Tom Keating : VoIP & Gadgets Blog
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Skype

Skype P2P VoIP

Incoming! for Skype on the Apple iPhone

May 19, 2009


A new Skype for the Apple iPhone app was just approved and is available in the iTunes app store called Incoming! for Skype. Basically, it makes every call an incoming call so you can save your minutes on your wireless dialplan, since they often feature unlimited inbound minutes and only charge for outbound minute usage.

Here's how it works:
1.



Microsoft Blocks VoIP on Windows Marketplace for Mobile

May 6, 2009

Microsoft has banned several applications for it's new Windows Marketplace for Mobile app store, including VoIP. Guess Apple isn't the only VoIP crippler in town. Perhaps this is an opportunity for Google Android to surpass BOTH Apple and Microsoft within the mobile phone space. After all, Google's philosophy is do no evil.

50% of Mobile Voice Traffic Will Use End-to-End VoIP by 2019

May 5, 2009

Gartner, a respected research firm located just a stone's throw from TMC said today, "mobile VoIP poses a huge challenge for traditional mobile voice providers." You don't say? Hmm, I would have never guessed such a thing. Ok, other than stating the obvious, the research does have some fascinating points, including claiming that ore than 50% of mobile voice traffic will be carried using end-to-end VoIP by 2019 - or basically 10 years from now.

"Mobile portal voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offered by third-party application-based providers poses a huge and direct challenge to the $692.6 billion global mobile voice market", according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that over time traditional network-based mobile carriers face the real prospect of losing a major slice of their voice traffic and revenue to new non-infrastructure players that use VoIP.

But Gartner doesn't paint an entirely rosy picture for VoIP. Gartner said "that despite this significant potential, conditions for the rapid expansion in the use of mobile VoIP are not yet right and are not likely to become right for at least five years and perhaps as long as eight years."

Yeah, well when carriers like AT&T pull crap like forcing Apple to only allow VoIP over WiFi and not over a 3G data connection, it's no wonder why mobile VoIP growth will be stunted by anti-competitive tactics.





Free Calls on Skype

April 23, 2009

3 UK is opening up its network to allow anyone with a 3 SIM and a compatible handset to have unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages without ever having to pay. 3UK announced that on May 1st users with a 3UK SIM and a 3-provided Skype-enabled handset will be able to use Skype for free. Additionally, previous deals for free Skype required a monthly topup of £10 on pay-as-you-go and there will be no data charges. Thus, Skype will be 100% free, subject to their fair use policy of course.

Plantronics Voyager PRO

April 23, 2009


The Plantronics Voyager Pro is the successor to the much-loved Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth headset, which goes on sale today, although, Best Buy started selling its stock a bit early. I have a review unit which I plan on testing and giving my thoughts/opinion on in the new few days. I reviewed its predecessor, the Plantronics Voyage 510, which had a cult following. I was a big fan of the Voyager 510 and have one on my desk.

eBay to Launch Skype IPO

April 14, 2009

It just gets better and better - First, there was the legal fight between Joltid (Niklas Zennstrom) and Skype/eBay that I wrote about. Then the NY Times reported that Skype's founders, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, were in talks with several private equity firms to make a bid to buy back Skype. Now, eBay today announced they want to spin off Skype as an IPO. Apparently, they don't like the bid prices offered by Niklas and Janus.

Skype Founders Bid to Retake Skype from eBay

April 10, 2009

Well well well. It appears the legal fight between Joltid and Skype that I reported several days ago has deeper ramifications than I first thought. The NY Times is reporting that Skype's founders, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, are in talks with several private equity firms and along with their own financial resources, plan to make a bid to buy back Skype.

eBay has been shopping around Skype for the "right" price. Niklas, who founded Joltid along with Mr. Friss have an ace up their sleeve, namely certain licensing rights to the peer-to-peer technology used in Skype.

As I wrote nine days ago, there are serious implications over the Joltid lawsuit against eBay/Skype and I 'hinted' at Skype's potential demise:

Skype's technology roots are in Kazaa, the P2P file-sharing network.




IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone

April 7, 2009

IPEVO's S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone is a pretty neat Skype phone, that unlike most Skype phones, was designed for your desk, not to carry around. That includes the IPEVO Wi-Fi Skype phone, I recently reviewed. While the IPEVO Wi-Fi Skype phone was designed to be portable and carry around, Skype phones like these are small which means a very small speakerphone (or none at all), resulting in limited or no hands-free speakerphone capabilities. The IPEVO S0-10W Skype Desktop Phone solves that problem.

Rather than sporting an Ethernet connection, however, it uses a built-in Wi-Fi adapter, so you could carry this around the house / business if you wanted to (still needs power, so would have to plug it back in).

Skype for iPhone Passes 1 Million Downloads!

April 2, 2009

According to Skype, "In less than two days, Skype for iPhone has been downloaded more than one million times - around six downloads every second. This is a phenomenal performance, and we're confident that it's one of the fastest-downloaded iPhone apps ever. We'll be back next week with an update, but for now, Skype on "

That's pretty damn fast. Now imagine if AT&T allowed Skype over 3G on un-jailbreaked iPhones? That number might be double or triple.

Skype in Legal Fight with Joltid over P2P technology

April 2, 2009

Skype and Joltid Limited are in a legal dispute over Skype's licensing of Jolitid's P2P communication technology. This is news to me, since I thought Skype invented the P2P technology used in Skype. Skype's technology roots are in Kazaa, the P2P file-sharing network. Both Skype and Kazaa were co-founded by Niklas Zennstrom.
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