I received a press release from Yapper International this weekend stating, "the Company has shortened their corporate domain address to www.yapint.com for ease of use."

Well, whoop-dee-do... Well tickle me pink, this is the greatest press release I have ever read!
The press release did mention the company merged with FoneFriend, which at least gave me some inclination as to where this VoIP company came from.

They seemed to come out of nowhere, started posting in the VoIP Forums, and then sending me releases.

I checked out their Our Technology link and it lists some interesting features.

It states - and I bolded the really interesting part:
___________________________________________________________

"The Yapper" is a stand alone Internet communications device that connects to any household telephone and gives customers access to the Internet for VoIP calling.

"The Yapper" is lightweight, portable and can be used with any household phone worldwide. The Yapper provides a cost effective pre-paid monthly international and domestic long distance service from any location in the world.

Unlike most Internet communications devices, our technology does not need a computer, a software download, an Internet Service Provider, or a high level of user sophistication to take advantage of VoIP.

Came across this interesting VoIP-related blog entry:Tjardick's Weblog

He mentions VoIPUser which is offering FREE calling to not only SIP uers, not only IAX users, but also PSTN numbers in most countries. He says this is "disruptive". That's an understatement! Free phone calling simply by signing up with their service??? WOW!!

Check this out from VoIPUser.org's website: "Simply join this website as a member to obtain your free UK local rate or premium rate numbers. You will then have full access to the VoIP User Control Panel which will let you terminate these numbers to IAX, SIP or landline/mobile telephones in most countries in the World.

I was reading this article: Apple Acquire Skype?" href="http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/wlg/5605">Should Apple Acquire Skype?
and Ted Wallingford offered some interesting analysis.

He talks about the problems of scalability in Skype (namely the directory search) and how Apple's iChat should be able to "take on" Skype.

He also offers some interesting ways for Apple to get into the VoIP game, such as buying 8X8 Networks, the ones behind the Packet8 voice over IP service.

I visited VoIP Americas office down in Miami just last year. They have some good engineers working there, including several brilliant engineers from Russia. I met with Albert Rodriguez, a really good guy who demonstrated VoIP Americas hosted VoIP model to me.

Basically VoIP Americas product allows entrepreneurs to get into the VoIP business and offer Vonage-like services by lowering the entry costs and providing all the features you need - billing, rate charges, administration, etc. via a hosted application.

I recently blogged this: Tom Keating VoIP and Gadget Blog: VoIP, Where are you IBM?

Well, skibare shared a news release with me that indeed points to IBM at least "using" VoIP. When IBM will start offering a VoIP product or service still remains to be seen.

Check out the news release. I bolded the important part:

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Ptek Holdings Inc.
(PTEK) plunged Wednesday
after the company said one of its largest customers, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), has found a new provider for certain teleconferencing services.

The announcement came almost a month after the company warned investors that IBM was looking at alternatives to Ptek's services.

In a press release Tuesday, the company said IBM told it that IBM plans to use a new provider for "reservation-less"
conferencing.

"Reservation-less" conferencing is an automated service which doesn't require use of an operator and which gives companies a dedicated dial-in number and passcode that they can use at any time.

The service is part of Ptek's premier conferencing business which accounted for about 45% of Ptek's $112 million in revenue in the second-quarter.

Ptek said it expects IBM to switch service providers "sometime in 2005."
The company said it expects to continue providing services through the rest of this year and into 2005, but expects the level of those services to decline.

A spokesman for Ptek wasn't available to comment further, but in regulatory filings Ptek has said IBM accounts for a "significant"
amount of revenue.

In 2003, IBM represented about 11% of consolidated revenue from continuing operations, and 27% of the premiere conferencing segments revenue.

In its quarterly report, filed in August, Ptek warned investors that "IBM is actively exploring the use of new technologies, such as voice-over-IP (VOIP), to help lower its costs of conferencing."

Ptek's shares fell 27% to $7.96 on Aug.

Many foreign countries still ban VoIP which has caused many blackmarket/underground VoIP providers to "flaunt" the rules.

Well, thanks to changes made to the Telecommunications Act, the legalization of voice-over IP in South Africa will finally happen effective February 1st 2005.

"Hey, South Africa - Welcome to the VoIP Revolution, man!"

VOIP to be legal at last