Tom Keating : VoIP & Gadgets Blog
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Mobile Phones

Mobile Phones, cell phones

Global Dialer - Cheap Minutes App - is Gone

June 29, 2010

A reader to my blog tipped me off to Global Dialer going out of business. They had a proprietary software application that you download directly onto your mobile phone that enabled you to make low-cost, 'one-click' international calls. The screenshot of their calling rates is from 2006 when I first wrote about them. Rates listed here have certainly come down since then.

According to Whois, the registration for the website was created in 2001 and expires in October 2010.

No Facetime friends? Call 1-888-FACETIME

June 25, 2010

Apple iPhone 4 Kills Fedex Website

June 23, 2010

Cool Octiv Mini - iPod & iPhone Dock

June 22, 2010


Altec Lansing today introduced the Octiv Mini (M102) audio dock for iPhone and iPod users ($59.95). Sporting an angular slant and a large speaker, the Octiv Mini also functions as an alarm clock when combined with the free Altec Lansing custom Alarm Rock app. Unlike most docks, the alarm display is done on the iPhone or iPod display via the free app. So I suppose one drawback is if you take your device off the dock you lose the ability to see the current time.

Altec Lansing said, "Pound for pound, the Octiv Mini holds its own against bulkier speaker systems, and is even more appealing when considering similarly priced stand-alone chargers."

"Because the Octiv Mini functions as a dock, a charger and an alarm clock with the included app, it represents an amazing value that will be appreciated by those who will not compromise on sound quality for a smaller footprint," stated Steve Schlangen, Altec Lansing product manager.




Review of iOS 4

June 21, 2010

Ars has an in-depth review of Apple's iOS 4 that is worth reading. iOS 4, previously known as iPhone OS 4, is a major update to Apple's mobile operating system. The big features include multitasking, categories, opening up of thousands of APIs to third-party developers, and a spell check that doesn't proactively change what you type, but rather underlines your questionable words in red and lets you pick from a list of suggest words.

The biggest feature is the background app support.

Netflix on iPhone Hack

June 2, 2010

So you want Netflix running on your iPhone do ya? Well, you've come to the right place for an easy to follow tutorial to get sweet streaming movies and TV shows directly to your Apple iPhone. Who can wait for the official Netflix app? Certainly not me!

Google Buys Global IP Sound

May 18, 2010

Google has an offer to buy Global IP Solutions, for $68.2 million. Global IP Solutions (GIPS) was the company that powered Skype's adaptive codec to handle packet loss, jitter, etc. until Skype decided to develop their own codec. Google Talk uses GIPS, so certainly Google will save on the licensing fees if they pick up GIPS.

HP Buys Palm

April 28, 2010


Palm, the darling of the mobile phone industry 3+ years ago has fallen on bad times, but their knight in shining armor - HP - may have arrived in the nick of time. HP acquires all of Palm's assets, including some real juicy mobile phone technology patents. What HP will do with those patents remains to be seen. But any way you slice or dice it, this is huge news even if my dreams of a HTC-Palm merger are dashed.

HP and Palm, Inc. announced that HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion.


CounterPath Launches NomadicPBX, a Mobile Enterprise Convergence Application

April 19, 2010

Today, CounterPath launched its Nomadic PBX application, which seamlessly connects all employees' mobile phones via a mobile network-based service. The NomadicPBX application is a presence-based, fixed and mobile voice, and instant messaging/short message service (IM/SMS) technology mashup with enterprise-ready features. NomadicPBX enables wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) the ability to offer enterprise fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services.

Based on CounterPath's Network Convergence Gateway (NCG) platform, NomadicPBX enables wireless operators and other service providers to extend their feature sets into small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Here's the key features:

•      Pairs the mobile number to one or more SIP devices (plus the mobile phone).
•      Leverages the mobile network services and platforms that carriers already have deployed.
•      Manages the call control based on presence or end-user direction.  For example, a user may select to move the call between the mobile and soft phone (any direction).
•      Mashes up the mobile and SIP presence in one solution.

Here's the full release:

CounterPath Releases Network-Based Mobile Enterprise Convergence Mashup Application
 
The NomadicPBX application enables wireless carriers and VoIP providers to escape voice commoditization with fixed-mobile convergence services across any desk phone, softphone or mobile phone













Blackra1n on iPad Jailbreak!

April 10, 2010


George Hotz, aka Geohot has done it again - an iPad jailbreak! Geohot released an image (above) showing his jailbreak tool blackra1n on the home screen of his iPad. I'm a huge fan of Geohot since I used his blackra1n tool to jailbreak my iPhone to get glorious Categories, background apps/multi-tasking, theming, and all the other joys that come with jailbreaking. Interestingly, he's a fan of VoIP since I see Skype on his home screen. Even more reason for me to like this guy.
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