Internet Telephony -- Engadget

internet telephony posts

Yamaha's PJP-25UR speakerphone does VoIP

by Darren Murph posted Oct 23rd 2007 at 10:01AM

Certainly not the first of its kind, Yahama's PJP-25UR is arriving a little late to the VoIP speakerphone party. Nevertheless, this sleek (comparatively speaking, of course) looking alternative is sure to have top-level managers smiling, as it provides a pair of swing-out microphones to compliment the main mic in the middle, stereo speakers, an audio in / out jack and the ability to get all the juice it needs from a powered USB port (or optional AC adapter). The 1.25-pound unit is slated to ship out in December and put a ¥63,000 ($547) dent in the corporate budget, but that's a small price to pay for all the surefire productivity that comes from yet another mundane meeting, right?

[Via Digital-Lifestyles]

VoIP comes to MySpace through Skype partnership

by Darren Murph posted Oct 17th 2007 at 8:19AM

Skype and MySpace -- that just sounds like a match made in heaven, no? If you're still scratching your head on how the two actually fit together, here's the low down: a new partnership between the pair will soon allow MySpace members to dial up other users by simply clicking a button in their profile. Of course, this is assuming you can actually find the aforementioned button in all of the site's clutter, but we digress. Starting in November, the service will reach users in some 20 countries around the globe, and while vanilla PC-to-PC calls will obviously be gratis, "premium options" such as personal phone numbers, voice mail, call forwarding and PC-to-landline / mobile calls will have an undisclosed pricetag attached. Welcome to a whole new realm of shock callin'.

Vonage settles long-standing Klausner litigation

by Darren Murph posted Oct 12th 2007 at 9:01AM

One step forward, two (or more) steps back. That seems to be the recurring theme for Vonage these days, as just hours after officially requesting a review of the Verizon patent decision, the firm is now settling its legal dispute with Klausner Technologies. The settlement is the second this week for the outfit, and while no financial terms of the deal were discussed, Vonage was granted "a patent license related to voice messaging." Another one down, who knows how many to go.

Vonage requests rehearing of Verizon patent ruling

by Darren Murph posted Oct 11th 2007 at 10:16AM

Vonage, who has been hit up with a bevy of legal trouble in recent months, is officially seeking a review of the September 26th Verizon patent decision. Reportedly, the internet telephony outfit "filed a motion for a review by the original three-judge panel or the full panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit." According to Vonage Chief Legal Officer Sharon O'Leary, the move "represents the next logical step for Vonage in managing this litigation and continuing to move its business forward," and she also stated that the firm would "continue to explore all legal options available to put the Verizon litigation to rest."

Sprint hits up Vonage for another $80 million

by Joshua Topolsky posted Oct 8th 2007 at 12:48PM

Vonage, everyone's favorite "gettin' sued by The Man" company has taken another beating in the Sprint-Nextel patent suit, agreeing to settle the case and license the telco's internet-calling technology for the tidy sum of $80 million. This comes hot on the heels of last month's ruling, which stipulated that Vonage was to pay $69.5 million to Sprint over six patents which the mobile phone company says it had infringed. "We are pleased to resolve our dispute with Sprint and enter into a productive future relationship," said Sharon O'Leary, General Counsel for Vonage, though it's possible she wasn't as ecstatic as that quote would have you believe. This is just another money-siphoning event for the VoIP company, which in March was hit up for $66 million from Verizon for illegally using some of its patents. If you're keeping count at home, that's $215.5 million paid out. If this keeps up, they may not even be able to afford those snappy commercials anymore. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

Vonage struck again as court partly upholds Verizon verdict

by Darren Murph posted Sep 26th 2007 at 4:26PM

When it rains, it pours. At least we're pretty sure Vonage thinks so, as for the second time in as many days, the firm has been hit with terrible news on the legal front. Just a day after being ordered to pay Sprint a whopping $69.5 million for patent infringement, the VoIP provider is now hearing that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit "partially affirmed" the Verizon verdict from March. For those who have forgotten, that case proclaimed that Vonage owed Verizon $58 million in addition to royalties on future revenue, but the appeals court did "direct the trial court to reconsider the verdict on one of the three patents and it vacated the damages and royalty awards." Notably, the "injunction has been stayed pending resolution of Vonage's appeal," but it will go into effect within a month if the outfit can't secure an emergency stay from the US Supreme Court.

Hip-IP's Mobigater Pro routes Skype calls to your mobile

by Darren Murph posted Apr 21st 2007 at 1:07PM

Routing calls every which way has been going on forever (well, almost), and Hip-IP's Mobigater Pro doesn't differ a whole lot from other Skype-to-cellphone channelers that we've seen in the past. Essentially, the device seamlessly "transfers your Skype calls to your mobile phone without the use of SkypeOut credits," as it connects to your mobile via an internal SIM card. As predicted, it interfaces with your PC via plain ole USB, and users can not only ensure that they never miss an incoming Skype call, but they can phone up other Skype users around the globe just by using minutes from their mobile plan. The device can even redirect calls to five different handsets, but considering the £185.99 ($373) pricetag required for such a luxury, only the heaviest of yappers need apply. Click on through for a shot of the rear.

[Via Wired]

Continue reading Hip-IP's Mobigater Pro routes Skype calls to your mobile

USRobotics releases two Skype-certified handsets

by Evan Blass posted Aug 15th 2006 at 11:55AM

USRobotics has just released two new Nokia-esque Skype-certified handsets for the Internet telephony lover on a budget, with the USR9601 USB Internet Phone retailing for just $50, and the USR9602 USB Internet Mini Phone (pictured) going for a mere $25. Both models feature a numeric keypad (duh) for speed dialing your Skype contacts or utilizing the SkypeOut feature if that's your thing, with the 9601 also sporting a back-lit LCD for call status and the all-important Skype caller ID. Also part of the package is some whiz-bang technology that promises to cancel out the echoing and tunnel effect that apparently plague lower-quality handsets; we're not quite sure what they're referring to, though, as every VoIP call we've ever made has been crystal clear and of the highest possible sound quality.

Skype's been cracked?

by Evan Blass posted Jul 16th 2006 at 11:05AM

Earlier this week, a gentleman named Charlie Paglee received a Skype call from a colleague in China -- nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that this particular call was coming from an unofficial, homemade Skype client. Paglee, who cofounded the VoIP startup Vozin Communications, claims that the Chinese friend he spoke with is part of a team that has successfully reverse-engineered the Skype protocol, possibly paving the way for a series of third-party clients that would delight consumers but provide no small amount of frustration to Skype-owner eBay. Although this unlicensed client is currently only able to perform peer-to-peer calling -- presence, instant messaging, and super node features have not yet been implemented -- it seems to be only a matter of time before the engineers have a more robust demo available for public download (they're supposedly shooting for an August release). And since all of this work is going on in China, eBay has no legal means of shutting down the client's development, but even if they did, it's probably already too late -- now that the cat is out of the bag, it's pretty clear that an open-source Skype client is inevitable, and that eBay's future business plans will have to take that reality into account.

[Via GigaOm]

FON wooing "foneros" with $5 router

by Evan Blass posted Jun 26th 2006 at 10:12AM

Remember that FON service we brought to you a few months back, which aims to create a worldwide network of private hotspots wherein members can hop onto any other members' routers for free VoIP calling? Well after receiving a fresh infusion of cash from Google and Skype, the company is storming into the U.S. and Europe with a deal straight out of a domestic wireless carrier's playbook: give away or heavily subsidize the hardware in order to lock customers into long-term commitments. In this case, Fon is "selling" Linksys routers for $5-a-pop (or five Euros in Europe) in exchange for users agreeing to open up their network to other so-called "foneros" for 12 months, though by doing so, they are free to make calls from other members' hotspots during that period as well. As you'll recall, those folks unwilling to provide public access can still tap into other members' signal, but must pay $3-a-day for the privilege. The future of the company is no way assured, though, as this whole operation could go down in flames should Internet providers take FON to court for enabling their customers to share bandwidth; on the bright side, you'll only be out five bucks plus shipping and taxes if the business folds.

Verizon sues Vonage over patent infringement

by Evan Blass posted Jun 19th 2006 at 6:17PM

It wouldn't be a full day here at Engadget without someone suing someone else for patent infringement, and thankfully Verizon has stepped up to the plate to provide our daily dose of entertaining legal shenanigans. The telecom giant has filed suit against VoIP provider Vonage in Richmond, Virginia's U.S. District Court, claiming that certain aspects of Vonage's Internet telephony business -- specifically its methods for interfacing between packet-switched and circuit-switched networks, billing customers, detecting fraud, and providing enhanced calling services -- violate at least seven of Verizon's closely-guarded patents. What really seems to be getting under Verizon's skin is the fact that Vonage has added 1.1 million new customers in the past 15 months -- many of whom are claimed to be "Verizon's former customers" -- by "aggressively marketing and advertising services made with Verizon's appropriated intellectual property." Vonage, of course, denies any wrongdoing, and claims in language we've heard so often before that it will "vigorously defend the lawsuit;" investors, however, don't seem to be quite as sure that Vonage is in the right here, as evidenced by the 12% tumble that the company's stock took today.

ATS announces E6501 DECT-enabled cordless VoIP phone

by Evan Blass posted Jun 15th 2006 at 2:13PM

A new VoIP handset from American Telecom Services promises to help you break free from your landline addiction and make an easy transition over to Internet telephony, while still allowing you to situate satellite phones all over the house to match your current setup. At first glance, the E6501 offers a number of compelling features, including SIP-compliance, built-in speakerphones, DECT support for avoiding the already crowded 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz bands, and most enticingly, a sub-$50 pricetag for the base unit and only $30 each for up to five additional handsets. The bad news here comes when you find out that set only works with ATS' chosen service providers, a group that's currently comprised of just IDT and a company called SunRocket, so Vonage and Skype fans will need to look elsewhere. For those of you still interested, unfortunately there's no word yet on which retailers will be carrying these models, nor when we can expect to see them in stores.

[Via VoIP & Gadgets Blog]

Microsoft announces two Live-optimized webcams

by Evan Blass posted Jun 13th 2006 at 10:59AM

Xbox 360 owners aren't the only ones who have a Microsoft-brand webcam to look forward to later this summer, as Redmond will also be gifting Windows Live Messenger users with models of their very own. First in a planned series of cams designed to dumb-down the videoconferencing experience, the LifeCam VX-6000 and VX-3000 both feature built-in noise-canceling microphones, a "Live Call" button which brings up the Buddy Picker window, and software integration with Messenger for camera control and one-click photo uploads to Windows Live Spaces. Consumers looking for better image quality will want to go with the $100 VX-6000, which offers 1.3 megapixel video and stills up to five megapixels (using interpolation, obviously), while the $50 VX-3000 should suffice for those who need only standard VGA resolution. Pre-ordering has already begun on Amazon, but neither of these products will ship until sometime in August.

Avaya announces one-X Deskphone Edition IP phones

by Evan Blass posted Jun 9th 2006 at 9:50AM

Four upcoming VoIP phones from Avaya are promising to meet the communications needs of nearly every type of employee at your company, from the receptionist on the phone all day to the salesperson always on the road to the executive who needs complete control over his/her conference calls. Falling under the general one-X Deskphone Edition brand, all members of the 9600 series -- the 9610, 9620, 9630, and 9650 -- feature high-quality audio with G.722 wideband audio support, Avaya's Communication Manager software, and the ability to add new apps on-the-fly through the integrated Wireless Markup Language (WML). As you step up the model line, each phone adds more features and controls for advanced users, so the 9610 is a rather simple unit designed for ease-of-use by the general public in a lobby setting, while the 9650 is meant for people who are making and taking calls non-stop throughout the day. Although Avaya neglected to release any pricing information, we do know that the 9620 and 9630 will be available next month, while the 9610 and 9650 won't show up until early next year.

Philips Messenger Phone for Microsoft VoIP

by Evan Blass posted Jun 1st 2006 at 12:54PM

It seems that there's a new VoIP handset on the market everyday, and today is no different, although you have to be a fan of Microsoft's version of Internet telephony if you want to take full advantage of the upcoming Philips Messenger Phone. Sporting a small color display, the plug-and-play VOIP4331S allows you to make free worldwide client-to-client calls over the Windows Live Messenger service or dial standard phone numbers on the cheap via Windows Live Call, and also acts as a regular cordless phone for when you get sick and tired of the crappy audio you're getting with VoIP. Philips promises that this model -- along with a dual-handset version called the VOIP4332S -- will "soon be available" at UK e-tailer Comet, but neither company is quoting prices yet.

[Thanks, Nir S.]