BlackBerry gets mobile VoIP connectivity

BlackBerry gets mobile VoIP connectivity
Mobile VoIP connectivity is the one of the most sought after apps for smartphones and now BlackBerry, which is produced by RIM, is getting in on the action.

Although the Blackberry is a great enterprise smartphone, users who wanted Mobile VoIP must have looked on enviously as competitors like the iPhone and the Android accessed products such as Fring, Truphone and Skype.

But now the Mobile Voip service TringMe can be downloaded by BlackBerry owners as their first native VoIP client.


This third party program allows free phone calls over a Wi-Fi network which saves money and also makes business transactions that much easier, especially now that worldwide conference calling is also on the menu.

More than 100 million smartphone users are expected to be using mobile VoIP connectivity services by the year 2012.

Breezecom Offers Scalability in Terms of VoIP Capacity and Destinations

Breezecom Offers Scalability
A premium international telecom service provider, Breezecom, has announced that they offer scalability in terms of VoIP capacity and destinations in their wholesale VoIP service. The offer is included as one of the key features in their wholesale VoIP service package. Apart from this, the company also provides – network based on state-of-the-art Genband platform, robust quality ASR, ACD, and PDD, also their service suits carriers seeking multiple DS3 capacity.

Commenting on their VoIP service package, the company's senior marketing executive said, “Picking up the right partner is imperative for your success. Your wholesale VOIP termination (aggregation) provider must consistently deliver a high quality of service. With us you can be assured of seamless wholesale VoIP termination. Our VOIP / SIP system provides the features and flexibility to compete in the global VoIP marketplace.”

This package is designed to give more flexibility and convenience to wholesale, retail VoIP service and smaller carriers within the services that the company provides. Therefore, telecom business owners who use the company's VoIP service package can be assured that all their voice traffic needs will be met with high efficiency and cost effectively.

Further stressing on the company's services, the senior marketing executive added, that “the support of our technical team is offered on a 24x7 basis. We ensure that our response time is minimum and quality of resolution as per our customers’ requirements.

VoIP Services for Making Phone Calls

VoIP Services for Making Phone Calls
Most people have heard of Skype, and it still is one of the best VoIP services around, but there are quite a few other good options as well that let you make phone calls over the Internet using your regular landline, mobile phone or your computer.

There are three kinds of Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions that let you enjoy crystal-clear* phone calls at a fraction of the price that your phone company charges:

1. Hardware based – You get a dedicated hardware router that sits between your Internet modem and your corded /cordless phone so ytitle="VoIP Services for Making Phone Calls" ou can make and receive phone calls just like before. The only difference is that calls are now routed through the Internet and not your phone company so you usually end up saving money.

2. Software based – You install a VoIP software on your computer or your web-enabled mobile phone and make phone calls via the Internet connection bypassing your phone company. It doesn’t matter if you mobile phone is connected to the Internet over Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE, 3G or WiMAX.

3. Web based – Web based VoIP services neither require any hardware nor software. You open the VoIP service provider’s site, type the phone numbers and you’re instantly connected. Some services also offer special hotlines (or direct access numbers) that let you make Internet phone calls using your traditional phone even if you don’t have an internet connection.

Treasury flags VoIP upgrade

Treasury flags VoIP upgrade
The Federal Department of the Treasury has gone to market for a supplier to replace its existing PABX with a Voice over Internet telephony (VOIP) system.

When reached, the agreement will be effective for three years and will see the chosen company delivering core services such as the design, supply and installation of the system, coupled with adequate training of the Treasury staff and maintenance.

In an a statement included in a Request for Tender document, the Treasury said an Internet Protocol-based (IP) technology would allow the department to finalise its unified communications strategy, which includes voice, instant messaging, presence and conferencing capabilities. “Treasury is seeking a solution that empowers its staff to self-service features, thereby reducing the ongoing ICT support costs,” the department wrote.

Prior to substituting its PABX system with a new platform, the Treasury will also upgrade its email system, from Microsoft Exchange 2007 to 2010. At a later stage, the actual deployment of the VOIP solution will involve changes at all levels. New telephony solutions will require 1,300 user handsets, 20 door handsets, 300 expansion modules and 20 conference handsets. Also the Treasury will standardise its headsets on one model of wired and one of wireless.

Its current Norten Meridian PABX switchboard supports features as call hold, transfer, call forward, pick up groups, hunt groups, shared lines etc. With the rollout of the VOIP technology, the Treasury expects to deploy a software-based console to support high inbound calls volumes.

“The proposed software console is to meet the operator’s requirements for accepting and dispatching calls, directory searching, call queuing, night-switching, and reporting,” it is written in the RFT document. “In addition, identification of “presence” status for end users from the software console is to be provided”.

Fixed landline business telecommunications services

Fixed landline business
A "fixed line" telephone, also known as a landline, is a standard telephone used over the "wired" telephone network.
How do I choose a service provider?

The public telephone network was operated by British Telecom until 1984, when the industry was opened up to competition. The market is made up of a multitude of operators (or telcos), split into network providers, which supply services direct to the premises, and service providers or "billing only" telcos, which use the infrastructure supplied by network providers.

BT is still the biggest network provider, but alternative providers, including cable TV companies, have entered the market in several parts of the UK, including AT&T, Cable & Wireless (formerly Mercury), NTL and Telewest (now merged under the Virgin Media banner).
If you have a BT line, you may choose a different service provider to carry the calls themselves, regardless of where your business is based. These 'billing only' services can be accessed in two ways -

* indirect access - indirect access operators use BT's infrastructure from a customer's premises to the exchange to provide their own services. Services from these providers are accessed by dialling a prefix number or by routing through a box, which automatically dials the prefix. Some companies, such as First Telecom and One.Tel, specialise in indirect access, while the cable companies offer indirect access services in areas where they don't have their own infrastructure.
* carrier pre-selection (CPS) - with CPS there is no need to dial a prefix or use an adaptor, as calls are carried by a company selected in advance. CPS has been in operation since December 2000, and most indirect access operators are expected to offer it in the future.
* Local Loop Unbundling - where a carrier has its own equipment in the local BT exchange and a trunk line to its own network

Outstanding VoIP Voicemail Features Makes Getting VoIP Voicemail Extremely Convenient

Outstanding VoIP Voicemail Features
There are many types of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) protocols that are employed by the VoIP providers currently providing VoIP calling plans. Luckily for the consumers, the VoIP providers have listened to what functions the consumers want in their Voicemails. Almost all of the VoIP providers provide Voicemail with the standard VoIP calling plan. The special feature of the VoIP voicemail plan is in how the consumer can access his/her VoIP voicemail message.

In general, there are 4 ways in which a VoIP consumer can access their voicemail. When you add the four ways up, you will be able to access your voicemail from virtually anywhere.

First, you can access your voicemail through your primary VoIP telephone by dialing *123 or some other combination of numbers (VoIP voicemail access code varies by provider). The automatic attendant will let you know how many voicemails you have and walk you through retrieving all of your new voicemails and saving/deleting your old emails. It is quite a slick system.

The second method is via a local voicemail access number, where you can call a local telephone number from any telephone (Cell phone/Land line/ VoIP phone). When you dial into your local voicemail access number, the auto attendant will ask for you to punch in your VoIP phone number and password to be able to access your VoIP voicemail system.

The third method is through your VoIP provider online account management portal. You can go to your Provider's VoIP homepage and access the "Customer Login" portal by typing in your username and password. Once into the portal, click on the Voicemail tab and you can listen to your new voicemails over Internet connection.

The fourth method, and possibly the most useful, is every time you get a new VoIP voicemail, you are sent an email. That email will state that you have a new voicemail from your VoIP account, the date the voicemail was received, and an attachment of the voicemail as a .wav file. One outstanding feature is that you can save the .wav file on your computer's hard drive and email the voicemail to friends, family, or coworkers.

The above are generally how most VoIP providers give consumers access to their voicemail (but not all). Be sure to check each VoIP provider for how they provide their consumers access to their voicemail.

VoIP voicemail service is only one of the things to consider before choosing a VoIP solution. In fact, there are many things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. An educated consumer generally results in a satisfied consumer. Please see our VoIP: Things to consider article to find a list of more things to consider when choosing a VoIP provider. You can Compare VoIP providers side-by-side at www.VoIPChoices.com

Will VoIP be a Mass Market Product?

Will VoIP be a Mass Market Product?
A common thinking among "Marketing people " is that for every product that enters the market there must be a path, a target, a need ( real or created) that decides how the product must enter the consumer's life, which part of the population is more likely to go for it, which niche it is going to fill and, most important "...certain things being stated, something other than what is stated follows of necessity from their being so." and that is the final issue: the price.

Depending on those anavoidable patterns a product is more or less ready for a certain market.

High technologically devices, the ones that offer perfect quality and cost a fortune will target the elitarian market, where the price has not big importance (on the contrary, if the price would be lower than what certain people can afford, the product wouldn't reach them) since it means luxury.

When a product ceases to be luxury and begins to be a need, then the mass market is ready. The product can enter 60% of consumers' lives, reach easily a good upgrade in the percentage and become " The New Product of the year 200....".

Let's consider the VoIP market.

Prior to recent theoretical work on social needs, the usual purpose of a product invoked individual (social) behaviors. We now know that these assumptions are not completely wrong.

Wrong would be NON considering them.

In systems where many people are free to choose between many options, a small subset of the whole offer will get a disproportionate amount of traffic (or attention, or income), even if no one of the system actively work towards such an outcome. This has nothing to do with moral weakness, selling out, or any other psychological explanation. The very act of choosing, spread widely enough and freely enough, creates a power law distribution.

Now, thanks to a series of breakthroughs in network theory by researchers we know that power law distributions tend to arise in social systems where many people express their preferences among many options. We also know that as the number of options rise, the curve becomes more extreme. This is a counter-intuitive finding - most of us would expect a rising number of choices to flatten the curve, but in fact, increasing the size of the system increases the gap between the #1 spot and the median spot.

In other words: give to the people the choice among desktop phones and mobile phones and the majority will choose what they think more convenient, in spite of the cost of the service.

In a way the cost of the service is the only left advantage in favour of the fixed telephony.

If the price was the same the desktop phones would disappear from the life of the average consumer (mass market consumer).

To see how freedom of choice could create such unequal distributions, consider a hypothetical population of a thousand people, each picking their favorite way of telecommunication. One way to model such a system is simply to assume that each person has an equal chance of liking each kind of telephony. This distribution would be basically flat - most kind of telephony will have the same number of people listing it as a favorite. A few will be more popular than average and a few less, of course, but that will be statistical noise. The bulk of the telephony will be of average popularity, and the highs and lows will not be too far different from this average. In this model, neither the quality of the voice, the availability, the design of the device nor other people's choices have any effect; there are no shared tastes, no preferred genres, no effects from marketing or recommendations from friends.

Meet Your Solution To Cell Phone Overage Charges: The femtoJack!

Meet Your Solution To Cell Phone Overage Charges
The femtoJack is a new and innovative product from the creators of magicJack, which is aimed at allowing users to make mobile phone calls for free within their homes by using a computer that has access to the internet.

Basically, the femtoJack allows people to make use of VOIP via their cell phones, which for those who often end up paying overage charges for extra minutes this will be a welcomed opportunity. The reason is because it will only cost $19.95 per year and will allow for unlimited local and long distance minutes while in range of it.
The device is manufactured by Ymax and although sounding like its in violation of FCC spectrum laws, is actually completely legal according to most experts in the field. It sounds illegal because it works off the same high frequency spectrum that mobile phone operators purchase licenses for, but only uses the spectrum within your home, which is how it is not restricted by the law.
The actual logistics of the femtoJack are quite simple, plug the little USB sized device into your computer and it operates by allowing your mobile phone to piggyback onto the available femtoJack mini cell network that it creates so that you can make your phone calls for free instead of wasting cell phone minutes.
Despite all of its greatness there is a drawback to the revolutionary device in it will only work with phones that are GSM enabled, which in the United States means those provided by T-Mobile and AT&T. However, those who have Sprint or Verizon service can still use the device if they can dig up an old GSM phone that they are no longer using.
A few of the large cell carriers are likely to make complaints about the femtoJack when you consider it is using the spectrum that they are paying billions to use. Due to this the femtoJack is certain to draw some flack soon. In the meantime you may want to check it out and see if you can get your hands on one of these

Softphone Screen Features

Softphone Screen Features
I’ve had emails from visitors wanting to know how to use the Softphone Screen that appears when you install Magic Jack so I thought I would write an explanation of how it works. The red numbers you see on the Screen below designate the different areas of the Softphone Screen that we are going to discuss, these numbers do not appear on the Softphone Screen on your computer

1. This is the area on the left of the Softphone where you will see rotating messages from Magic Jack about their services. Any updates will also show here, such as when new area codes are added to the service. If the area code that you want is not available when you first get your Magic Jack, you’re allowed to change your area code free once that area code becomes available.

2. The center top of the Softphone Screen displays your Magic Jack phone number that has been assigned to you just under “Ready to call”. There are also three buttons for Yahoo, AOL and Weather, which if clicked, will open up your browser to Yahoo.com, AOL.com and Weather.com.

3. The Magic Jack Phonebook will store your contacts that you enter and also the calls that you have made or received with your Magic Jack. By clicking on Contacts, a menu appears where you can edit or delete your contacts. Clicking on calls displays your recent calls and Favorites will display the sites you have saved in Favorites in Internet Explorer.

4. Buttons for Redial which calls the last number dialed; Voice Mail, which will dial your number and then prompt you for your password to access your Voice Mail. When setting up your Voice Mail, use the password 1234, and then change it immediately to another 4-digit number. The 411 button will open your web browser to this website: free411.com which is a free telephone lookup directory. Clicking on the Google button will open up your web browser to Google.com.

5. When installing your Magic Jack, you will be prompted to enter your physical address for their 911 service. You may add more than one address if you will be using your Magic Jack in different locations. If you will be using the Magic Jack 911 service, be sure to have your correct physical location selected at all times. Also have a back-up way to call 911 in case your internet service goes down, as your Magic Jack phone will not work during these times.

6. Phone key pad on the Magic Jack SoftScreen. You may use your phone to dial a number or the Softphone Screen can be used by clicking the buttons with your mouse.

7. If using the Softphone Screen to dial a phone number, you click “Send” to call the number, and “End” to hang up when you are finished with your call. The number you have dialed, whether using your telephone or the Softphone Screen will show in the white area.

8. Change the size of the Softphone Screen by clicking on “Big” or “Small” in the upper right corner. The Softphone Screen can be minimized by clicking on the button with the “-” located to the right of the “Big” or “Small” button. The Menu button lets you access different features for your phone, such as “Do Not Disturb” which will send all calls directly to Voice Mail for you.

Now you know all about your Magic Jack Softphone Screen so you can use your new service to its greatest capacity. If you have any more questions, please ask in the comments below. I answer all comments, and you will probably ask a question that many others would like to know also.

Magic Jack VoIP Phone

Magic Jack VoIP Phone
Magic Jack is one of the new voip phone services that you use with your computer and high-speed internet connection to make unlimited long distance phone calls. It’s great as long as everything is working as it should. But what if you are having problems with Magic Jack? Sometimes it works just fine at first then after a month or 6 weeks problems begin to develop. The softphone screen begins to disappear or not load at all. Or it disappears and keeps reloading and going away again. The computer it is hooked up to will start freezing up, sometimes to the point where you cannot use it at all unless you unplug the Magic Jack.

I had all of these happen to me and after trying a few things and finally unplugging it in disgust, I tried plugging it into an external a/c powered usb hub and then everything worked perfectly again. That was an easy fix for me. It does conflict with the sound for my printer, but to me this isn’t a big deal because I don’t care if I hear a computerized voice telling me that the printing is complete. But what if it conflicts with other programs? This is something that does occur quite often. No two computers are alike once they are used for a while by their owner. You’ll find some answers here to your problems with Magic Jack…and many times it is not the device, it is the conflict with your computer.

Instant Menaces or Instant Messengers?

instant messengers
Many vendors offering Instant Messaging (IM) services have added new capabilities such as voice messaging and file sharing. Among others, AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo offer these IM services.

Clients of Instant Messaging services are also easy prey for the community of hackers. Using a simple monitoring program, the plain text from Instant Messaging can be easily captured and creates vulnerability to electronic eavesdropping. .

In one version of AOL's Instant Messenger, aka AIM, a user was found to have been the target of a hacker attack. The villainous hacker had crafted a URL which, when clicked by the user with AIM on their desktop, allowed the hacker to execute a virus on the victim's system. What is particularly sinister about this is that AIM does not have to be running for this type of virus to deploy.

Another avenue of attack is when victims are simply sent an HTML email with a link that when clicked will execute one or all of the following: a privilege elevation attack, a denial of service attack, or the installation of a backdoor for later use, to name a few.

Using a computer phone service that operates on secure lines with high end encryption codec on proprietary patented technology that features IM capability will optimally protect you against these vicious hacker attacks.

Greater Interconnectivity with other Data Technologies

Greater Interconnectivity
Because VoIP is a data-based technology, it allows greater interconnectivity with the company data network. These capabilities will vary with the VoIP hosting provider, who provides templates that allow the customer to integrate voice with other data sources. Some will even create a custom application if a business requires it.

For example, a business may choose to place a “Click and Callfeature that allows instant access to customer support from the company website. With Web and video conferencing, they can even see who they’re talking with, for a more personalized experience. An application can also be designed that allows customer service representatives to see a pop-up when customers call which provides customer account and contact information for improved service quality.

A VoIP system can be used to screen where calls are routed. Calls can be routed to an automated attendant, even for employees in multiple cities. This lets a small company appear larger. When customers call, they will hear, “To reach Jim Smith, enter 4111, to reach John Jones, enter 4122,” etc. The customer never realizes that each employee is in another city, state, or country. VoIP can also be programmed to block certain phone numbers, or place them on “virtual ring”, where the call never comes through.

Rapid credit card machine authorizations are another business benefit of VoIP phone service with the low cost option of adding additional lines as data lines. “The credit card machine line can be ‘on’ all the time, and provides lightening-fast validations,” says Scarborough. “It’s also a very cost-effective solution for point of sale systems. Instead of a cash register dialing into the network, it can be kept on 24/7, at little charge.”

Google Joins the Internet Phone Revolution

Internet Phone RevolutionIts not so long ago that the idea of free phone calls over the Internet would have been thought an impossibility, but as any knowledgeable user will tell you they are now commonplace. Skype the pioneer and market leader has 51 million users and a great, easy to use software package that allows your computer to make Internet phone calls between subscribers.

All you need is a reasonable computer, preferably a broadband connection but it will work over a dial up connection, and a microphone, then as long as the person you want to contact is online and also signed up to the same service, you can talk for ever for no cost.

This is possible because your speech is sent over the Internet in the data packets, just like email or any other Internet service. Microsoft, AOL, BT and Yahoo all have their own instant voice messaging services and now Google has joined in, with the launch of its instant messaging and Internet Phone service Google Talk. The service will be free to all users of its email program Gmail. This must be causing Googles competitors some concern, because as we all know from past, experience when Google does something they always want to be the market leader.

Google Talk will have the traditional uncluttered Google look which users have come to expect, to use Google Talk you must sign up for a Gmail Account. Google is making Google talk an open service, by working with EarthLink to connect with their Vling communications service and with Sipphone on using their Gizmo project, which will mean that users of Google Talk can send messages to users of other networks, unlike all their major rivals.

This means that Google Talk will be free for calls to other networks, unlike the services from AOL, Microsoft, etc where calls are only free between subscribers of their individual services. When it was announced this was seen as such a significant development that Skype immediately responded by announcing that they would also be making their network available to calls from other networks. At the moment Skype also has the advantage that its users can make calls from their computer to a landline or mobile phone, initially Google Talk will only offer Pc to PC communication, I wonder how long that will remain the case?

To start, with Google Talk will be free from adverts but that will probably change in the future, it is hoped that the launch of the service will increase the use of Gmail, where Google earns income by placing adverts targeted at the subject matter of the email.

This is a very significant step in the development of Internet phone calling services using VoIp and I expect that Google will make every effort to become the market leader.

Business Phone Systems

Business Phone Systems
One of the greatest inventions of the modern age is the invention of the telephone. This invention completely revolutionized the way people communicated with each other. It got completely changed and this invention continued to influence the farther developments made in the field of communication technology. In the present age, telephones have almost become indispensable for any person whether for personal or professional use. Nowadays, nobody can think of doing business without a telephone system providing assistance. In fact, business telephone systems have become the main means of communication amongst different companies and organizations.

Much depends upon the telephone system for a business to run its operations smoothly. In fact, these telephone systems have become the lifeblood of every business, whether large or small. To survive in today’s fast-paced business world, it would be very difficult for any business to survive unless it adopts the latest innovations of the communication technology. An effective business telephone system facilitates proper communication among the staff of a company as well as with its customers, which is undertaken in a highly professional way.

Business telephone systems are generally more complex and have more features than the phones used for personal communication. Although, both of these systems look similar, these business phone systems deliver much higher performance as regards business operation is concerned. But, the operational requirement would differ from business to business and would cater towards specific needs of an organization. These business telephone systems are available in different sizes catering to the needs of all types of enterprise, whether large or small. There are consultants available to assess the exact needs of an organization as far as its communication needs are concerned.

Present day business telephone systems have many advanced features that enable the business to improve its operational efficiency. For example, the facility of call forwarding enables any organization to manage all customer calls that come everyday efficiently and dealing with each of these calls quite effectively.

Business telephone systems are now available in wide variety. This variety enables every business to select
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a telephone system that is perfectly suited for that specific business. After a Telephone System has been selected, farther research should be carried out so that you could select the features that are suitable for your specific business.

Ultimately, the overall performance of any employee of any business would depend a lot on the kind of telephone system used in the organization.

All these discussion emphasizes the role of a good telephone system towards the success of any business

Skype for iPhone with video chat