telephony
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It's time to embrace the eSIM
It's a downright shame that eSIMs aren't commonplace by now. Embedded-SIM technology has the potential to make getting connected to cellular networks much more convenient, but there hasn't been a consumer-friendly set of specifications for it since its 2013 introduction. That is, until last year, when the GSM Alliance (GSMA) released updated guidelines to add support for multiple profiles and devices (more on that later). Since then, thanks to partnerships between Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm on a new generation of connected PCs with eSIMs onboard, we're going to see the technology feature in all sorts of gadgets over the next few years.
Sprint tempts Verizon’s customers with a year of ‘free’ data
After ending its "half your bill" promotion earlier this year, Sprint is back with a new strategy to steal customers from its rivals. It's offering a year of free "unlimited" data, talk and text for those who bring their device over from other carriers, although it is targeting Verizon users in particular with its advertising and phone selection. The offer is available today through the end of June, and, as expected, there is plenty of fine print.
New Alexa devices could get speakerphone, intercom features
Amazon plans to reveal new voice-controlled devices this year that will let you make phone calls, according to a report today from Recode. These gadgets might also allow you to "call" a buddy who has another Alexa-powered speaker, making for a sort of intercom system. Just last month, both Google and Amazon started looking at adding telephony to their respective digital assistants, but it looks like Amazon has taken the first step. Recode's sources say that we might see an official announcement in the coming months.
Ultra-rare Apple WALT up for grabs on eBay
TUAW readers who are into collecting Apple devices are going to love this eBay find: a prototype of an unreleased product from 1993. The Apple WALT (Wizzy Active Lifestyle Telephone) was introduced at Macworld Boston in '93, the same venue where the ill-fated Newton MessagePad first went on sale. WALT, like Newton, also had a touchscreen, a stylus, and handwriting recognition. It was designed to be a companion to a home landline phone, and was designed in cooperation with BellSouth. Built into WALT were services like an address book, fax (remember that technology?), caller ID, custom ringtones, and online banking. To interact with all of these services, users worked with a customized version of System 6 with a HyperCard GUI in place of the Finder. According to the seller's description, "Back in 2008 PC World published a list of the "Top 15 Vaporware Products of All Time". The W.A.LT. was #1." While WALT was ogled by the public at Macworld Boston 1993, the device never went into production. This prototype, complete with a full printed user manual (so much for ease of use), is being sold by eBay user russel400. The WALT is priced at US$8,000 -- note that you'd better be handy with a soldering iron if you want to get it back to working order, as it has a few "loose connections" that have rendered it unusable. Of course, you could also spend that eight grand on sixteen brand new third-generation iPads...
First 'Skype booth' opens at Estonian airport as company reaches 30 million simultaneous users
Phone booths are old hat, we know that much for sure. But Skype booths? Tallinn Airport in Estonia's capital has become the first site to host a dedicated Skype station, which allows you to video chat with your friends or call them on their phones using Skype credit, exactly as you might do on your computer at home. There's a 22-inch touchscreen up front and a headset nearby, only thing you'll need are some actual friends you want to communicate with. The idea's being put into action by three Estonian companies, all of whom are quite happy to remind us Skype originated in their fine Northern European nation, and the plan is to roll the futuristic-looking booths out to other airports, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals, and the like. In the meantime, Skype usage keeps growing and the company recently recorded 30 million simultaneous users online, breaking its previous record by a trivial three million extra souls.
Hands on: Apple Peel 520 transforms iPod touch into cell phone
There are all sorts of software-driven ways to treat your iPod touch like a phone, from Skype to Line 2 and beyond. Unfortunately, none of them actually adds a real cell to your unit. Enter the Apple Peel 520. An enhanced case, it contains a working phone unit that communicates with your iPod through its dock connector. Unlike the data-only Sprint ZTE Peel case, which is due to launch this Sunday, the no-data Apple Peel 520 allows you to place and receive phone calls and SMS texts directly from your device using standard GSM SIM cards. Since you bring your own SIM, the plan you use can offer as few or as many bells and whistles as you desire. I picked up a $10 H2O Wireless SIM card over at Best Buy and it worked perfectly with the unit. You insert a SIM, press a reset button for a few seconds and you'll soon be able to make and receive calls -- that is, you'll be able to do this once you finish the rather protracted one-time set-up process.
Samsung Galaxy Tab loses voice capabilities in the US
Bad news, folks: not only is the Sprint Samsung Galaxy Tab a 3G-only device, but Samsung just confirmed to us that telephony was cut out of the Tab for the US market. That means you won't be able to pair up a Bluetooth headset and use the Tab as a really large phone like you can on the Euro model. That's super lame -- telephony features might have been the only way the inevitable two-year carrier contract would have been justifiable. Suffice to say, we're even more curious to hear about official pricing now, but it doesn't look like we'll be getting it until Samsung and its carrier partners are good and ready. We'll let you know.
VoiceCentral integrates Google Voice with the iPhone
If you're one of the lucky ones to have scored an invite to Google Voice, check out VoiceCentral. It's a very slick application which integrates well with the iPhone, making it possible to make calls through your Google Voice (or GrandCentral) account. Why would you want this? My primary reason for wanting an application for GV is so that I can make calls and have my Google Voice number appear on the Caller-ID. VoiceCentral makes this a simple process. When you first install the app, it asks you to select your iPhone number on the Settings page. When you make a call through the app, it happens in two steps: 1) your iPhone rings (this is Google Voice's servers calling your iPhone), 2) your call is connected. Why is this important? If you end up leaving a message for whoever you are calling, their voicemail system may give them the option to call you back at the number you called from. Our landline phones also make it easy to return calls from the caller-ID list. As a Google Voice user, I want those calls to go to my Google Voice number, not my iPhone. If you're a fan of Google Voice, you know that having a central place for all of your voicemails is great. Google Voice will transcribe those voicemails (my favorite feature, although sometimes having a computer try to decipher my friend's "late weekend night" messages does lead to some interesting "translation issues"). VoiceCentral will let you access not only those voicemails (in a style very similar to iPhone's own Visual Voicemail) but if you tap on the arrow, it will also show you the transcription. You can even read the message without listening to it, which is especially handy for checking messages when you are in a meeting, a movie theater (oh, like you've never!), or anywhere loud enough that you might not be able to hear it. The transcripts can also be copied (on iPhones running OS 3.0 or later, of course) and pasted into notes or emails if needed. As you'd expect, VoiceCentral also integrates with your existing iPhone contact list, and there's also a keypad which allows you to make calls or send SMS. The "Send SMS" feature has had some issues, but Riverturn has a newer version which fixes the problem. As you are no doubt used to hearing by now, they are waiting on Apple to approve the newer version. It's also important to note that there is no way to designate any application except the built-in Phone app as the default, so any phone numbers which you tap from email messages or web pages will open in the built-in app, rather than in Skype or other telephony apps. Google appears to be readying its own GV iPhone app for release, although it hasn't made it into the App Store yet. Anyone familiar with the approval process knows that could mean it is hours, days, or weeks away from being released. The Blackberry and Android apps are already available. Is $2.99 [iTunes Link] too much to spend on an app when there may be a free alternative right around the corner? Not for me. In fact, the only thing which keeps this app from replacing the native Phone app on my dock is the lack of a "Favorites" tab, which I use for nearly all of the outgoing calls I make on my iPhone.
Parliant PhoneValet 6.0 now available
In the world of Mac telephony software, there's one leading product -- Parliant PhoneValet. Parliant today released version 6.0 of PhoneValet with some new features that make it even more attractive to small business owners. Those features include: Live receptionist -- Want to have a real person answer and direct calls? PhoneValet now allows a receptionist to perform those functions. Call out to deliver voice mail -- To keep employees in the loop when they're on the road, PhoneValet will call their cell phones to deliver important voice messages. Change greetings remotely -- Prior to version 6.0, PhoneValet users had to be sitting at a computer to record new outgoing voice mail greetings. Now they can do this from any phone. Mailbox privacy -- Messages for others on a shared PhoneValet server are now hidden. Network dialing -- Desktop dialing is now available to any PhoneValet or PhoneValet Anywhere user on the network. Shared phonebook / call log editing -- PhoneValet Anywhere users can now edit phonebook entries or trim call logs. PhoneValet 6.0 is available for US$169.95, which includes a USB phone adapter, or to existing owners of PhoneValet for US$39.95. PhoneValet Anywhere, which allows users to access their PhoneValet messages from Windows PCs and iPhones among other features, is an available add-on for US$59.95.
Hello Kitty lineman's handset fills a niche: Hello Kitty-lovin' linemen
What do you give the Hello Kitty fan that has everything? Oh, never mind...
First Look: RF telephony for iPhone
Internet Telephony Provider rf.com is getting ready to launch its iPhone-specific PBX service. The service allows you to place calls both internationally and to online providers like Skype using your normal iPhone minutes. So if you have a friend who's on Skype but has no Skype In access, you can call them just as if they had their own number. RF operates its own PBX, which you connect to over a web client. Once there, it finishes routing the call using VoIP and connects it to your iPhone handset. You use your iPhone calling plan minutes whether you're talking to a guy down the block or your buddy in Beijing. Because their client is web-based, it works with 1.1.4 and earlier iPhones as well as 2.0 iPhones and later. All the heavy lifting happens at the RF servers, connecting you through the VoIP networks. RF's service is free and still extremely beta -- so be prepared for growing pains as they stabilize their software and roll it out. RF Founder/President Marcelo Rodriguez says they're planning on keeping the basic service free for the forseeable future. They are monetizing by reselling the service to VoIP service providers such as PhoneGnome and will be offering premium features at a later date. %Gallery-25599%
Agito Networks looking to quickly handover cellular calls to VoIP
Handover technologies are nothing new, but Agito Networks is hoping to offer up scalable systems that can "hand voice calls over quickly and accurately between company WiFi and cellular networks." More specifically, the startup system utilizes RF to tell when an individual is approaching "predefined points at the limit of the company's WiFi coverage," after which a mobile-based client cooperates with a RoamAnywhere router (which integrates with the company's IP PBXs) in order to hand the call over. Reportedly, the actual transfer "takes less than one second," and administrators can even set up RoutePoints and instruct calls to be sent directly to voicemail when users are off duty. Granted, it seems Agito is aiming its products at medium-to-large businesses looking to save on cellphone bills, and if all goes well, models ranging from $9,995 to $24,995 should hit the US by the year's end.
Hip-IP's Mobigater Pro routes Skype calls to your mobile
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]
Philips freshens up your landline with the ID9371 handset
We know, it's hard to really brag about the aging landline you keep around for no good reason, but if you're looking for the hippest thing to hit PSTN since DSL, Philips' ID9371 just might be it. This sleek, sexy handset rocks all the dashing design cues of the avant-garde mobiles carried by the affluent set, but manages to operate on a lowly landline all the while. Aside from the obviously glossy paint job, adoration for fingerprints, and backlit display, the device also features a "soft-touch" enclosure, SIM-card copy support, built-in answering machine, alarm clock, caller ID, signal strength indicator, and XHD sound technology that purportedly delivers every tonal frequency imaginable. Sure, we're used to cramming cutting-edge gizmos into a retro casing, but kudos to Philips for doing things vice-versa.[Via ShinyShiny]
iPhones and Jajah
I recently stumbled across this article about Jajah and the iPhone. Jajah, for those of you unfamiliar with the service, is a free telephony provider that lets you make local and international calls[1]. You place the calls at the Jajah website, and they connect first to your regular phone and then to the phone you're calling and they connect the two together. So why would Jajah be of interest to the iPhone, which presumably has its own calling plan through AT&T/Cingular? Well for one thing Jajah allows you to place international calls using local incoming minutes. Jajah calls your phone before connecting you to your party. Second, if you subscribe to Cingular's "Metro Plan", which offers free incoming calls, you wouldn't use any minutes at all. Of course, this applies only to users in the free calling regions listed on the Jajah website. It's a nifty article. I recommend you read it all. [1] Jajah is also the website of choice for April Fools jokes. I'll let you google the details.
SpectraLink unveils NetLink 8000 series of 802.11a/b/g WiFi phones
For those of you who think VoIP just isn't good enough, or you manage an enterprise with hundreds of folks needing to yap it up simultaneously sans wires, you might be interested in SpectraLink's latest duo, which collectively claim the title of "world's first" 802.11a WiFi phones. The VoFi (voice over WiFi) handsets are part of the NetLink 8000 series, and both units feature 802.11a/b/g, WPA2 support for enhanced security, four programmable softkeys, audible / vibrating ringers, backlit displays, text messaging support via Open Application Interface (OAI), military grade shock resistance, speakerphone, and a software configuration tool to boot. The NetLink 8030 ups the ante by including dust / water resistance, rubberized grips for "improved ergonomics and durability," enlarged earpiece for noisy environments, and SpectraLink's "unique PTT feature." Both handsets should begin shipping during the first quarter of this year, and while the NetLink 8020 will run $595, the PTT-enabled NetLink 8030 will demand a whopping $675.[Via NetworkWorld]
Mobile MMO toolkit brings pervasive worlds closer
From a startup implementing graphics shadowing in a novel way to this MMO middleware platform, keeping an eye on new technology is one way to attempt to second-guess the future of games. Here's one to watch: BigWorld Technology have come up with a new product which seems to be aimed squarely at the pervasive (or MMO-on-the-go) gaming market.As well as mobile-only MMOs, the BigWorld Mobile product claims to allow "direct interaction" into established MMOs. Being able to connect with the world away from the PC or console is a great way for developers to keep users hooked, but presumably the technology only works in conjunction with BigWorld's other products, limiting the games to which it is relevant at the moment.
