June 2006 Archives

 

Check out this video posted on youtube.com that shows a tester from the web site Qusers.com watching his Tivo content streaming over the Internet via his Slingbox to a Motorola Q smartphone connected to Verizon's EVDO service. Pretty cool!

It seems that as soon as I posted my "first take"on the eMachines T6532 PC, the company refreshed their product line and introduced a new "high-end" model, the T6536, and in keeping with their big bang value for the bucks strategy, this replacement is even a better value.

The main difference with the T6536 is the processor has been upgraded to the AMD Athlon 3800+ (from the T6532's 3500+ processor), and the hard drive has been upgraded to 250 GB (from the T6532's 200 GB drive). Looks like all the other components are the same, and the price is even $10 lower at $539 (after a $50 mail-in rebate.)

Ayalogic, an Akron, Ohio-based, privately held business communications software company founded in 2002, just received a vote of confidence by its investors with the announcement of an additional $1.25 million, on top of the original Series A investment of $2M in October 2004. Most of the additional investment came from current Ayalogic investors, including Early Stage Partners LP of Cleveland, and Draper Triangle Venture LP. Both contributed about $500,000 each, and Northeast Ohio’s own non-profit venture development group, JumpStart Inc.,  added $168,500 to the investment. The company appears to be meeting a number of benchmarks for actual deployments and customer acquisition. 

Ayalogic sells Qmunicate™, a SIP and presence-powered business communications solution, that helps transform the way users interact across their professional relationships. This software integrates voice, text and document transfer tools into a single customized platform that can be deployed across all communications devices (Phone, Mobile Phone, PC, PDA).

The Qmunicate solution helps organizations implement specific communications ecosystems, where their relationships with their customers, vendors, partners and internal departments are all leveraged and enhanced through a rich set of presence-based communications features and collaborative computing capabiliities . Ayalogic calls this ecosystem of key relationships the "Qmunity".

Here's how the Qmunity™ works:

Each host company invites valued clients, suppliers and partners to join their Qmunity™ . Once a Qmunity™ member, users can download software to their PC's, Phones, Mobile Phones, and/or PDA devices, which enables them to more efficiently communicate with their host.

Members of this privileged Qmunity™ are provided with enhanced access and relevant information about their host through the Qmunity™ dashboard application. As a member of the Qmunity™, each individual will be able to make informed decisions about their communication choices. They'll know who's available, how many calls are in queue or they can select a self-service option that allows them to bypass the queue and conduct an authorized business transaction. Communications options include speak live, voice message, text message, transmit data, and the self service kiosk.

An announcement from Avaya highlights how important third-party applications developers have become in terms of adding new value and functionality to IP phones and other IP-PBX equipmen -- in this particular case for Avaya's new one-X Desktop edition IP phones.

In this latest release, a number of companies in Avaya's DeveloperConnection program were singled out, including Citrix, CalAMP, and Millenigence.

Here's the release copy:

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Members of the Avaya (NYSE: AV - News) DeveloperConnection program are bringing to life applications for the new Avaya one-X(TM) Deskphone Edition IP Phones. The applications, which take full advantage of the phones' simplicity and flexible functionality, include time reporting, automated conference call reminders, integrated corporate directory access with contact search and solutions designed specifically for education and healthcare environments.

Innovative enterprise applications from third-party developers and Avaya, a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services, will play a central role in expanding and redefining the role of the deskphone. Accessing these applications directly from the phone's simplified user interface opens a new world of real-time, intelligent communications; increases productivity, and maximizes the benefits of an IP solution.

The new line of Avaya one-X Deskphone Edition IP Phones, which were introduced today, optimizes applications to help make deskphones as easy to navigate as a cell phone, as expandable as a personal computer, and as functional as both. Easy-to-access features, wide band audio and a flexible platform enable businesses to meet specific workplace and technological needs.

Citrix, CalAMP and Millenigence are three DeveloperConnection member companies that have already developed applications for the new phones. The Avaya DeveloperConnection program promotes the development, compliance-testing and co-marketing of innovative third-party products compatible with standards-based Avaya solutions.

Citrix Applications

Avaya Phone Application Suite powered by Citrix includes:

-- Network Directory - Using a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
(LDAP)-based directory, this application reduces by 75 percent the
time needed to look up a telephone number in a company directory.

-- Broadcast Alerts - The alert function allows users to deliver
priority messages such as company announcements, emergency and weather
alerts with text, graphics, and audio messages to the screens and
speakers of IP telephones.

-- Click-to-Call - Users can dial their IP phones simply by clicking on
a telephone number within email and Web applications.

-- Text Message - This feature allows users to send SMS-style text
messages from one IP phone to another.

-- Custom Applications - With the Avaya Design Studio scripting tool,
users can transform existing Web-based (HTML/XML) applications to run
on the Avaya IP phones, leveraging the time, resources, and capital an
organization has already spent developing its web application
portfolio

"We have built a powerful suite of converged voice and data applications that capitalizes on the capabilities of the new Avaya one-X Deskphone Edition IP Phones and gives users a new set of tools through their phone," said, Gordon Payne, vice president, marketing, Citrix. "With features like 'click-to-call,' alerts and directory access, Citrix makes it easier for employees to do their jobs, which means more efficient operations and better customer service."

CalAMP Applications

TelAlert:

-- Urgent messaging application delivers two-way interaction between the
Avaya one-X Deskphone Edition IP Phones and back-office applications
such as Remedy, Clarify and HP Openview, integrating with all major
network monitoring and help desk applications.

-- Delivers urgent messages to an "always on" device such as Avaya one-X
Deskphone Edition IP Phones ensuring a message will reach the
appropriate individual - anytime, anywhere.

Inventory Look-up:

-- Uses the IP phone in retail and manufacturing environments to retrieve
inventory and product data directly from the phone, eliminating the
need to launch an application on a desktop computer.

ExtendTime:

-- A complete time and attendance product that uses Avaya one-X Deskphone
Edition IP Phones in lieu of time clocks.

-- Delivers anytime, anywhere access for time data collection to those
employees who do not have access to web browsers or computer desktops.

Millenigence Applications

School District Express (SDE) and Higher Education Express

-- Applications perform student roll calls, issue hall passes, message
teachers, and make announcements and security notifications on
administrative and classroom IP phones. Events calendars and
directory information also can be deployed on public IP phones
installed in hallways and other common areas.

-- Roll calls are communicated in real time to the SDE server, which can
send a notification to parents in the form of email, SMS, or an
outbound call if a student is absent.

-- Using Avaya one-X Deskphone Edition IP Phones, SDE eliminates the need
to install and maintain PCs in classrooms, lowering school operating
expenses and increasing the return on investment.

Health Care Express (HCE)

-- Turns the IP phone next to a patient's bed into an intelligent
information appliance for patients and hospital staff.

-- Patients can browse food menus and get a personalized phone directory
to make calls to family and friends.

-- Professional staff can use the IP phone to review a patient's chart,
write new charts and vital sign entries, check or order medication,
order supplies and, because the extension is dedicated to the patient
during his or her stay, HCE can keep track of relevant information for
each patient.

"Avaya DeveloperConnection members are building on our capabilities to deliver customized applications for employees and businesses," said Eric Rossman, vice president, developer relations and technical alliances, Avaya. "This innovation extends to our new line of IP phones, which will drive a whole new generation of communications application innovation. Together we are helping enterprises more easily adapt to new technology and incorporate Intelligent Communication into the fabric of their business."

Avaya's new Software and Custom Application Practice, introduced in March of this year, is also developing its own custom applications for the Avaya one-X Deskphone Edition IP Phones. This team of specialists works in collaboration with Avaya consultants and Avaya alliance partners to develop open-standards based software solutions to link communications applications and business processes. Among the first solutions created by this team are applications that integrate the functionality of a number of common business applications for enterprises, contact centers and vertical markets.

The enterprise solution brings popular business applications, such as LDAP directories, Microsoft Outlook/Exchange and Lotus Domino functionalities, directly to the phone's display. Custom applications include access to personal calendars and contacts, messaging options, Internet RSS feeds and custom directories.

The contact center solution brings real-time statistics and supporting graphics directly to the phone's display, allowing for more efficient contact center management. Features include real-time agent monitoring, access to information portals, synchronized customer profile screen pops and consolidated reports.

Also available are solutions designed with new communication capabilities for vertical markets such as the hospitality industry. These custom applications allow guests to access to click-to-dial services, local area information and messages from their hotel room phone. An application for the financial industry includes an information portal to financial market information, live RSS feeds, broadcasts and alerts, and integration with digital merchandising for branches.

Other DeveloperConnection members planning applications for the Avaya one-X Deskphone Edition IP Phones include:

Aimetis - Video security solution detects unusual movement and alerts key
personal.

Computer Instruments - School absentee notification, and emergency alert.

Duvoice - DV2000, a complete hospitality suite, will push guest
information, Emergency 911 alerts, room status, and wake-up calls to
front desk IP telephones.

eWings Technologies - Converged banking solution integrates legacy phone
banking with internet banking using concurrent voice and data
presentation. Applications include a ComAssistant speech-enabled
application suite, including Auto-Dialer, Virtual Receptionist,
Auto-Attendant, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship
Management and Enterprise Information Portal.

FCS - Partnerships to deliver a blend of converged hospitality services.

Igeacare - Pushes nurse calls from patients to mobile devices and IP
telephones.

INI (Interactive Northwest) - Transforms IP Phones into a kiosk for
convention attendees to locate breakout sessions including room, time,
and date.

JADS Comm Ltd - Intelligent content server integrating data into IP
phones.

Jebsen & Jessen Communications (S) Pte Ltd - User-friendly, web-enabled
conferencing application - booking, search directories, alerts and
notifications.

LiteScape - Collaboration, broadcast, paging and alerts, Converged
Customer Relationship Management inventory and time clock.

ProTel Communications Ltd - Collaboration solution with LDAP-based
corporate phone directory, click-to-call, preset text message selection
and text message broadcast.

Radiance Communications Pte Ltd - Information and interaction among IP
Phones, web-based user interface and business applications.

SDC - Healthcare directory gives instant access to staff, pushes
emergency information and helps locate doctors.

Twisted Pair - Coupled with WAVE technology, Avaya IP phones will offer
hoot & holler functionality for financial institutions, as well as direct
communication with two-way radio systems for government, military, and
Public Safety agencies.

These companies are among more than 2,800 software and hardware developer companies, integrators, service providers and customers who are members of the Avaya DeveloperConnection program. Members have created hundreds of innovative solutions tested for Avaya compliance, including natural language speech recognition applications, wireless services, specialized computer telephony integration and reporting capabilities, communications hardware and applications tailored for specific vertical industries.

Membership information and a complete list of solutions developed and tested under the Avaya DeveloperConnection program are available at http://www.devconnectprogram.com .

For more information on Avaya one-X Deskphone Edition IP Phones, refer to the press room http://www.avaya.com/media .

Lately, I've been on the hunt for a cheap, yet meaty, workhorse PC that could serve as a replacement for a couple of aging PCs at home and work -- a PC that has the chops to do everyday multitasking, can double as a media PC, and has some upgrade options in case I wanted to tinker (like add more graphics umph, etc.). I'm willing to reuse  monitors, possibly speakers and keyboards, so this would also keep the price down.

My research took me to all the likely suspects: Dell, Gateway, HP, etc., and to many other second tier vendors: then I stumbled on eMachines -- the in-store brand that CompuUSA, Circuit City and Best Buy stocks (and, fyi, that is also owned by Gateway), and I came away very impressed by the package:

The T6532 is currently on sale for $549 at CompUSA (with a $50 rebate), and includes what might be the best value out there for the money (if you know of a better deal, please -- I'm all ears!) Notable features include AMD Athlon 64 3500+processor, 1 Gb SDRAM, 200 Gb 7200 RPM HD, double Layer DVD+/-RW Drive, Windows XP Media Edition, nVidia® GeForce® 6100 graphics, and 9-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader (no floppy drive), and 5 USB 2.0 ports. For upgrades, there a freePCI Express x16 slot open for a graphics card, and 2 DIMM slots open for more memory.

Here are the PC's full specs:

Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Class: Athlon 64
Processor Number: 3500+
Processor Speed: 2.2 GHz
Bus Speed: 2.0 GHz
L2 Cache Size: 512 KB
Memory Speed: PC-3200 (400MHz)
Memory Technology: DDR-SDRAM
Installed Memory: 1 GB
Maximum Memory: 4 GB
Memory Slots Total: 4
Memory Slots Available: 2
Hard Drive Capacity: 200 GB
Drive Controllers: IDE (Ultra ATA/DMA)
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Optical Drives: Double Layer DVD+/-RW Drive:
Create a Double Layer DVD+R at a maximum 4X Write speed
Create a DVD-R at a maximum 16X Write speed or a maximum 6X Rewrite speed
Create a DVD+R at a maximum 16X Write speed or a maximum 8X Rewrite speed
Play a DVD at a maximum 16X Read speed
Create a CD-Rom at a maximum 40X Write speed
Create a CD-RW at a maximum 24X Rewrite speed
Play a CD-Rom at a maximum 40X Read speed

Card Slots: 1 x CompactFlash Card
1 x MicroDrive
1 x Memory Stick
1 x Memory Stick Pro
1 x SmartMedia Card
1 x Secure Digital(SD)/MMC
1 x xD-Picture Card
Sound Support: 6 Channel Premium Audio
Video Chipset Brand: NVIDIA
Video Chipset: GeForce 6100
Video Bus: PCI Express x16
Video Integration: Motherboard
Shared Video RAM (Max): 128 MB
Monitor Included: No
Port Connectors: 5 x USB 2.0 (1 in Digital Media Reader, 4 in back)
1 x VGA External Connector
1 x Parallel
2 x PS/2 (Keyboard and Mouse)
1 x RJ-11 Modem
1 x RJ-45 Ethernet LAN
5 x Audio (2 in front, 3 in back)

PCI Slots: 2
PCI Express x1 Slots: 1
PCI Express x16 Slots: 1
Slots Notes: 1 PCI, 1 PCI Express x16 and 1 PCI Express x1 open

Additional Drives: DL DVD+/-RW
Expansion Bays: 4 x 3.5-inch and 2 x 5.25-inch total
2 x 3.5-inch and 1 x 5.25-inch available

Network Support: Ethernet (10/100 Mbps)
Modem Speed: 56 Kbps
Input Devices: Keyboard
2 Button Wheel Mouse
Installed Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Microsoft Vista Capable: Yes
Included Software: Productivity Software:
Microsoft® Works 8.5
Microsoft® Money 2006
Microsoft® Encarta Online
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7
Digital Media Software:
CyberLink® PowerDVD™ (DVD Play)
CyberLink® Power2Go™ (DVD Burn)
Microsoft® Windows Media Player 10
RealNetworks RealPlayer®
Quicktime
eMachines Internet Security Bundle:
McAfee® Internet Security Suite™ (90-day complimentary subscription)
eMachines BigFix® –identifies and resolves problems that affect the system before they occur

In the Box: Hardware Items:
Premium Multimedia Keyboard
PS/2 2-Button Wheel Mouse
Amplified Stereo Speakers
Power Cord
Modem Cable
Operating System Recovery CD/DVD
Documentation:
Setup Poster
Getting Started Guide
Non-Microsoft EULA
Registration / Limited Warranty Card
COA Label for Microsoft® Installed Software
Online Documentation:
User’s Guide
eMachines Limited Warranty and EULA

Chassis Style: Tower (Mini)
Height: 14.3 in
Width: 7.3 in
Depth: 16.0 in
Weight: 22.5 lbs
Limited Warranty: 1 Year (12 Months)

 

Word has it that Mitel Networks is deep into their required quiet period in anticipation of an upcoming IPO. This will mark the second time the company has gone public (founder and uber-entrepreneur Terry Matthews took the company private again after it first became public.)

After going private, the company transformed itself from a vendor of legacy/digital TDM-based phone equipment to an IP Communications solutions company -- supposedly 98% of the stuff that goes out the door to customers now is IP-based phone gear and software.

My sense is that the timing is right for this second IPO -- with a completely revamped, IP-based product line, large and loyal installed base, strong distribution channels, and mushrooming demand for IP-PBXs from the enterprise marketplace, this could make for a strong showing that helps, in part, to offset the VoIP market jitters that the Vonage IPO has generated.

According to TeleGeography's comprehensive new U.S. VoIP 2006 study, VoIP service providers have a lot to cheer about, while incumbent RBOCs won't be celebrating any time soon.

According to the study, the market is changing at a stunning pace: in the first quarter of 2006, US RBOCs lost about 150,000 fixed lines per week, while VoIP based service providers gained about 100,000 subscribers each week.

For more information about this great resource, contact Stephen Beckert at TeleGeography at 202-741-0042, or email info@telegeography.com.

Here are some nuggets from the Executive Summary of the study:

In the four years since Voice-over-IP pioneer Vonage introduced its service, consumer VoIP has developed from a niche service aimed at price conscious technophiles into a mainstream challenge to incumbent carriers. The number of VoIP subscribers grew 189 percent in 2005, from 1.9 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2005 to 5.5 million by Q1 2006. Revenue growth actually outpaced subscriber growth in 2005, due to the growing market share of higher-priced cable VoIP offerings. Annual VoIP revenues in 2005 topped $1 billion, compared with revenues of $212 million in 2004.

VoIP providers are a new source of pressure on a telecom industry that is already in turmoil. The total number of fixed lines in service in the U.S. has declined from 192 million in 2000 to 178 million at year-end 2005. VoIP will accelerate this trend. A significant majority of new VoIP subscribers have canceled their switched local service rather than adding VoIP service to their existing wireline bills.

TeleGeography predicts that VoIP will capture 22 percent of LECs’ existing customers, contributing to a cumulative loss of $18.2 billion in local service revenues between 2006 and 2010. Loss of access charge revenue and consumer long-distance service revenue will result in several billions of dollars of additional damage to traditional telephone service providers.

TeleGeography projects that VoIP subscribers will grow from 5.5 million at the end of the first quarter of 2006 to 9.6 million by the end of 2006. VoIP subscribers are projected to reach 23.7 million by 2010. VoIP revenues, which totaled $212 million in 2004 and $1.0 billion in 2005, are projected to reach $2.6 billion in 2006 and $8.1 billion by 2010. These figures still represent only a limited share of a large market. VoIP revenues in 2006 are projected to equate to only 7 percent of the combined revenues of traditional local and long-distance service providers. By 2010, though, VoIP service providers’ revenues would be equivalent to 31 percent of switched network operators’ combined local and long-distance subscriber-based revenues.

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I hate waiting 3 or 4 months for my Mind Share 2.0 columns from Internet Telephony magazine to appear online on TMCnet.com, so I've decided to give my blog readers a little treat --  I'm going to post my July column here so you can get a sneak peek at it. I look forward to your comments.

An IP communications specialist’s idea of nirvana might be a place where all networks, all systems and devices, and all applications are completely IP-based - where the pure waters of IP course through the land, nourishing all manner of rich multimedia, multimodal, and multipurpose services and applications.

Of course, nirvana is still a dream, and the land of IP is still a work in progress. A number of direct IP and SIP peering initiatives point the way to a world where legacy TDM network infrastructures are a thing of the past, and where conversions from TDM to IP and back again are the thing of nursery rhymes.

The reality, obviously, is that we’re living in a mashed up world, where both legacy and new must coexist with each other for some time, and we must find innovative ways to disrupt the status quo and deliver the next great killer app. It may come as a surprise, but this state of coexistence - the crossroads if you will where the Internet and Web, corporate LANs, PSTN and wireless voice and data networks meet -- is actually proving to be a great fertile ground that is spawning a host of new, innovative companies, technologies, products and services.

I’m thinking of companies like EQO, Iotum, FruCall, and Tello - companies that have come up with products or services that not only bridge the old with the new, but also innovate brand new capabilities that make communications more manageable, more efficient and more informative.

The first three have found ways to extend the capabilities of mobile communications and enrich the user experience in the process. Given that mobility and wireless communications are so critical to our business and personal lives, it’s not surprising that finding ways to improve or add new twists to our mobile calling experience is a major focus for a number of companies. (It also doesn’t hurt that there are now around 2 billion mobile phones in use around the world.)

EQO has staked its fortunes on extending Skype to mobile phones. Now in beta, EQO just won the title of “Most Promising Start-Up” at the 2006 British Columbia Technology Impact Awards ceremony. In a nutshell, EQO is an application suite comprised of EQO Mobile and EQO PC. EQO Mobile is a J2ME application that runs on your mobile phone. EQO PC is a plugin that runs on your PC, connecting your Skype user account to your mobile phone via EQO’s secure, always-on network. In order to extend Skype onto your mobile phone, you need to create an EQO account and install both of the applications.

From there, as long as EQO is running on your mobile phone and your computer, and Skype is still connected to the Skype network, you can easily use the software to keep in touch with your buddies as you move about on your mobile phone. When you call a Skype buddy or another number through the EQO client, or someone calls you from Skype, EQO routes the call to your phone over your regular wireless voice service using SkypeOut. The benefit is that you can make and receive Skype calls from anywhere on your mobile handset, without needing a highly advanced, expensive 3G mobile phone and without being connected to a high-speed wireless data network.

iotum attacks the mobile communications market from a call management angle. According to the company, the typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes by a phone call, e-mail, instant message or other distraction. This constant interruption plays havoc with our focus, and disrupts and impairs our productivity. We need a way to help determine which communications are relevant, and know that important calls will always get through to us.

Enter iotum’s Relevance Engine, the world's first smart platform that prioritizes all voice communications. By mapping inbound communications to work behavior and priorities, iotum’s service dramatically improves productivity by ensuring that inbound communications are relevant. Iotum’s service is easy to set up and seamlessly connects to calendar and IM tools to determine how specific calls should be handled - making filtering and routing decisions based on who's calling, time of day, what’s on the calendar, etc. The company is partnering with cellular, VoIP and incumbent PSTN service providers around the world, and truly adds value to existing services.

Finally, FruCall is a new company I’ve written about on my blog, Beyond VoIP. FruCall is a new voice commerce service that solves a problem most of us have when we’re out and about shopping retail. Since we’re not yet at the promised land of ubiquitous broadband wireless access, and easy to use and highly portable devices for doing a shopping.com price search as we’re rolling down the aisles of Target are hard to come by (if you've tried to use your cell phone's built-in browser to do an online search, you know how frustrating an exercise this can be), we need another solution.

FruCall utilizes Voice XML and speech technology to offer shoppers the ability to check the Internet for the lowest prices on items they’re viewing live in a retail store's aisle, simply by calling an 888 (toll free) number from their cell phones. Once you find the right price, you can even buy the item in question from Amazon.com or other shopping site (new partners are being added periodically, and the company is in discussions with CNET to utilize their superb pricing engine.)

FruCall is also currently in beta, and you don't need to register to try it out. So next time you're out shopping, call FruCall at 1-888-DO-FRUCALL (1-888-363-7822) before you take the item to the register, and see how much you can save.

M5 Networks -- a young, energetic hosted IP-PBX service provider based in New York City, just announced that it will be providing service for reporters covering President Bush's keynote address at the commencement exercises for the graduating class of 2006 at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on June 19. Apparently, this marks the first visit to the institution by a sitting president.

In order to assist the press corps reporting on this event, the Academy is working with M5 to quickly and rapidly deploy 150 secure VoIP phone lines and Cisco IP phones for use by members of the media in attendance.

Perhaps while the President is there,  he'll check out the setup and pass along a good word to the directors of the Dept. of Homeland Security and FEMA: Services like M5 should be standard fare for our emergency response teams, as they can be set up rapidly and are highly flexible in the event of an emergency situation.

 

Here's some breaking news from Frucall, the free phone-based comparison shopping service I wrote about recently, that has just announced an agreement with Yahoo! that allows them to tap into Yahoo!'s shopping inventory, allowing users to listen to prices coming from the Yahoo! Shopping price comparison engine on their cell phones.

Shoppers who are not at a computer can call 1-888-DO-FRUCALL (888-378-7467) and type in or read the product's barcode number. Frucall will search the product on both Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon, and will give users the three best advertised prices. Shoppers use a voice menu to “bookmark” items, leave themselves voice notes for later reference, listen to customer ratings, and soon purchase the product from an online vendor. Shoppers can register at Frucall to personalize their Frucall experience and also access more valuable features.

According to Nasser Manesh, CTO of Millenigence (the company behind Frucall), “We are very excited to be at a juncture point between Web 2.0 and m-commerce. Consumers demand access to valuable information no matter where they are, and we are leveraging the latest technologies to provide them with such information in a very simple, easy-to-use, and natural manner.”

Saied Kazemi, CEO of Millenigence, adds, “Increasingly, consumers are turning to online shopping search engines for price comparisons. However, accessing this information on a mobile phone is often time consuming and in the majority of cases handset dependant. For most subscribers their phone is still a voice device. The majority of consumers want a simple, comprehensive service that they can use to instantly see whether a merchant’s “Sale Price” is the “Best Price” compared to other sources, which is what we deliver.”

Matrixstream just released a new IMX4000 standard definition WM9 / H.264 encoder, which apparently completes the company's end-to-end VOD / IPTV platform, giving it everything from software, set top boxes, servers, to encoders. This creates a path for its complete end-to-end 1080P H.264 high def IPTV platform,  and should juice interest in its IMX1020 1080P H.264 set top box (available for order on June 30th) and whet operators' appetite for the high-def IMX4500 encoder (available sometime in the 4th quarter 2006.)

You can try out out the company's new XMS-based PC Player -- with fullscreen 1080P instant playing, fast forward, rewind, and seek functions -- which will run over any best effort broadband connection with no quality of service required.

Here's the skinny on download instructions, features, and required PC configuration and bandwidth:

(1) Download the latest pre-beta VOD / IPTV PC Player at www.movie99.tv
(2) Unzip PC player
(3) Install it
(4) run program and enter your username, password, and website name found in an e-mail in your inbox
(5) click on either VOD or IPTV and enjoy!

Matrixstream xms streaming key features:

1. True streaming server, not progressive download over 1.5mbps+ broadband. You can ff/rw/seek to any point of the video.
2. No buffering. Instant loading within 1 second.
3. True full screen streaming over Internet. Other players cannot stream full screen over Internet.
4. Unlike rtsp, xms works over firewalls and nat servers using propretary xms streaming protocal.
4. Support high defintion using 2.5 mbps and standard definition at 750bkps.
5. Logo support for custom channel branding.
6. Full security and encryption build in.
7. Billing api for easy intergration of monthly membership and pay per view.
8. Conditional access build in.
9. Full iptv and vod support. IPTV is easily integrated with matrixstream iptv server so you can show live iptv channels.
10. Full pc player and set-top box support.
11. 5.1 sound support.
12. Full download and push vod support for clients that cannot support streaming.

Matrixstream PC Player minimum CPU / bandwidth requirements:

(1) 480P / standard definition = ( 2Ghz + / 1.5mbps ) and up
(2) 720P / high definition = ( 3.2 Ghz or duel core / 3mbps ) and up
(3) 1080P / high definition = ( 3.2 Ghz and duel core / 6mbps ) and up

Outsmart Telecom touts its new IMS platform as being able to mediate between IMS and legacy networks, thereby allowing service providers to maintain service continuity and offer IMS and legacy services on both networks - certainly a handy capability as a full migration to an IMS network infrastructure will take several years to happen.

As Outsmart tells it, service providers are faced with a number of challenges as to how to best provide new IMS services to users without a complete restructuring of their current network infrastructure, including:

* Introducing new IMS services to current legacy customers
* Allowing existing IN services to be used by IMS customers
* Guaranteeing IMS users service continuity while roaming between different coverage areas

Outsmart is releasing in the coming days an IMS platform that allows for not only voice call continuity over different coverage areas, but also service continuity. Built on three products, the platform mediates between IMS and legacy networks, allowing operators to maintain service continuity with the transition to new IMS network, and offer IMS and legacy services on both networks. Additionally, the platform ensures seamless handoff of calls between coverage areas.

Other news from Outsmart is a new global reseller agreement, in which Siemens AG will incorporate Outsmart's Mobility Management Application Server (MM-AS) into its IMS solution.

Seems like the back and forth regulatory tug of war involving the FCC and VoIP service providers has entered yet another round.

According to a report by Paula Musich of PCmag.com, the FCC is once again weighing to tax VoIP services to the tune of 10.9 percent of 65 percent of revenues in order to line the coffers of the Universal Service Fund -- an archaic regulatory remnant designed to protect rural America from the old Bell System monopoly. The fund apparently brings in around $7 billion a year from interstate and international calls and is designed to subsidize the cost of providing phone service to poor and rural subscribers.

Apparently, this move by the FCC is designed to help offset a projected loss of $350 million in the fund due to the coming August exemption for DSL and broadband Internet services.

I expect VoIP providers to continue to wage war over this, and to take strong issue with the suggested contribution percentages...but at some point I believe a deal will inevitably be reached that will require VoIP service providers to ante up something to the fund (unless of course some arrangement can be reached to make this fund go away -- an idea that has been mulled over in the past.)

This will of course mean that the rock bottom, flat rate VoIP calling packages we have come to expect (and love) may be coming to an end. 

For Vonage, this news just adds more pressure on their stock price -- so if you were thinking about buying in to take advantage of the current discount, I'd probably wait to see how this plays out. I fear the company's stock price may still go lower before it eventually recovers...