Phone.com officials are announcing a new policy where if people sign up for any Virtual Office Phone.com service plan, they will receive 20 percent off the base price for the first six months.
Phone.com marketing managers said that the use of this coupon code: "twentyoff" during the sign up process the customers will get 20 percent off their monthly BASE price of the plan they choose.
Advertising that they can "take your business to the next level," Phone.com officials say the service can help present a professional image with an auto attendant, and that users can "use one phone number to reach all locations and staff, anywhere in the world."
The service allows users to schedule incoming call forwarding based on their time and check voicemail by Web, e-mail or phone. "No hardware to purchase or maintain," company officials say.
Recently TMC had the news that Phone.com's app Mobile Office "allows subscribers to make and receive calls and send and receive text messages from their Phone.com number using their Android phone."
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Smartphone shipments are expected to grow 21 percent this year to 224 million, according to the latest forecasts from ABI Research. But what's driving all that growth may not be the phones you expect - or have even heard of.
ABI's Vice president of forecasting, Jake Saunders, said yeah yeah, of course the latest iPhone or Android phones will grab the publicity, but that white box, or "Shanzai" handset manufacturers, are "reshaping the low-cost handset segment as they redefine the look and feel of the low-cost, ultra-low-cost segments."
And speaking of Android phones, TMC's Raju Shanbhag reported that the mCUE product line from D2 Technologies "now supports the Skype's SkypeKit SDK. With the help of mCUE, OEMs and ODMs can "quickly and inexpensively" release Android OS-based devices to market.
SkypeKit, Shanbhag wrote, "is a collection of software and APIs that allows Internet-connected devices or applications to offer Skype voice and video calls. SkypeKit is designed to work with a wide variety of chip sets, operating systems, and audio/video devices."
You might have seen some of these low-cost handset "brands," such as the "BlueBerry." Okay, that sails pretty close to trademark infringement, as ABI officials say: "These handsets have very localized distribution, lack the full functions of the originals, and cater to end-users who, while they may not have deep pockets, do aspire to be smartphone users."
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Is this the push 3D television needs to finally crack the mainstream? It will be if DirecTV has anything to say about it.
PCWorld is reporting that DirecTV has launched three 3D channels "including n3D, a new Panasonic-sponsored channel offering subscribers exclusive, original 3D programming from a number of top content providers," including CBS, Fox Sports, HDNet, MTV, NBC Universal, and Turner Broadcasting System, "among others."
Three channels for 3D, write your own headline.
Or as I4U News puts it, "While other TV giants like Time Warner Cable and Dish Network still have absolutely no 3D content anywhere in their program guide or schedule, DirecTV is ramping up the competition even steeper, adding 3 more 3D channels."
Some people think that's a small step for content providers, but a bigger one for the technology. "3D TV takes a giant step forward today," Shiro Kitajama, president of Panasonic Consumer Electronics, said at a press conference.
In addition to the free n3D channel, PCWorld says, "pay-per-view and on-demand channels were switched on and will provide 24/7 access to 3D programming; all three channels are currently live."
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In its 2008 report, "Opening Up: How R&D is Changing in the Telecommunications Sector Today," the Economist Intelligence Unit outlined what it saw as the most significant challenges facing service providers in the near term, as well as the proportion of service providers affected in terms of cost transformation.
According to Alcatel-Lucent officials, who have produced a fine white paper, on the subject, "Extracting more value from your network," service providers are confronting multiple issues on multiple fronts. The question is not whether they should or should not respond, but rather how.
Short-term actions have long-term consequences - but hey, you didn't need us to tell you that. In this context, however, if a service provider's ultimate aims are to retain control over the network and reap its value, "those goals must be embedded in whatever tactical steps are taken today," the Alcatel-Lucent paper finds.
The High Leverage Network offers an approach to evolving the network, according to the white paper: "One focused on achieving specific business goals unique to each service provider's market and operational realities. As such, it both includes and goes beyond cost optimization and high performance. "
An HLN, the paper explains enhances data path manipulation to support application enablement, helping ensuring the network's capacity for maximum value extraction through monetized service delivery, enhanced reliability and improved quality of service.
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