Internet and VOIP phones

Actiontec Electronics today announced a wireless home router designed to support the new combo mobile/WiFi phones that provide cellular and VoIP coverage with a single handset and phone number. The Actiontec Wireless FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) Router facilitates call switching between the mobile and home WiFi networks as users move in and out of the house, leveraging the ability of dual mode phones to deliver cellular coverage on the road, less expensive Internet-based calls at home, and a WiFi-based connection for phone use in homes with weak cellular signals.

Offering support for service from all major carriers as well as first-in-class plug-and-play setup, the new Actiontec device combines an 802.11n access point and four-port Ethernet router with software that acts as a middleman between the broadband and cellular networks. At home, the unit automatically establishes a WiFi network connection for any incoming or outgoing call. If the user enters or leaves the home while on the phone, the router connects or disconnects from the WiFi conversation as needed, routes the call to the mobile network if appropriate, and allows the phone to make the switch without disconnecting the call.

When attached to another router, access point or Cable/DSL modem, the Actiontec product automatically detects the other device and extracts the necessary settings for pain-free installation. If it is connected to another router, for example, it turns itself into a switch. If it is connected to a DSL modem, it automatically populates itself with the settings and passwords originally used for modem setup. If it is attached to another wireless router, it configures itself with a unique SSID (Service Set Identifier) and will channel hop to avoid signal interference.

Source and more info: ehomeupgrade

Voice over IP cordless system supporting all telephony features on a

single chip including Wideband Audio, Multi-Line and Multi-Handset

operation. — Cordless extension for PC-based IP telephony, using a cordless USB

Dongle, compatible with Skype and Windows Live Messenger applications. — Advanced DECT chip-sets supporting Korean 1.7GHz, European1.8GHz and

Latin and North American 1.9GHz DECT frequency bands with improved

sensitivity and doubled channel capacity, supporting Next Generation

DECT standard CAT-iq(TM). New family of DECT chip-sets is escorted with

a full range of reference software supporting a wide variety of

applications from entry level single-line cordless phones to Color

display cordless phones featuring downloadable wallpapers, animated

icons, polyphonic ringtones and SMS.

Tal Simchony, President of DSP Group, stated: “Our innovative system-on-chip solutions include an extensive software suite that puts the company at the center stage of the residential communications market. We deliver high quality in house wireless coverage for sensitive real-time multimedia applications.”

Source and more info: lxer

CSR plc introduces a VoIP phone based on the company’s UniFi single-chip WiFi technology. CSR has designed UniVox to enable manufacturers to produce wireless phones for residential use at low cost and lowest power with up to 20 hours talk time and 400 hours standby time from typical handset batteries, using latest generation access points. The company is providing UniVox customers with schematics, layout and bill of materials (BOM) as well as royalty-free design software. To ensure the lowest cost, CSR has designed UniVox to be highly integrated, so the total cost of components listed in the BOM is under $20, with electronic bill of materials (eBOM) totally less than $15.

“Untethering VoIP calls from PCs is exactly what consumers want, and for wireless VoIP phones to succeed both power and pricing have got to fall,” said J. Gerry Purdy, Frost and Sullivan’s VP and Chief Mobile Wireless Analyst. “Only lower prices and long battery life will drive widespread adoption; CSR’s UniVox handset reference design should help ODMs achieve those goals.”

CSR has built UniVox around its UniFi-1 Portable chip to provide a design for a low cost, low power VoWiFi (Voice over WiFi) phone. UniFi-1 is CSR’s 802.11b/g single-chip WiFi solution and offers the industry’s lowest power consumption. In addition, it’s housed in a chip-scale package that provides a very small footprint (6 x 6mm). CSR has also designed its own MAP (Multimedia Applications Processor) into UniVox, combining a low-power RISC-based applications processor with high-performance DSP function, audio CODECs and echo cancellation, as well as intelligent power management. To ensure high voice quality UniVox supports 802.11e and WMM-SA, which provides optimized and prioritized quality of service (QoS) by eliminating potential latency or jitter. UniVox also supports 802.11i to add enhanced levels of security.

Source and more info: wirelessdesignasia

Mobile VoIP is a hit with consumers according to the “Mobile and WiFi Phones and Subscribers” report released today by the Campbell CA-based telecom analyst firm Infonetics Research.

While mobile phone sales worldwide were up a healthy 13 percent in 2006, the interesting number is a 327 percent growth in WiFi phone sales during the same period.

Still not impressed? Consider what Infonetices predicts for the rest of the decade: A compound annual growth rate close to 200 percent for cellular/WiFi dual mode phones.

Consumers are choosing these two to one over single-mode WiFi equipment. In 2006 71 percent of WiFi phone revenue came from dual-mode handsets while single mode WiFi made up only 29 percent of the total.

The report is certainly good news for makes of dual mode handsets; a rapidly growing field that includes established mobile phone players like Nokia as well as newcomers like San Jose, CA-based Hellosoft.

The numbers reflect user impatience with juggling multiple devices, according to Infonetics.

“Users are demanding single number/single device services, and operators like T-Mobile announced converged services based on Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) in 2006,” said directing analyst for wireless at Infonetics Research Richard Webb in today’s press release. “UMA is a good example of early fixed-mobile convergence (FMC), prior to the eventual shift to IMS in the long-term.”

Source and more info: voxilla

Taiwan based Genius has announced the Navigator 380, the latest VOIP mouse, that integrates mouse and internet phone functions. The Genius VOIP Mouse software can support up to six Instant Messengers (Skype, MSN, Yahoo, GoogleTalk, QQ and AIM) and combine these IMs into one window. Besides, there are seven buttons in Navigator 380 especially for the phone functions — Phone on/off, List up/down, Volume up/down and OK for call up the IM window.

The LED on the Navigator 380 blinks to let users know of an incoming call through Instant Messenger, and if the PC speaker is on, the ringing will also alert users to the icall. One just needs to pick up the mouse and open it up like a clamshell mobile phone, to talk to.

Source and more info: tech2

Over the years I’ve given enough money to Ma Bell and her ugly stepdaughters to buy them all vacation homes in Tahiti. Frankly, I’m tired of it. That’s why I love Skype.

The beauty of VoIP phone services like Skype is that you can call subscribers anywhere in the world for absolutely nothing. All you need is the right software and a broadband connection. In fact, chat apps from AOL Instant Messenger to Yahoo Messenger are now rapidly morphing into Internet phones, offering a tempting alternative to traditional cellular and landlines. Just download the chat software, plug a phone into your PC, and start dialing. But not all services are created equal.

Source and more info: pcworld

Australian Internet telephony provider Engin has partnered with mobile phone giant Nokia to provide the first mobile Internet phone to be released in Australia.

Engin claimed its customers will receive lower cost mobile phone bills using the Nokia N80 Internet edition handset.

The Nokia N80 Internet edition combines wireless LAN, support for Internet calls, a 3-megapixel camera, quadband GSM/WCDMA coverage and other Internet services.

Ilkka Tales, chief executive officer of Engin told CRN last September the firm was in discussions with partners and manufactures around a possible mobility-based deal.

In the wake of the Nokia deal Tales said the N80 Internet edition, can blend together surfing the Net and making cost-efficient Internet calls.

“With the proliferation of WiFi hot spots in the home, office and public areas, people can use the Nokia N80 to make calls, no matter where they are, over the Engin network at our low cost call rates.”

Source and more info: crn

he MAX1000 is a premium full-featured VoIP phone system designed for branch offices and locations with up to 48 users with support for such features as SIP trunking, Meet-me conference bridge capability with scheduling application, On-demand Voice Recording, 4,500 hours of voice mail storage, ExtensionAnywhere mobility and many other features in a single-box appliance.

“The MAX1000 is completely different from competing phone systems in that every branch office is fully autonomous,” said Ray Lutteroty, president of AltiGen reseller SRMS Network Technologies. “We will be installing nine MAX1000 systems in the next month for a multi-location credit union because of this advantage.”

Source and more info: voipmonitor

ReliaClearâ„¢ Canada Inc., a leading provider of high quality broadband phone services today announced the official launch of its Residential Voice Over IP (VoIP) services in 35 cities across Ontario with service expected to expand monthly. Cities include: Ancaster, Aurora, Brampton, Burlington, Campbellford, Clarkson, Cooksville, Dundas, Fort Erie, Georgetown, Grimsby, Hamilton, King City, Malton, Maple, Markham, Milton, Newmarket, Niagara Falls, Oak Ridges, Oakville, Peterborough, Port Colborne, Port Credit, Richmond Hill, St. Catharines, Stoney Creek, Streetsville, Thorold, Toronto, Unionville, Waterdown, Welland, and Woodbridge.

ReliaClearâ„¢ is targeting the market with aggressive pricing for customers with their ReliaClearâ„¢ Residential Lite package at $14.99 a month and an Unlimited ReliaClearâ„¢ Residential Pro Plan at $24.99 a month.

“We are striving to be among the top five providers in Canada by the end of 2007 and understand the importance of superior customer service. To help spread the word, we are offering a very aggressive referral program. For each ReliaClear customer that refers us a new signup that continues service for three months, the referring customer gets two months free,” said Michael Somerville, Vice President.

Using proprietary technology and systems, ReliaClearâ„¢ continuously and dynamically optimizes service quality for every call made on its network. ReliaClearâ„¢ routes network traffic to avoid congestion on the fly so call participants hear the best sound quality their equipment is capable of delivering.

Source and more info: newswiretoday

Internet voip service provider VOIP.com is announcing its top 5 recommended strategies voip users can use for optimizing their voip service. Voice Over Internet Protocol or “VOIP” phone service offers the advantages of a traditional phone services without sacrificing call quality. Plus voip offers many added benefits which include an average savings of 50% or more on phone bills and unlimited calls for only $19.95 a month.

Yet VOIP is a relatively new technology and many potential users have questions about using a voip service and how to optimize it to work for their needs. The following are the latest 5 tips recommended by VOIP.com:

Tip 1 – What is the maximum amount of jitter I should have for good call quality?

Source and more info: prleap