telephony

Fring spiffs up VoIP app for Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile may be an ugly stepchild of mobile platforms, but among more ambitious publishers, it hasn't been forgotten.

Months after adding file transferring abilities to its Symbian version, Fring, a free VoIP communication company, is conferring this and other features to an updated versions of Fring for Windows Mobile.

In addition to sending images, audio, and video files to friends on Skype, SIP, Yahoo, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, AIM, and ICQ, the latest version of Fring for Windows Mobile also packs on support for add-ons, an indicator message as contacts type out an IM response, and long-overdue … Read more

VoxOx goes gunning for Skype, Digsby

What if Digsby and Skype merged into one seemingly all-powerful VoIP and messaging communications tool? It's a question which, according to San Diego-based telephone company TelCentris, can be answered by VoxOx.

VoxOx, currently for Windows and Intel-based Macs with plans for Linux and PowerPC Mac versions to be released within six months, incorporates features that have not yet been seen all rolled into one package. It's got multi-protocol chat abilities, bolstered by messaging support on the most popular social-networking sites and support for short Web mail reading and writing. It offers a telephony service that includes call encryption; … Read more

RealNetworks adds interactive video to voice services

SAN FRANCISCO--RealNetworks is adding video to its interactive voice response feature, which will let mobile operators incorporate a video interface for finding information, content, and entertainment.

The company announced the new service here on Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless Fall 2008 trade show. The service, which mobile operators will subscribe to and offer to their subscribers, will be available to customers already subscribing to an operator's video telephony service.

Video telephony is a service that's been envisioned almost since the phone was invented. It allows operators to add video to real-time voice chats between two people using the … Read more

Featured Freeware: Gizmo5

Cross-platform and instantly familiar-looking, Gizmo5--also known as the Gizmo Project--is trying to make in-roads against the domination of other VoIP and telephony programs.

Gizmo5's interface is compact and rectangular, with tabs on the top just below the Menu bar and a series of ancillary commands like Chat and Add Contact available at the bottom. There are very few differences between Gizmo's design and its biggest competitor's. A little originality could've gone a long way here.

Also similar to Skype, Gizmo provides free VoIP for computer-to-computer voice chatting as well as text chatting. It also allows … Read more

Featured Freeware: Skype

Skype for Windows and Mac is well-regarded for offering stable, free VoIP to other Skype users and affordable computer-to-phone calls, to both landlines and cell phones. Call quality still varies depending on your Internet connection and what else you're doing with it while using Skype, although the latest version indicates some progress in ameliorating that through audio engine tweaks.

Since the introduction of free long distance to U.S. cell phones, Skype may have dropped a bit in popularity for domestic calls. For international purposes, though, it's still the standard and extremely popular. Newer features include conference calling … Read more

All clear for Skype 3.8

Skype for Windows upgrades a bunch of back-end and minor features aimed at improving user experience, most notably tweaks that should improve call quality.

For users who regularly suffer from excessive background noise or dropped calls, the changes to the audio engine should cut down on those problems. Vista users who suffered from their screensavers turning on during video calls should suffer no more.

Also, incoming requests will no longer display profile images, a boon to those who mix their Skyping with their office hours and don't want that NSFW image of their hottie's avatar popping up. Other … Read more

Jajah to power Yahoo Messenger's premium voice service

Yahoo announced on Tuesday that it's no longer going to power Yahoo Messenger's Internet telephony service with in-house technology: the company has inked a deal with start-up Jajah to replace its phone-to-PC and PC-to-phone communications.

Under the agreement, Jajah will start providing the service for Yahoo's "Phone In" and "Phone Out" features, which allow members to make calls to landline and mobile phones, starting in the third quarter of 2008. Yahoo's telephony option is a paid service; Jajah will be responsible for processing the payments, and providing customer support and the network … Read more

Hands-on with Fring's almost-free VoIP for the iPhone

This morning I've been playing with the prerelease version of Fring's talk software for the iPhone. It enables users to place VoIP calls in place of their plan minutes, giving people a cheap international calling alternative to their carrier's expensive per-minute charges. The one caveat (besides the need for a "jailbroken" handset) is that it requires the thick river of data only available over Wi-Fi, which means you won't be able to make or receive VoIP calls without being in range of a hotspot.

Besides VoIP, the app excels in instant messaging. You can … Read more

eComm conference: The conversation is entering the mobile realm

I caught a few of the later sessions today at the Emerging Communications (eComm) conference in Mountain View, and the program was pretty good. The rigorously enforced commitment to micro-formats--a mix of five-minute lightning talks, 15-minute sessions, and 20-minute keynotes--worked out well: The presenters were forced to condense their thoughts to the core, and a wide range of viewpoints could be heard during the course of the day. Even the five-minute shorts were informative and sparked follow-up conversations.

For Luca Filigheddu from abbeynet, the five-minute limit was a natural fit for his topic, "Micro Video-Blogging and the Future of … Read more