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Finally! New Windows Mobile App AudioRoute Enables Earpiece for VoIP Apps

March 26, 2009

Finally a software tool called AudioRoute that can be used to route Windows Mobile audio from the earpiece speaker to the backspeaker and vice-versa. This is especially needed for VoIP applications on Windows Mobile phones.

I've tested several VoIP apps (SIP clients, Skype, etc.) on my Windows Mobile XV6700 phone and other Windows Mobiles and from what I understand the carrier forced the hardware manufacturers to block VoIP applications from using the earpiece for listening to the remote caller. You couldn't even use speakerphone. Instead, you were forced to use the backspeaker, a tiny low-quality speaker located on the back of the phone, which made phone quality horrendous when making VoIP calls.

Posted in Accessories, Asterisk, Gadgets, Microsoft, Mobile Phones, SIP, Skype, VoIP, Wireless

Michael Robertson Responds to OpenSky vs. SkypeforSIP article

March 25, 2009

I would be remiss if I did not point out that Gizmo5's CEO Michael Robertson responded to me regarding yesterday's OpenSky vs. SkypeforSIP article. I had tried to reach Michael before the article went live but was not able to reach him.

Michael emailed me his thoughts, which I have now included into my original article prefaced with the word "Update" in front and with his quotes italicized.

For instance, Michael disagrees with the Skype representative on how Skype will price SkypeforSIP. He still thinks it will be expensive.

Posted in SIP, Skype, VoIP

OpenSky vs. SkypeforSIP - It's On Baby!

March 24, 2009

It's on! It's Gizmo5's OpenSky vs. Skype. Michael Robertson, the CEO of Gizmo5 has a post up where he compares Gizmo5's OpenSky to Skype's SkypeforSIP. It's interesting how Michael talks about open standards, mentioning .mp3, a standard which Michael was a proponent of when he ran MP3.com and then backslaps Skype upside the head basically saying "What took you so long?

Posted in SIP, Skype, VoIP

Skype Starting to Dominate the International Long-distance pie

March 24, 2009

Skype has been taking a larger share of the international long-distance pie according to new data from TeleGeography, which just came out today.

The article states:

TeleGeography estimates that Skype's cross-border traffic grew approximately 41% in 2008, to 33 billion minutes --equivalent to 8% of combined international telephone + Skype traffic. 'Skype's traffic growth has been remarkable,' said TeleGeography analyst Stephan Beckert. 'Only five years after its launch, Skype has emerged as the largest provider of cross-border voice communications in the world.'

With dozens of international carriers, getting 8% marketshare is no small feat. To do so in just 5 years in a hyper-competitive environment is even more remarkable.

Posted in ITEXPO, Skype, VoIP

Skype For SIP Marries Skype and IP-PBXs

March 23, 2009

Today, Skype announced it is enabling SIP-based IP-PBX to connect to the Skype network, which will allow low-cost SkypeOut calling, receiving calls from Skype users, and receiving calls from regular PSTN phone lines. Outbound calls from IP-PBX SIP handsets to Skype phones is not part of this news announcement. Skype commented it is too difficult to dial Skype usernames from a desktop handset.

Features:

Receive and manage inbound calls from the 405 million Skype users worldwide on SIP-enabled PBX systems, connecting the company website to the PBX system using Skype click-to-call buttons
Place calls via Skype to landlines and mobile phones worldwide from any connected SIP-enabled PBX, saving your business money with Skype's low rates
Purchase Skype online numbers to receive calls to the corporate PBX from landlines or mobile phones
Manage Skype calls using your existing hardware and system applications such as call routing, conferencing, phone menus, voicemail and call recording and logging - no additional downloads or training are required

Skype For SIP is perfectly suited to businesses that already have IP-PBXs and want to connect to Skype's network which offers low-cost calling. Skype for SIP is being launched as a closed beta program, but you can register and try to be part of the beta.

Posted in Asterisk, SIP, Skype, Unified Communications, VoIP

Luca's Top 30 VoIP Leaders on Twitter list

March 20, 2009

Luca Filigheddu has a Top 30 VoIP Leaders On Twitter post worth checking out. TMC's Rich Tehrani and I are on the list. Honestly, I haven't seriously started using twitter until the beginning of this month, so I'm just ramping up my followers and who I follow. So I'm grateful to Luca for still considering me for the list considering my twitter nascency.

Many good people worth following are on Luca's list which is in alphabetical order. Make sure to check out the list and follow them if you are interested in VoIP, including such topics as Skype, Vonage, SIP, Packet8, Asterisk, FCC regulation on VoIP, etc.

Posted in SIP, Skype, VoIP

10,000 minutes of Skype Access For free

March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day! And in the spirit of St. Patty's Day, the folks at Skype have a special treat for you Mac fans. Sorry, PC users, you're out of luck this St. Patty's Day...

Skype's Peter Parkes wrote:
As a special treat, we're giving away 10,000 minutes of Skype Access completely free - simply connect as normal for up to 30 minutes at a time, and you won't pay a thing.

For those of you who are in the dark about Skype Access, here are the basics:

Posted in Skype, VoIP

Windows Server 2008 RDS Does VoIP

March 11, 2009

Terminal Services allows you to remotely run applications as well as perform remote administrative duties on servers. It has allowed remote audio to be streamed over IP from the remote computer to your local computer (audio redirection) but has never allowed the microphone or line-in port to be redirected. If Microsoft did, you could do VoIP. Of course, you'd have to redirect from the local PC to the remote server and not the other way around.

Posted in Microsoft, SIP, Skype, TMCnet, Unified Communications, Video Conferencing, VoIP

Skype Gives Away SILK Codec - Has Wideband Telephony Finally Arrived?

March 3, 2009

Jonathan Christensen, General Manager, Audio & Video, Skype is keynoting at eComm and announced some major news today - namely that Skype is going to give away their signature SILK wideband audio codec (aka Super Duper Weenie Wideband Codec) in hopes it will help make wideband telephony adoption more prevalent. This could finally help make wideband telephony in the VoIP industry a reality. Rich Tehrani is a strong proponent of wideband audio, but I'm still a bit of a skeptic myself. I like wideband audio, I just don't think there is a 'rush' to adopt it.

Posted in Polycom, Skype, TMCnet, VoIP

SpinVox Transcribes Skype Voicemail & VoiceScribe does the same for Asterisk

March 3, 2009

Skype
users can now have their voicemails converted into text via SpinVox. Today, SpinVox announced that your Skype voicemails transcribed and sent to you via SMS for €0.20/£0.17/25 cents plus the cost of the SMS. SimulScribe, now PhoneTag, is a similar service, that Rich Tehrani uses regularly. GotVoice is yet another one.

But how about another cool TTS app that is currently 'free' and works with the popular open source Asterisk platform? Weavver's VoiceScribe is a beta web-service for Asterisk that converts your voicemail to text and delivers them to you via e-mail.

Posted in Asterisk, SIP, Skype, TMCnet, Unified Communications, VoIP

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