Tom Keating : VoIP & Gadgets Blog
Tom Keating
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Touchmods VoIP App for the Apple iPhone Sparks Controversy

February 8, 2008

Touchmods created a storm of interest when they announced a hack that adds a microphone to the Apple iPod touch and a SIP-based VoIP application that runs on the Apple iPod touch. Well controversy is brewing on Touchmods.net. Yesterday they announced that French ADSL provider Free.fr, has coded an iPhone VoIP application locked to that ISP's service. The site explains:
However, since our first iPhone came as a donation from the French ADSL Provider Free (www.free.fr), the recent version of Siphon with iPhone support is temporarily locked to their service.

FaceFon Video Phone on its way?

February 7, 2008

Mork over at Trademork informed me about LG Electronics filing a patent filing a patent for FaceFon.

On January 29, 2008, electronics behemoth LG Electronics filed to protect the trademark FaceFon in relation to “telephones; videophones; cellular telephones; wireless local loop telephones; telephone handsets; computer telephony software (enables telephone activities to be performed through a computer); computer terminals”.

I'm going to assume from the name which sounds like "face phone" that this is some sort of face-to-face video phone. Even the two letter F's face each other with one of them backwards. And lest we forget, I wrote about the LG-Nortel Microsoft OCS phones here.

Here's a photo of the LG-Nortel 8540, which already sports a nice color LCD display, so adding video wouldn't be a stretch:


So my friends, is this (FaceFon) going to be another LG-Nortel phone for the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 (OCS) platform? Or is this going to be a SIP-compliant video phone that works on any SIP-compliant PBX?







Fring adds P2P mobile phone file sharing

February 5, 2008

Today, mobile VoIP startup Fring added file-swapping to its mobile application. You can send music, videos, or documents from your cell phone to other Fring users or anyone on MSN Messenger through 3G and Edge data networks as well as over WiFi.

Of course, the core of Fring is that it leverages a cell phone's data plan or WiFi connection to make free Internet calls to fellow Fringers and charges for landline and mobile line connections.
Unlike Skype which is limited to communicating on it's own network, Fring also lets you IM people on AIM, Skype, MSN, ICQ, Twitter, Google Talk, Yahoo, or any SIP network. Further, you can even send files to MSN Messenger users and vice-versa.

Another new feature is that Fring's IM now tells you when the remote party is typing. 




Worldgate Ojo VoIP/Videophone Service in Trouble

February 5, 2008

I've been monitoring Worldgate Communications, makers of the cool looking Ojo videophone for the past several days. I received word that their service was down for a few days and I attempted to reach them, but got a general mailbox. I didn't leave a message, but instead waited to see how this would pan out.

Well, today, I learned that Worldgate is currently in a dispute with its largest customer over the payment of significant monies which the company believes are owed to it.

A Form 8-K was filed by Worldgate Communications claiming that its largest company has refused to pay. The 8-K states that the customer's refusal to pay such monies has contributed to a shortfall in the operating cash available to the Company to continue operations.

Accordingly, on January 30, 2008, the Company shut down its operations as a first step to winding down its business, which will occur if the Company is not able to secure payment of the monies believed to be owed and/or new financing.





Future of SIP to Skype Gateway in Doubt?

February 4, 2008

I have strong disagreements with a guest blog post on Skype Journal that was posted a few days ago titled "A SIP/Skype Gateway Is NOT In The Forecast". I totally disagree that a SIP/Skype gateway isn't in the forecast. I've blogged on a few occasions where I discussed the desire for Skype users to have SIP connectivity. First, let me include an excerpt where the guest blogger, Hudson Barton lays out his argument:
Skype's competitors and critics continually point out that Skype's VOIP architecture is closed and that its API is not adequate for creating a direct connection between the Skype "cloud" and the SIP "cloud".

Schmooze the Yiddish Asterisk

February 1, 2008

Oy vey! It appears we may have another Asterisk-based PBX in the mix. The chutzpah! The gall to launch an Asterisk-based system without telling me! I feel like such a schmuck for not knowing.

Yahoo Overture Keyword Selector Tool Outage

February 1, 2008

Polycom Kills the Buzz Factor

January 31, 2008

Who hasn’t been on an important conference call and heard the infamous “buzz” sound on the speakerphone caused by cell phone interference. Nextel two-way “push to talk” phones are notorious for causing this “buzz” sound, as well as Blackberries. Still don't know what I'm talking about? Sure you do.

8x8's Packet8 Posts Steady Growth

January 30, 2008

8x8's Packet8 may not be the largest VoIP service provider, but they have nice stable growth. Unlike some VoIP service providers which tried to grow fast but then crashed and burned (See SunRocket posts here, here, and here), Packet8 has had slow steady growth over the years.

So I'm pleased to report that 8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT), provider of Packet8 broadband Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), videophone and mobile VoIP communication services, today announced revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 were $15.8 million, compared with $14.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and $13.3 million for the same period of the prior year, an increase of 7% over the prior quarter and 19% year over year.

Net income for the quarter was $1.4 million or $0.02 per share, the second highest quarterly earnings in the company's history, compared with a net loss of $2.6 million or ($0.04) per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 and a net loss of $2.8 million or ($0.05) per share for the same period last year. Total revenues for the nine-month periods ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, were $45.3 million and $38.7 million, respectively, an increase of 17%.

You can read the full financial results after the jump...





Faxterisk Adds T.38 support to Asterisk

January 30, 2008

Recently I wrote about the challenges of Fax over IP and T.38 real-time faxing and the lack of good T.38 support in Asterisk. Though I did point out a few fax workarounds in Asterisk. I received a flurry of emails and comments. One stated:
There actually is full fledged t.38 support for asterisk: http://www.attractel.com/faxterisk.php

2 week trial licenses are available.

Also have a look at our zoiper softphone which can receive, and in the next version, somewhere next week also transmit faxes over t.38.

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