Wireless

wireless, WiFi, WiMAX, 3G, 4G, EVDO

Beacon Audio's The Phoenix Portable Bluetooth Speaker Launches

July 11, 2012

Tired of your tinny mobile phone or tablet speakers and want portable high-quality speakers? Well check out Beacon's The Phoenix, a Bluetooth-activated, rechargeable, take-with-you-everywhere speaker, which is available in 3 colors - vibrant Blue or Red, as well as a more classic Black color option.

Weighing in at just seven ounces with dimensions of 3.2 x 3.2 x 2.9 inches, the Phoenix is smaller than a coffee mug yet still manages to provide crisp, clear sound and enough volume to fill a room, loudly. The unit also features a wireless range of 35 feet. On the rear of the speaker, an auxilary input exists for all non-Bluetooth enabled devices.

Posted in Accessories, Apple, Gadgets, Home Entertainment, MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Mobile Phones, Tablets, Wireless

Maaii VoIP app Now on Android - Free Voice and Texts

July 9, 2012

Maaii, the app for free talk and text is now available on Android. Maaii, allows users to make calls and send text messages to contacts and social network friends for free, today announced the launch of its beta on Google Play. As you may recall from my review, Maaii gives you 100 free minutes per day, which is great for low volume users.

According to Maaii, in the six months since Maaii’s iOS launch, the mobile app has signed up more than 1 million registered users.

Posted in Android, Apple, Gadgets, Google, Mobile Phones, VoIP, Wireless

Microsoft Surface Wi-Fi Only? Easy Workaround...

June 22, 2012

Bloomberg is reporting that Microsoft Surface will initially be Wi-Fi only. I can hear the wailing of Microsoft Surface fans "No! Why? No 4G?" while Apple iPad fans smirk and laugh at you for even considering abandoning the mighty iPad.

So why no 3G/4G wireless for Microsoft SurfacE?

Posted in Apple, Microsoft, Tablets, Wireless

The VoIP Revolution - from Caveman to VoIP in an Infographic

June 14, 2012

Ah, real-time human communication - from caveman grunts to the spoken word to smoke signals/drums/horns to Morse code to the telephone to the cell phone to VoIP. It's been a fun ride. Most of us have been around for everything past Morse code. Well, what would the VoIP revolution be without an Infographic to tell the story? I give you this fun infographic courtesy of Voipium:

Source: Global VoIP Revolution [Infographic]

While we're feeling nostalgic about communications history, check out my VoIP history article as well as my Top 20 VoIP Innovators of All Time, which includes a slideshow and a few of the companies listed in the infographic above.

Posted in Skype, TMCnet, VoIP, Wireless

Bria Android Edition Adds Video Calling (Finally!)

June 12, 2012

CounterPath today announced they've added video calling to its Bria Android Edition mobile softphone, which is now available in the Google Play app store. It's been two years since Counterpath for Android was launched, so video calling has been a long time coming.

Video calling for Bria Android Edition supports the H.264 video codec. Interestingly, the video calling feature is an additional "add on" fee to the $7.99 Bria Android app.

Posted in Android, Google, SIP, TMCnet, Video Conferencing, VoIP, Wireless

Terahertz Wi-Fi Super Speed Breakthrough Coming Soon...

June 8, 2012

Japanese researches have crushed the record for wireless data transmission utilizing the terahertz band, an uncharted part of the electromagnetic spectrum, resulting in 20x better performance than Wi-Fi.

The band makes use of frequencies from about 300 gigahertz (300GHz or about 60 times higher than the current highest Wi-Fi standard) to about 3THz and it lies between the microwave and far-infrared regions of the spectrum. Wait, between microwaves (cook/heat via vibration) and infrared, which can be used to heat or cook things? And you thought cell phone radiation was bad for your brain...

But don't worry, the 20x faster than Wi-Fi data rate is worth cooking a few brain cells! I jest - there is absolutely no evidence terahertz frequencies poses any health risks.

According to the BBC terahertz rays or "T-rays" can "penetrate many materials as effectively as X-rays but deposit far less energy and therefore cause less damage." Well, there you have it - the BBC says it causes less damage than X-rays, so it must be safe.

Posted in Gadgets, Mobile Phones, Technology and Science, Wireless

Polkast 2.0 Improves on P2P Personal Cloud Access to Your Files

May 31, 2012

Polkast, a personal cloud service that connects computers and mobile devices through a secure peer-to-peer connection, today announced Polkast 2.0, available on Windows, Mac OSX, iOS and Android devices. Polkast 2.0 includes several new features and a Pro subscription version.

I tried out their service recently and it works very well. It reminds me of Orb, although Orb caches thumbnails and filenames of your photos, music files, and videos on their web server. Privacy advocates may not like this.

Posted in Cloud, Gadgets, Internet, Mobile Phones, TMCnet, Wireless

The New In Your Face Facebook Ads - Coming Soon!

May 21, 2012

After Facebook's disastrous IPO leading some to speculate Facebook's actual worth is in the $16-$24 range, it's worth examining what went wrong. Was it the Nasdaq computer glitches, which some claim resulted in $100 million in losses to investment firms? Perhaps a small factor. Was the initial stock price too high?

Posted in Apple, Mobile Phones, Social Networking, TMCnet, Wireless

Telefonica Launches Skype Competitor Tu Me

May 9, 2012

Telefónica today launched a new mobile app called Tu Me, which essentially takes the approach if you can't beat Skype, join em'. Tu Me features texts, voice calls, messages, and location and photo sharing - all free of charge, with the caveat that it uses your data plan more, so it isn't technically "free" unless you are on an unlimited data plan or you use free Wi-Fi hotspots most of the time.

The app is currently only available on iOS however Android is coming. Tu Me enables communication and sharing between mobile phones, recording every interaction through a searchable timeline, obviously borrowing some elements from the Facebook social network and others.

There are some major caveats with this app.

Posted in Mobile Phones, Skype, VoIP, Wireless

Viber Announces BlackBerry Beta and Windows Phone 7 Beta

May 8, 2012

Viber today announced the availability of Viber for BlackBerry Beta and Windows Phone 7 Beta.

Both Viber for BlackBerry Beta and Viber for Windows Phone 7 Beta initially offer Viber Messaging, allowing users to exchange text and high-quality photo messages and share locations with other Viber users. The beta does not yet include their HD VoIP calling. Some may call this a bit premature beta since Viber is a known as a mobile VoIP app not a standalone IM app, but I'll give them a pass to bringing some early love to these two platforms.

Viber seamlessly integrates with the devices' interface, with no registration required, instantly identifying existing contacts who already have Viber installed so users do not need to go through a “friend request” process. According to Viber, "the full release for both platforms, including Viber’s signature HD-quality free voice calling, will be released as soon as it meets Viber’s quality standards."

Posted in Mobile Phones, SIP, VoIP, Wireless

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