49 (H x D x W)
Power consumption
• The power consumption of the product during
a video call is 3.5 Watt.
• The lowest power consumption of the product
is reached when the battery is fully charged and
the handset is on the charger. The power
consumption in this case is 360 mW.
Temperature range
• Operation: 0°C to +45°C
• Storage: -25°C to +70°C
Relative humidity
• Operation: Up to 95% at 40°C
• Storage: Up to 95% at 40°C

Links;
Philips FCC filling at FCC.GOV

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

According to a Business wire News announcement by Cisco, Free, a division of Iliad Group and the leading triple-play over broadband operator in Europe, is to roll out the first and largest optical fiber network in France and Europe, based on the Cisco Internet Protocol Next Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture and using Cisco Ethernet fiber-to-the-home (E-FTTH) technology.

Free announced that residents will have access to broadband speeds that could exceed 50 megabits per second(1) for 29.99 euros per month, and benefit from advanced services such as high-definition IPTV, video on demand, multimedia communication (VOIP, VVOIP) and Web 2.0 services.

Michael Boukobza, chief executive officer of Free, said: "We are building a network of the future for our users and by working with Cisco, we can bring the future closer. With the ongoing debate about fiber access platforms, we have made a clear choice and decided on Ethernet point-to-point FTTH architecture because it is future proof and maximizes return on such an important infrastructure investment. Other options would not have set us so clearly apart from the competition. By taking fiber optic links directly to the home, we can be sure that France will continue to be at the forefront in technology and applications for the next few years, and even the next few decades!"

Links;
Business wire News network

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Since VOIP is all about communication medium, many a solutions like call center, VVOIP, Video conferencing are growing around the core VOIP solutions. A few such applications I already covered such as lightspeed, 1bizcom.

There is another aspect to this, web conferencing. There are many a solutions that aid and provide web conferencing. I like the all aspects of remote communications. Video, telephone and web has bought all of us lot closer than ever before. Other than the social aspects of communications NG (New generation) there is also a business aspects to all these. We do not have to run to Tokyo to have a meeting but combined Voice Video will bring us as close as possible.

The reason I spoke of web conferencing is that I would like to bring to you knowledge a web conferencing product, DIMDIM. Although I support all types of products that bring us a better communication mediums, I have a soft spot for Open Source Products. Some of them may as successful as Digium’s Asterisk and some of them might be just emerging from enclaves that they thought bout and built. If not for OpenH323 and OpenGK, I would have never gotten in to VOIP, almost a decade ago.

So what is this DIMDIM thing? Of all things, it does not dim any thing. One thing is sure it will light up some lives and people and of course some business meetings.
So how does DIMDIM do it? Well look at it’s feature and versions should give you a picture.

DIMDIM current Features;
* Presentation and Document sharing: Interactive real-time Collaboration over documents and presentations allows enhanced expression and exchange of ideas.
* Audio and video sharing: High-quality multi-party video and audio sharing can be used to personalize meetings with a face-to-face approach.
* Application sharing: Full screen as well as specific application sharing from a Presenter’s computer can be used to show and educate even a novice audience. This is in keeping with the "show, don’t tell" principle.
* White board and Annotations: Realistic interactive collaboration which involves a lot of annotations, corrections, group drawing (and doodles in the margin) is enabled through digital whiteboard and annotations feature of Dimdim. These features are possible on existing documents too leading to seamless distributed brainstorming.
* Chat: As in any real world meeting there will be sub-groups of people engaged in conversation and exchange of ideas (some serious ones others more like “kicks under the table”) within the larger assembly in a web conference. This is facilitated through the multi-user chat feature.
* Polls: Polls enable the presenter to gauge the mood of the participants and to take decisions considering the opinions of many.
* Question manager: Question manager which is like a moderated Q&A setup enables the presenter to better manage the interaction.
* Record and Archive: All the interaction is recorded and archived for sharing with non-attendees and to reach a broader audience.
* E-Learning: Teachers can conduct classes as web conferences so that physical presence of the teacher as well as students is not necessary. Also the archived sessions can be used by students for later reference as well by the teacher as a teaching tool.

There are more to the features and editions. I think in order to get an idea what DIMDIM is really like, follow the links below.

Links;
DIMDIM Home
DIMDIM feature Matrix
DIMDIM at Sourceforge

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Another open source Asterisk based has come to bloom at 1bizcom. The open source software based 1bizCom is next generation web-based, multi-tenant, distributed, mulit-lingual, inbound, outbound Video enabled VoIP & VVoIP call/ contact center solution for Asterisk with Built-in phone, IVR, CRM, Predictive dialer, ACD, Chat, Mail, Fax, Video and other features.
The system runs on Windows IIs web server and the MySQL data base could reside on a Linux server if preferred. The system is in beta and the current version seems to be 0.8.0.0b1 and the application package is known as 1bC.
According to the 1bizcom site;

1BizCom has all the salient features which goes beyond with new creations like efficient call handling, Automatic Call Routing (ACD), Voice Logging/Recording, Authentication, Conferencing, Data base screen pops, Answering machine detection with detailed statistics and reporting for reduced response time, improved customer experience and quality management of the operations. 1BizCom is a highly scalable Call Center Solution supporting three-dimensional scalability, which will enable client to scale up and optimize the operations as per changing requirements with vendor independence. 1Bizcom helps users to take care of the entire value chain and continuously work on processes & help to generate value at peak places.
Exclusive Features

Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
Call handling features
Call connection notification on the screen
Call transfer, Call Conferencing, 3rd party verifications
Voice Logging, Monitoring
Call Detail Record (CDR) and Reporting
Web based solution
Maintaining call history

I have not tested the application, due to the fact that builds were pulled off by the developer. The developer left the following message on the Sourceforge Forum;
"Thanks for outstanding support that has been landed to 1bizcom since its lauch few days back…Unfortunately, due to some critical issues, I have to pull the builds…But, please note that we are highly motivated by the initial community support landed and we are firm to provide you a very strong collaborative open source platform.
Please, give us some time and we will get you an improved version of the software very soon. "

But if you are handy with subversion, it is possible to grab the application and the code. See the links bellow. But I will watch out as the developer might have had a good reason to pull out the build.

I have gone through the demo provided on the side and I feel that his Asterisk add on has clear long path ahead.

Links;
1bizcom site
Sourceforge project
1bizcom SVN at Sourceforge

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Sightspeed has released an enhanced version of their Sightspeed 5.0. Sightspeed 5.0 already had a good following already. With the new version, they really have done some enhancements.
If you did not know what sightspeed is; Through SightSpeed, users can place free video calls, leave video messages, or post videos to their blogs or personal Web pages. SightSpeed also offers unlimited PC-to-PC voice-only calling (works great for Macs, too), and provides calling to and from traditional and cell phones. And users can try SightSpeedTV, now in beta, for personal viewing of TV on a computer equipped with a TV capture-card—anywhere in the world, complete with real channel-surfing.

Here are the enhancements mentioned in the press release;
Enhanced SightSpeed 5.0:

* SightSpeed Pro plan subscribers (i.e., small-business and power users) will now be able to record three-minute video messages for e-mail or video blogs (vlogs)—a 50-percent increase in recording time, and six times more recording time than available to free users.
* All users who want to share their SightSpeed-produced video messages (in particular, bloggers who wish to vlog) can now easily copy and paste the relevant HTML snippet for the video player directly into their Web site or blog for a significantly more compelling overall user experience.
* SightSpeed “click-to-call” video buttons will now have greater visibility and usability, and can easily be pasted into community or social-networking profiles (such as MySpace, Facebook and others) or other personal or business Web pages. The benefit is that subscribers can give others the ability to easily click-to-call the SightSpeed user through a Web interface, without the need to download any software. This is significant for individuals and business users alike.
* The notification that is automatically sent to video-message recipients has been redesigned with a cleaner, more compelling look and feel.
* Checking out the latest SightSpeed beta service, SightSpeedTV will now be easier because the link is no longer hard to find. Users who want to experience this truly live video place-shifting functionality will now find SightSpeedTV front and center within the SightSpeed interface, thereby giving them a uniquely compelling personal television experience anywhere in the world.
* International users who want to upgrade to the Pro plan or make voice calls to regular and cell phones will now have an easier way to pay for those services and become power SightSpeed users. SightSpeed has now significantly improved its billing and transaction-processing operations to make it easier for users outside the U.S. to subscribe to fee-based SightSpeed services and pay securely by credit card.
* With the holiday season upon us, there’s no better way for far-flung friends and families to stay connected than with a gift of SightSpeed. An enhanced online ordering system now makes it much easier to give SightSpeed starter kits and have them shipped anywhere in the U.S.
* And finally, thanks to an agreement with Commission Junction, online referrals from independent Web site owners will now be eligible for commission when the referrals result in a sale of SightSpeed services.

Links;
Sightspeed.com, in my backyard! literally
Known Sightspeed blogger