VoIP - SlashGear

‘VoIP’ Stories

Google Voice webapp bypasses iPhone and webOS app stores

Chris Davies, Jan 26th 2010 Discuss [0]

If Google can't get Google Voice onto the iPhone via the App Store, then they're just going to go the long way instead and get in there via the browser. The search giant has just announced a new, web-based version of Google Voice that allows users to access the VoIP service via their smartphone browser. Coded with the magic of HTML5, the nippy app works with the iPhone and webOS devices like the Palm Pre, and supports calling, voicemail access and SMS. Video demo after the cut Read The Full Story

magicJack plan standalone VoIP phone, BB/iPhone apps; CEO slams netTALK rivals

Chris Davies, Jan 21st 2010 Discuss [6]

In a world of over-zealous PR and media-cautious executives, magicJack CEO Dan Borislow is a breath of fresh air. In a recent interview with Laptop, Borislow blows off speculation of the legality of the company's recently-announced femtocell and tips an upcoming Skype-like standalone phone, but saves some choice words - "It’s a piece of sh*t ... it’s run by a bunch of fly-by-nights with no assets" - for recently-launched rival service netTALK. Read The Full Story

PlugPBX turns Marvell SheevaPlug into Asterisk VoIP system

Chris Davies, Jan 20th 2010 Discuss [0]

Skype did a great job of pushing VoIP into the mainstream, but if you've considered graduating up from their closed platform to a more open, flexible system such as the open-source Asterisk project then you may have found it all a bit intimidating. How about a straightforward VoIP system served up by a low-power, super-simple Marvell SheevaPlug instead? The PlugPBX project promises just that: a custom Asterisk/FreePBX VoIP build designed to drop straight onto a SheevaPlug. Video demo after the cut Read The Full Story

magicJack femtocell detailed: “borrows” spectrum indoors

Chris Davies, Jan 8th 2010 Discuss [0]

Yesterday we told you about VoIP provider magicJack's intention to offer a femtocell that, they claimed, would work with any GSM cellphone - even those without service - but at the time we didn't know exactly how the system worked. Unfortunately, now that details have emerged we're not entirely convinced it's the greatest of ideas, either from a legal or a functional perspective. It turns out the new magicJack uses, without being granted permission from the carriers who have licensed it, cellphone radio frequencies to connect GSM phones to a personal cellular base-station. Read The Full Story

magicJack Femtocell promises any-GSM compatibility

Chris Davies, Jan 7th 2010 Discuss [2]

If you want a femtocell in the US there are a few to choose from, from each of the major carriers. If you want one which will extend coverage for multiple different networks, however, you're out of luck; or at least you were until magicJack stepped into the ring. Both times we've written about the company - who began by offering a low-cost USB VoIP adapter - we've been inundated with less than complementary comments about them. Hopefully their unnamed femtocell - which promises to work with any GSM phone, even one without an active service contract - will fare better. Read The Full Story

Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 5 dual-landline & VoIP handset

Chris Davies, Oct 20th 2009 Discuss [2]

Bang & Olufsen have been through a phase of unusually shaped landline phones - the banana-esque BeoCom 2 is a good example - but they're returning to their slightly more sensible roots with the new BeoCom 5. The dual-line DECT phone works both as a twin landline handset and as a VoIP device, and magnetically docks either onto its charging plinth or onto a portable speakerphone (that also charges the handset). Read The Full Story

AT&T unlock 3G VoIP on iPhone

Chris Davies, Oct 7th 2009 Discuss [0]

AT&T has come in for no small amount of criticism for its network's ability to cope with avid iPhoners, both in dropped calls and tardy data, so we're not sure the carrier's latest news - that it has opened up VoIP support for the iPhone over 3G connections - is 100-percent good. Pushing network capacity to one side for the moment, the announcement means that - assuming Apple approves their software applications - companies like Skype will be free to enable 3G VoIP apps on the iPhone. What's unclear from the press release (which you can read after the cut) is whether VoIP use will be included in the standard "unlimited" data package iPhone buyers sign up to. Given one of AT&T's arguments in the past has been that VoIP consumes significantly more network capacity and data than regular use, it's possible that they could look to squeeze more money out of subscribers for its use. Read The Full Story

TeleBlend offers first $99 unlimited annual VoIP plan

Shane McGlaun, Oct 1st 2009 Discuss [0]

We all know the economy is tough and many people don’t have the same money coming in as they have been used to over the last several years. Many Americans are looking for every place they can find to save a bit of money on their monthly bills. If you have a broadband connection in your home, a company called TeleBlend is offering what it claims to be the first unlimited VoIP calling plan for a fixed annual charge. Read The Full Story

HP SkyRoom 2D/3D videoconferencing system launches [Video]

Chris Davies, Sep 22nd 2009 Discuss [0]

HP have outed their new video conferencing system, HP SkyRoom, with the promise of live conversation and desktop collaboration for up to four users simultaneously and at potentially HD resolution. First mentioned back at the launch of the flagship Z800 workstation in March, SkyRoom already has some high-profile contented users including an F1 team. It uses data transfer technologies that NASA used with their Mars rovers, thanks to sub-100ms latency. Video overview after the cut Read The Full Story

ASUS AiGuru SV1T Skype videophone gets touchscreen

Chris Davies, Sep 18th 2009 Discuss [0]

ASUS have rolled out a new version of their standalone Skype videophone, in the shape of the AiGuru SV1T. The most significant change from the first-gen AiGuru SV1 is that the 7-inch 800 x 480 display now gets a touchscreen layer, meaning users no longer have to arduously navigate via the D-pad. Read The Full Story

3-in-1 mouse, proof that convergence has its limits

Shane McGlaun, Sep 16th 2009 Discuss [0]

I am all for convergence, give me one device to take the place of several and I am a happy camper. I converged my printer and scanner years ago and more recently, most of us have converged our mobile phones, PMPs, and GPS devices into one smartphone. Read The Full Story

gDial Pro Google Voice app hits Palm Pre, plus 9 other titles

Chris Davies, Sep 11th 2009 Discuss [1]

We'll never argue with more apps showing up for the Palm Pre - after all, they just pave the way for a software download frenzy on the Palm Pixi when that arrives later in 2009 - so we're glad to hear of another two webOS titles fresh to the Palm Beta App Catalog. First up is gDial Pro, an app which can be used to access and manage your Google Voice account; second comes iLike Concerts, a tool which looks out for your preferred artists and flags up nearby performances. Read The Full Story