ReelSmart.com » VoIP

Google Voice HowTo Videos Released

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:02:06 +0000

Google Voice is an incredibly useful service that is sometimes misunderstood. First off it is NOT a VoIP service (yet). Although, after the Google purchase of Gizmo5 it may be soon. What Google Voice really does is "front-end" your communications and make them much more manageable. Google has just released some really nice videos explaining some of the high points of this free service. See all of the videos after the jump.

Google Voice Back on the iPhone

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:50:28 +0000

Google has released a Google Voice webapp using a web browser for the iPhone and the Palm webOS. This makes good on what they claimed in the wake of their exclusion from the iTunes App Store. So Google goes around Apple on this one and the result is pretty good. I gave this a test and liked what I saw. Of course you can bookmark the page in Safari and Google Voice will appear as a nice icon on your iPhone springboard. Bravo!

Skype Comes To HDTVs at 720P

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:23:55 +0000

Skype is coming to LG and Panasonic HD TVs in 720P HD quality! Very cool. [via Engadget] see video

Google Acquires Gizmo5

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:22:53 +0000

From GoogleVoice Blog: Today we're pleased to announce we've acquired Gizmo5, a company that provides Internet-based calling software for mobile phones and computers. While we don't have any specific features to announce right now, Gizmo5's engineers will be joining the Google Voice team to continue improving the Google Voice and Gizmo5 experience. Current Gizmo5 users will still be able to use the service, though we will be suspending new signups for the time being, and existing users will no longer be able to sign up for a call-in number. We've acquired a number of small companies over the past five years, and the people and technology that have come to Google from other places have contributed in many ways, large and small, to all kinds of Google products. Since the GrandCentral team joined Google in 2007, they've done incredible things with Google's technology and resources to launch and improve Google Voice. We welcome the Gizmo5 team to Google and look forward to working together to bringing more useful features to Google Voice.

Well maybe GoogleVoice will now become a full featured VoIP app!

Skype for iPhone Gets Nice Update

Stephen Antonucci — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:34:37 +0000

Skype for iPhone Version 1.2 was just released with the following new features and improvements:

Set up call forwarding from your iPhone – forward Skype calls to a phone number when you're not signed in.
Improved performance and better audio quality on Skype-to-Skype calls.
Even easier to send text messages (SMS) - Send SMS from the Call tab.
Calls are connected much faster.
Status of your contacts is updated more often.
You can now decide whether you want to stay online/offline when the iPhone is locked. We've added this into settings.
Contact groups are now supported, making it easier to see who is online and separate your saved phone numbers.
You can now edit the name of your saved phone numbers.
Added support for skype: URL schemes in Safari.
When creating a new account the country in your Skype profile is taken from the language used on your iPhone.
Group chat profile pictures are now shown.
You can now remove your profile picture.
Added a 'Help' link to 'Forgot your password'.
Improved support for proxy configurations.

Makes this a much strong application than before.

Vonage Unveils New World Plan, Visual Voicemail $24.99

Stephen Antonucci — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:54:20 +0000

I guess the competition from Google Voice has more than AT&T and Apple running scared. Vonage has responded with adding a new $24.99 World Plan. Providing unlimited calling around the world to more than 60 countries plus Vonage Visual Voicemail service at no additional charge, which provides “readable voicemail” delivered via email or SMS text [...]

Google Voice Access May Be Coming to iPhone

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:49:24 +0000

GV Mobile is not made by Google, but purports to allow access to Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral). No word on cost or when this app might be available yet (if ever), so do not get too excited! GV Mobile would allows users of Google Voice to:

dial numbers (domestic for free and international at a variable rate) via the iPhone’s address book or typing in on the keypad
send SMS messages
retrieve and delete recent call history
playback and delete voicemails
take calls from different phones other than your iPhone
add, delete, enable, or disable the phones that Google Voice forwards calls to

You must already have a Google Voice account in order for this application to work. Grand Central users that have converted their account to Google Voice will also be able to use this.

Skype for iPhone Now Live

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:42:44 +0000

Sometime around midnight last night the new free Skype for iPhone app appeared for download as expected. I have installed it on my iPhone and have to say I love it. Nimbuzz, Fring, and IM+ for Skype move over the native Skype is on the iPhone now. The iPhone Skype app is a nice adaption of the desktop app that allows you to do most everything except video conference. The user interface is intuitive, simple and easy to navigate offering a number of pleasant surprises, such as the ability to attach photos to your contacts by way of the iPhone’s built-in camera. You can toggle between all your contacts and just those online, and adding new contacts is pretty simple. Call quality is pretty decent for SkypeOut, SkypeIn and Skype-to-Skype calls. WiFi only of course. Give it a try. [iTunes link]

Skype App for iPhone Tomorrow, Blackberry in May

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:43:34 +0000

I have been using Fring and Nimbuzz to make Skype calls on my iPhone, but now I am excited to get the official Skype app due tomorrow. CNET and PCWorld are reporting that Skype is coming to the iPhone tomorrow, BlackBerry devices in May. Fring and Nimbuzz should be easily bested by the official Skype App that doesn't need the extra audio transcoding. The SkypeOut calls will work over WiFi only and will use your iPhone Contacts in addition to many of the other features you've used from the desktop client. iPod touch (second generation owners will require earphones with an embedded mic to talk. For a hands-on preview of the Skype iPhone app read here. UPDATE: Engadget is reporting that Skype for iPhone is LIVE in Japan already.

Nimbuzz Improves iPhone App Adds SkypeOut Over WiFi

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:11:51 +0000

Nimbuzz (free) has just updated its iPhone and iPod touch app adding more VoIP options, a dial-pad and the ability to make VoIP calls to landlines and cell phones via SkypeOut or Nimbuzz' VoIP other partners. Nimbuzz also has a feature to use VoIP calls without a WiFi connection in more than 50 countries (uses cell minutes). Second generation iPod touch owners can also use Nimbuzz to make SkypeOut calls with a microphone headset. Other new features include Twitter status updates within the Personal Message feature, the ability to add new buddies on various instant messaging services, support for MobileMe user names with a dot, and various other usability and stability improvements. I downloaded this update and tried it out making several SkypeOut calls to landline phones and even calls in both directions using Skype to Skype. The sound quality was quite decent. Since this is a free download go and try it yourself.

GrandCentral to Become Google Voice

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:40:11 +0000

According to CNET, Google is unveiling a service called Google Voice today which is a new version GrandCentral acquired in July 2007. As a GrandCentral user this looks like it will be a great tool. With Google Voice people can pick a new phone number. When others call, Google can ring all the actual phones a person uses and handle voice mail allowing them to screen their calls, and listen to voice mail over the web. Google Voice will add speech-to-text technology to transcribe voice mail, making it possible to search for particular words. Gmail's contacts will be used to instruct Google Voice how to treat various callers. And Google Voice will be able to send and receive SMS text messages and set up conference calls. This services is expected to remain free. Existing GrandCentral users should get the option to upgrade Thursday, and Google plans to offer it to the public after "a number of weeks," said Craig Walker, product manager of real-time communications and head of Google Voice. New features include:

You can use your GrandCentral number to send and receive SMS messages, and have them forwarded to your current wireless phone. You can send messages from the mobile or from the phone.
Make phone calls using the web or your mobile/landline phone.
You can get transcripts for voicemails left on Google Voice. These transcripts, based on internal Google technology currently being used by GOOG-411 service, can be sent to you via SMS.
Create conference calls by dragging phone numbers onto existing calls. This will be useful for small businesses and web workers.
Free calls to all U.S. numbers. You can make international calls but that will cost you, depending on the country you are dialing.

Note: Google Voice won’t allow you to take your GrandCentral address book with you, since the new system uses Google Contacts. See the Google Voice Features page for more videos and information. Read more on Webware.

Ecamm Introduces The World’s First Bluetooth Webcam

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:59:47 +0000

Ecamm Network introduces the world's first Bluetooth webcam the BT-1 Wireless Webcam that will sell for $149.99 and will be available in late Q1 2009. Integrating advanced technologies, the BT-1 streams H.264 video and AAC audio, taking advantage of Mac OS X's rich multimedia capabilities with freedom from wires. The BT-1 includes a flexible mini-tripod for easy desktop mounting. Features include:

640x480 H.264 video and 48 kHz AAC stereo audio
Compact 2" x 2½" x 5/8" design
4 hour talk time
Compatible with iChat, Skype and more
Standard tripod mounting screw
Includes a flexible mini-tripod and USB charging cable.

Requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or newer and Bluetooth v2.0+EDR or better.

Skype 2.8 for Mac Users Adds New Features

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:52:42 +0000

Skype has announced version 2.8 for Mac users at Macworld. The new version has some features not yet on Windows or Linux. The coolest feature of the 2.8 beta is a "screensharing" feature where you can share either your entire screen or just a portion of your screen with the Skype user on the other end. This works with all other versions of Skype because it replaces your video stream with the screen sharing. So a Mac Skype user can share their screen with Windows and Linux users. Skype Access is an new feature, a service that lets you go to any of the 100,000 Boingo WiFi hotspots and - using Skype - connect to the Boingo hotspot. When you connect, you pay on a per-minute basis and the fee (roughly 20 cents per minute) is deducted from your Skype Credit. You do not have to pay the Boingo monthly fee. You do not have to pay any hourly or daily fee. Skype 2.8 beta adds the ability to set the "priority" of a chat session - and then sort your chat sessions by priority in the Mac's "drawer" way of displaying chat sessions. See more at Disruptive Telephony blog.

Truphone Bringing Skype to iPhone and iPod touch

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:32:26 +0000

TRUPHONE INTRODUCES SKYPE CALLING AND INSTANT MESSAGING TO iPHONE AND iPOD TOUCH APPLICATIONS London and San Francisco–Jan. 6, 2009—Truphone today debuted the ability to make and receive Skype™ calls and instant messaging (IM) to the entire Skype user base from its iPhone™ and iPod touch™ applications. The service is scheduled to be available to all customers during the week of Jan. 12. The introduction was made at "ShowStoppers @ Macworld 2009" and will be showcased at the Truphone stand (#3228) at Macworld for the remainder of the week.

I have been using Truphone since its introduction on my iPhone and found it to be a great app with good calling quality. I have been using Fring also for its Skype feature.

Save on iPhone International Calls with MobileTalk

Stephen Antonucci — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:55:20 +0000

Packet8 has launched MobileTalk for iPhone users (as well as other cellphones) that claims to save over 90% on international calls for mobile phone calls. This is not actually a VoIP application. What it does is offer a compelling service for mobile phone users that make a lot of international calls that does not require a data plan. MobileTalk for the iPhone is a web app that allows you to use service without a monthly fee. MobileTalk claims to intelligently redirect your international calls to an access number in the same area code as your mobile phone number, and connects the call over the Packet8 VoIP phone service network. This way you pay for a local cell phone call (using your minutes) and pay the much lower Packet 8 rate per minute for the international call. Alternatives to MobileTalk are Raketu, RingFree, iPhoneGnome, Talkety, Truphone or JAJAH. iCall looks very compelling as a native VoIP app, but it is not available yet. Closest thing to a native VoIP app for the iPhone right now is fring.

Fring: Skype, VoIP, IM for the iPhone

Stephen Antonucci — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:18:55 +0000

Fring is now available in the App Store at the amazing price of free. It allows iPhone users the ability to use Skype IM and Skype Out calling to landline phones as well as SIP support for VoIP calls over WiFi using Gizmo and others. Fring also supports multiple IM for MSN Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, Twitter, AIM & Yahoo! VoIP on the iPhone is just another reason to leave my laptop home when I am on the road. Additional information of Fring on their website.

iCall Your iPhone With Switching Between GSM and VoIP

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:22:33 +0000

iCall is coming to an iPhone near you, allowing users to make and receive calls over WiFi and saving cell minutes. iCall will allow you to transfer inbound calls from a regular GSM cell call to WiFi instantly and seamlessly, allow access to same address book and customize voicemail options. iCall is supposedly an official Apple-approved application that's expected to debut at the new App Store soon.

Skype Launches New Calling Plans

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:17:03 +0000

Skype has announced new calling plans that deserve some attention. For the unlimited calls U.S. and Canada just $2.95 per month, unlimited Mexico $5.95 per month and just $9.95 per month for unlimited World. This makes my Vonage look pretty expensive. More details at the Skype Journal blog.

Skype 2.7 Beta Adds Better Leopard Compatibility

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:55:01 +0000

Skype has released Skype for Mac 2.7.0.195 beta, an update of its Internet telephony application for VoIP (voice over IP) communication with Skype-to-Skype voice calls, instant messaging, and file transfers. This beta release adds Leopard compatibility and 640x480 resolution for video conversations at up to 25 frames per second. Skype is free (except for SkypeOut service) and is available for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and up (Universal Binary) with versions for Linux, Windows, and PocketPC also. Skype for Mac 2.7.0.195 beta is a beta version that may still contain some bugs, if you want to use a more stable version download Skype 2.6.

NetZero Loses Its Voice on December 15

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:43:41 +0000

NetZero the dial-up provider's VoIP service will be discontinued as of December 15. NetZero has sent out emails to their estimated 12,000 that they've struck a deal with Packet8 that allows customers to migrate their number to Packet8 Freedom Unlimited Service for $19.95/month. Much better solution than what SunRocket imploded.

AT&T Next In-Line To Sue Vonage

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:01:39 +0000

Vonage was ordered to pay $66 million to Verizon (they are appealing). Recently Vonage settled with Sprint for around $80 million. Now AT&T says they are next in line to sue Vonage according to the WSJ.

Skype Outage Explained

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:16:49 +0000

If you were not aware, Skpye had a significant global outage last week affecting some 220 Million users. It all started as a chain reaction from millions of rebooting PCs that had installed Windows updates. The real culprit, however, was a Skype software bug that affected what was supposed to be "self-healing" P2P network.

From a Skype post: The high number of restarts affected Skype’s network resources. This caused a flood of log-in requests, which, combined with the lack of peer-to-peer network resources, prompted a chain reaction that had a critical impact. Normally Skype’s peer-to-peer network has an inbuilt ability to self-heal, however, this event revealed a previously unseen software bug within the network resource allocation algorithm which prevented the self-healing function from working quickly.

The company insists that the outage was in no way security related. "We would like to point out that very few technologies or communications networks today are guaranteed to operate without interruptions," says the company.

Skype 2.7 Beta Released for OS X

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:29:42 +0000

Skype has been released a new beta for Mac OS X. New to v2.7 [direct download link] is the ability to sort contacts into an unlimited number of groups, including both user-defined ones and pre-made categories such as Online and Waiting Authorization. Users can now also create public chats, auto-redial busy or unconnected numbers, and transfer multiple files with fewer performance problems. A specific Mac OS X addition is the ability to view Address Book contacts within Skype, to whom users can make calls or send text messages. As before Skype to Skype is free, but calling landline phones requires a paid subscription or a low cost Skype Out minute purchase.

Shape Services Brings Skype to the iPhone

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 18:28:53 +0000

Shape Services has introduced Skype for iPhone. Using IM+ is the company's Web application, that utilizes the iPhone's Safari browser, allowing users to make phone calls using Skype. Designed specifically for the iPhone's touch-screen, IM+ for Skype iPhone is available for free to all iPhone users for a limited time. Users can talk to Skype contacts or call any landlines as well as mobiles. IM+ for Skype uses SkypeOut credits for voice communication to ensure cost-effective calling to any number around the world, and provides nearly free calling from an iPhone to any PC with Skype or any land-line/mobile number for SKype Unlimited and Skype Pro plan users.

Another VoIP Surrender

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 14:07:17 +0000

Allo, a smaller VoIP provider is going under joining SunRocket in VoIP heaven. From an e-mail from the company to its customers:

"We regret to inform you that starting 1st of August of the current year, our company will cease commercial activities. Our network will remain up until July 31st, 2007. After this date, we will regrettably no longer offer service to our customers."

Allo was a smaller company. At least they informed their customers, unlike what SunRocket did when they pulled the plug.

SunRocket Gone? UPDATED!

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:12:49 +0000

I just called the SunRocket 800-786-0132 customer service. The message said "We are NO Longer taking Customers Service or Sales Calls, Goodbye." INSTANT HANG-UP! According to GigiaOM an internal email was sent out to all employees this morning

Unfortunately this email contains very bad news. We have just been informed that any and all last ditch efforts to keep operations running as well as a potential sale of the company have not gone through and that SunRocket will cease operations at COB today. As such, today is my last day and everyone else you may have worked with at SunRocket. … Regarding outstanding and future invoices: Sherwood Partners out of Palo Alto will be handling the close down of all invoices, current and outstanding.

Sure glad I am not one of the SunRocket customers that paid for the year upfront to get a discount!

Pre-paid Skype Cards and Gear now at Wal-Mart

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 14 May 2007 18:33:55 +0000

Skype has announced that it is teaming up with Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, to address the growing popularity and demand for Internet communications among U.S. consumers. Starting today, Wal-Mart is offering Skype Certified™ hardware in the Internet and voice communications area of 1,800 of its stores throughout the country, providing more opportunity and accessibility for people looking for affordable calling options. This partnership gives shoppers immediate hands-on access to headsets, webcams and handsets designed to work with Skype, as well as the first pre-paid cards for Skype available in the U.S.

Skype Your Mama!

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:32:04 +0000

On May 13th, Intel and Skype are sponsoring a day of free “global calling” (only to phones in the US or Canada). Call your mom for free!

Skype for Mac 2.6 beta adds Call Transfer

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 14:35:09 +0000

New Skype for Mac 2.6 (free) adds Call Transfer feature, which debuts on the Mac version of Skype first. Call Transfer enables you to transfer ongoing Skype calls to other users on your Skype contact list. The new version also sports improved audio quality and better stability. Skype for Mac has better feature-parity with its Windows counterpart than before, according to the company, adding features like public chat, chat typing indicator, the ability to call any Skype Prime premium service provider and pay with Skype credit, automatic updates, and DTMF tones for automatic answering services through Skype-to-Skype calls.

Speakeasy A Best Buy?

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:32:37 +0000

Speakeasy, one of the largest and most popular DSL/VoIP providers in the United States has been acquired by Best Buy, according to the two companies. The purchase price was reported as $97 million, which the companies put at 20% greater than Speakeasy's 2006 revenues. Best Buy bought Speakeasy for its business operations. The plan apparently is to promote Speakeasy Small Business DSL through the company’s lesser-known Best Buy for Business program (BBFB). This deal will not happen until the first quarter of 2008. Best Buy plans to run Speakeasy as an independent subsidiary of the retail chain. It's unlikely, that Speakeasy customers will see any significant changes, at least in the short term.

Call Recorder for Skype 2.0 Adds Video Support

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:21:03 +0000

Ecamm Network has announced the availability Call Recorder for Skype 2.0, $14.95 US. Call Recorder for Skype is an application that allows users to save incoming and outgoing calls as QuickTime files. The new version adds support for Skype video chats, audio level meters, and the ability to make annotations while recording.

Gizmo Project Reaches Version 3

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:32:38 +0000

I have to admit, I have mostly ignored Gizmo Project in the last few months and have used Skype. I do like the fact that you can use Gizmo Project with hardware like a Linksys PAP2-NA without a computer, which I was using for sometime. My friends and co-workers are mostly on Skype and Skype was giving away free minutes. So, I have been using mostly just Skype for voice calls from my Macs, PCs, and Linux machines while on the road. I use Vonage at home.

Verizon FiOS TV Installed, Cablevision Out

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 04:26:49 +0000

We had Verizon FiOS TV installed in our home on Saturday afternoon March 3, 2007, replacing analog cable service from Cablevision. FiOS Internet from Verizon was installed over a year ago and sure "smoked" our old cable modem in consistent service and speed. FiOS Internet was originally 15 MB download and 2 MB upload when first installed and was soon updated to 20 MB down and 5 MB up at no extra charge. The Cablevision Internet offering it replaced was not a great experience, never faster than 5 MB down and 768 KB up, no matter what they advertised. The price was about the same for FiOS Internet. See Verizon FiOS Installed: Macintosh Compatible and Fast!

Jajah Will Enable VoIP Calls on Apple iPhone

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 04:39:21 +0000

Jajah has announced that it will offer VoIP for the iPhone when it is released to US consumers in June. According to the company, "iPhone users will be able to make free or very low cost global Jajah calls with a single click, without a special download, other equipment, wi-fi or broadband access. You'll just need to be a registered Jajah user - and registration is free."

Skype and Google Talk Soon to be Speaking?

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:26:29 +0000

Skype and Google Talk may soon be on "speaking terms" according to a newly signed agreement announced by Google and eBay. eBay bought Skype for 2.6 billion dollars last year bringing the "verb" under their corporate umbrella.

Keyspan debuts Mac-compatible cordless Skype Phone

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 04:53:02 +0000

Keyspan has debuted a new Mac-compatible cordless Skype phone. The Keyspan Cordless VoIP Phone will allow you to use Skype anywhere in your home or office.

Ultimate Review & Approval Tool for Video Pros

Stephen Antonucci — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 03:13:46 +0000

I have seen at several Mac trade shows and at NAB where video pros can iChat AV can be used for reviewing video with clients. The editors from the Scrubs TV show were one of the first I know of using iChat in this way. Leopard will make this easier to use iChat for this. But even that is Mac only.

Gizmo Project & LiveJournal Team Up

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 17:00:54 +0000

SIPphone, Inc developers of Gizmo Project and Six Apart, Ltd., a leader in blogging software and services, announced a partnership today Six Apart's LiveJournal users a preferred voice and instant messaging client optimized for use with LJ Talk, LiveJournal's just-announced instant messaging and voice service. The co-branded "Gizmo Project for LJ Talk" software will enable LiveJournal friends to call each other for free, send instant messages and see each other's online presence (available, away or offline). Read Sipphone's press release.

Test Your VoIP and VideoIP Connections

Stephen Antonucci — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 14:28:34 +0000

With the Net Neutrality debate raging on many users are concerned about ISP's packet shaping and how well their network is setup for making calls over the Internet (VoIP). Brix Networks, a company that develops monitoring tools for VoIP says that the quality of VoIP calls is going down. This may be due to bandwidth constraints and more services running over the same pipe on the Internet. It will be interesting to see how the big telcos controlling the backbone of the Internet and ISPs handle these issues, now and in the future.

Skype Video in Mac 1.5 Beta

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 15:41:06 +0000

Skype has released version 1.5 beta for Mac OS X. It has an improved streamlined user interface that better complements the Mac environment as well as adding video conferencing capability.

Four New WiFi Phones for Skype

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 01:21:26 +0000

Skype calls will soon be available without a computer on four new WiFi Phones from Belkin, Edge-Core, NETGEAR and SMC. The devices come with everything built-in to connect to Skype via any personal, business or free public WiFi access point that does not require browser authentication. These phones will be only useful with "open" WiFi hotspots, home networks, and company wireless networks that are setup to allow for their use.

Belkin Skype WiFi Phone Coming in August

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 21:51:44 +0000

Belkin today announced its new Skype WiFi Phone that lets users to make free Skype calls over wireless networks without the need for a computer. Skype offers free, calls in North America/Canada over the internet, free calls to other Skype users located anywhere, as well as low-cost calls worldwide. "With over 100 million registered users all over the world, Skype is enabling the world's conversations," said Mike Chen, Belkin's director of product management. "The Belkin Wi-Fi Phone combines the cost savings and enjoyment of using Skype with the convenience of Wi-Fi, making it even easier for people to stay in touch."

Record Skype Calls on the Mac

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:23:21 +0000

Recording Skype conversations on the Mac just got easier. Recording audio and video conversations for podcasts can sometimes get complex. Here are two shareware applications from Ecamm to makes it simple on the Mac.

GizmoProject Phones Home

Stephen Antonucci — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 03:46:13 +0000

Maxwell Smart (Don Adams) was way ahead of his time when he used "his" version of the "wireless phone" all those years ago. We thought it was funny and kind of cool. These days is doesn't seem so outrageous. We are now living in an age where there is even a Skype "phone" that resides on a very small USB flash memory stick. There are now VoIP providers offering "WiFi" VoIP phones and of course computer-based software phones have been around for awhile. Although, I still have not seen an actual "shoe phone", YET! VoIP (voice calls over the Internet) is getting lots of attention with eBay now getting their "verb" Skype for something like 2.7 billion. I use Skype daily, but I thought I might tell you what I am up to with GizmoProject and Vonage in my daily digital lifestyle. GizmoProject can be running on your regular analog home phone by just adding an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA). The upside of this is that your computer does not have anything to do with this and does not have to be on. Skype utilizes a proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) network and GizmoProject is based on a standard-based, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) system. Using Skype, your host machine is used to route calls for other users. This causes your computer to use more processor cycles even when "you" are not in a call. Your machine and bandwidth is being shared among all of Skype's users. This is the nature of P2P networks and Skype works very well. Skype has client software for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Pocket PC and I run it on all of them. The downside, unlike GizmoProject, your computer must be on to use Skype. See my post VoIP: Is GizmoProject the â€œSkype killerâ€? from August.

Inexpensive USB Speakerphone for VoIP and Video Conferencing

Stephen Antonucci — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:47:53 +0000

I recently was visiting a Sharper Image store and I actually bought something. In all the years I have visited the Sharper Image, I have never bought anything there. It is not that I no not like the store or gadgets. But for some reason or another I had never spent any money there. Well that changed when I came across the miniVox MV100 which is a portable USB speakerphone with DSP voice processing technologies. mVox is a Cupertino based company and we all know great things come from Cupertino. The miniVox MV100 portable USB speakerphone is designed for Internet telephony and web conferencing applications such as Skype, Vonage, WebEx, Marratech, Breeze, GizmoProject, or iChat AV. The miniVox is a nice solution for PowerBooks, laptops, or even desktops when you want engage in hands-free conversations or conference calls. It is small (Dimensions: 3.2 x 2.2 x 0.8 inches - 8.1 x 5.5 x 2.0 cm) and light (Weight: 1.5 ounces - 42 grams) and cheap ($39.99 from mVox, actually less $19.95 Sharper Image - what a bargain). The miniVox MV100 also has a 2.5mm headset jack on its left size.

VoIP: Is GizmoProject the “Skype killer”?

Stephen Antonucci — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 07:33:32 +0000

So what are the differences between Skype and GizmoProject and all those other VoIP solutions from cable and the big telcos?