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Facebook’s latest experimental app is a party line
CatchUp looks to take out the headache of arranging a time to chat with your loved ones at the same time.
Slack adds Microsoft Teams video call options
More of us than ever are relying on video calling apps to chat with friends, family and colleagues. Slack, for example, has seen a huge increase in calls made and received through its app in the last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting today, the app will give you more options. For instance, you can now hop into a Microsoft Teams call directly from the productivity app, which said last week it was working on such an option.
Hidden Instagram code hints at voice and video call feature
Instagram might be able to offer everything you need to keep in touch with friends in the future. TechCrunch has discovered hidden codes and icons for "Call" and "Video Call" in the platform's and its standalone Direct messaging app's Android APKs. Instagram refused to comment about TC's finding, but APKs typically contain features developers plan to switch on later. Having the ability to make audio and video call from within direct messages would make Instagram an even bigger threat to Snapchat, which could spell trouble for Snap, seeing as Instagram Stories already has more users.
Orii smart ring turns your fingertip into a Bluetooth earpiece
While modern Bluetooth earpieces are more compact than ever, chances are you'll still need to leave at least one stuck in your ear. This can get uncomfortable over time, not to mention the dorkiness that's been haunting this form factor since day one. Hong Kong startup Origami Labs thinks it has an alternative solution to this problem: why not repackage the Bluetooth earpiece as a ring, and then use bone conduction to transmit audio to the fingertip? That's the basic concept behind the Orii smart ring.
Switched On: Tablets offer a new choice for voice
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The term "phablet" has always been, at best, a relative descriptor. It kicked in with the release of the original Galaxy Note even though the voice-enabled Dell Streak had beaten that product to market. And while the portmanteau raises the question of whether there is any meaningful difference between a phone and tablet other than size, all it means is "a big phone." Up until recently, and barring the use of Bluetooth headsets, the constraints defining the upper practical limit of a phone included the ability to fit into a pocket and be held against the side of an (adult) head to facilitate a voice call. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, two companies smashed through at least the first of those criteria. Twisting the name of the PadFone, which extended the screen of a handset to that of a 10-inch tablet by use of a touchscreen shell enclosure, ASUS introduced the FonePad.
Google brings free voice calls to Hangouts, really wants you to hang out
Google's Hangout feature has just become a little more Hangout-y, now that the folks in Mountain View have integrated free voice calls within Google+. Available to users within the US and Canada, this new "extra" feature allows social networkers to place calls directly from a Hangout, allowing the recipient to remotely join in on the conversation at hand. To set it up, all you have to do is start a Hangout, hit the "Invite" button, and dial up your friend's number. Users can also use the feature to place individual calls without setting up a Google Voice account, though they'll need one if they wanna talk to someone overseas.
Sprint network is down in some areas, SMS and voice call services affected (updated)
Uh oh, according to the handful of tips we've received, it appears that Sprint is currently having some technical problems on its cellular network in some states. Specifically, customers aren't having much luck with sending text messages, while some are also not able to make voice calls. But don't worry, the carrier's certainly aware of this issue and is already working on a fix, so hang tight and let your fingers take a break -- we'll let you know when things are up and running again. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: Here's a statement we got from Sprint: "We did have some disruption to Sprint SMS traffic earlier tonight, but it wasn't a complete disruption -- we lost partial capacity for about an hour. Engineers immediately began rerouting traffic and after about an hour things went back to normal. There is no significant voice disruption anywhere in the US except for a small part of our Sprint network in the Washington, DC area. That has since been resolved and had no relation to the SMS disruption."
VoxOx Call for iPhone handles your virtual numbers, SMS, and faxes on the cheap
We're actually surprised that Telcentris' VoxOx virtual number service has never had a mobile app until now, but hey, better late than never, right? Hot out of the oven is the appropriately named VoxOx Call app for iPhone, which claims to match rival Google Voice's mobile offering but packs some extra goodies. For instance, this app syncs nicely with the VoxOx desktop client, so that you can handle your calls, text messages, voicemails, and faxes on both platforms with ease. And as before, there's no limit on how many virtual numbers you buy and add here, whereas with Google Voice you're stuck with one per account. Hit the demo video after the break to check out the full package.
Orange begins HD Voice trial in Southern England, leaves out Buckingham Palace
Remember the good news that Orange brought to the UK on our alcohol-fueled New Year's Eve? We thought so. Anyway, it looks like said fruit company's still on course to "a new era for UK mobile communications" as it launches HD Voice trial in England today. Lucky participants across Bristol, Reading and Southampton will benefit from "crystal clear" voice calls, courtesy of the wider speech bandwidth -- 50–7000 Hz as opposed to the current 300–3400 Hz. Sadly, Orange isn't keen on dishing out deets about the special hardware, but our friends over at What Mobile had the chance to play with a modified Nokia X6 from yesterday's demo -- "It was like listening to AM radio and then switching over to listen to a CD." If all goes well, we'll meet the rest of the gang when HD Voice is rolled out "before the end of the summer." Press release after the break.
iPad won't handle GSM voice calls -- or will it?
Like the camera references, this could just be another case of vestigial SDK weirdness -- but for whatever reason, devs have noticed (and we've been able to reproduce) a "Touch to return to call" bar in the iPad emulator just like you'd expect to find on an iPhone during a traditional GSM call. It certainly seems like Steve would've bothered to mention during today's festivities if you could do something crazy like pair up a Bluetooth headset and go to town (and you'd need a voice plan on top of that $29.99 data anyway), so who knows: either Apple's just made every UI element as adaptable as possible regardless of whether it's applicable to a particular device, they're planning a higher-res iPhone down the road, or they're integrating the bar into some VoIP action. Or... you know, none of the above. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
