Aswath then Andy via Alec have uncovered what looks to be the first final word from AOL on their TotalTalk service. Aswath mentioned that he thinks it might be an html hi-jack but I doubt it. Of course, this all pure speculation considering AOL has not announced anything regarding the closure of TotalTalk.
In my honest opinion AOL ran screaming into this broadband telephony race with what would seem little or no pre-thought. Andy makes mention of Phone 2.0 being partially represented by AOL AIM Phoneline. I am not sure about Phone 2.0 but I do think they are on the right track and should stick with messaging. Hmm, didn't Google just buy $1B worth of AOL? Yes, I would say the softphone + IM strategy is better for AOL and they should pour more resources at that initiative. Vonage seems to be on the same page who look to be throwing a lot of resources towards their new V-phone product (a launch party for a USB softphone?? <ugh>).
For SMBs email, fax and calendaring are equally as important as Voice something I call SMB 2.0 (tongue firmly planted in cheek). Presence is also gaining some height on the hit list for Small and Medium Businesses, useful for click-to-call address books and alike.
