Free 3CX SIP phone for Android launched

3CX, the company which created a phone system for Windows to replace your proprietary Phone Branch Exchange (PBX), has now launched a free Android Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone.

3CX has created the Android SIP phone in recognition of the increasing importance of the smartphone in conjunction with a modern VoIP PBX.

The popularity of the 3CX softphone means that a beta version has been brought out for the Android Platform, immediately available for the Android 1.5, 1.6, 2.1 and 2.2

It can be accessed on many smartphones including Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson as well as Google HTC (including HTC Desire and HTC Elite).

The 3CXPhone for Android SIP Phone is available via the Android market place. You just open up the market place and search for 3CXPhone to install it. The 3CX VoIP Phone for Android is free of charge. Not only does it work with the 3CX Phone System, but also numerous other VoIP services.

iPhone 4G gives great video

Well the Apple iPhone 4G was demoed last night and it looks like it will live up to the hype.
One of the most impressive features is video chat. No need to arrange a time to Skype anymore, you get the full interactive face-to-face chat right on your smartphone. Pretty cool huh?
Apple CEO Steve Jobs left it right to the end to unveil a little beauty which he smugly referred to as ‘Facetime’. The video looks so smooth and of such high quality that he was obviously confident enough to undersell it.
By making a quick call to his senior VP of design, Jobs showed that the Apple iPhone 4G video chat feature is very easy to use with no set-up required.
It can be used from the back or front camera, and you can choose your perspective with landscape and portrait modes. The phone is available on SIP and other industry standards.
But there must be a catch? There is. This VoIP smartphone can only be used over Wi-Fi connections. Jobs also explained that we will have to wait a while before ‘Facetime’ can be used on a 3G network.

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Free Skype VoIP 3G calls

You can now use the Skype 2.0 update with the Apple iPhone to make free VoIP calls over your existing phone plan.
This service will be in the iPhone Appstore, that is, until August when Skype have announced that they will start levying a small subscription charge.
That fee will almost certainly be made up for quickly once you can make free Skype to Skype calls across smartphones. With an unlimited monthly or yearly plan available from Skype this new feature could cut down your calling costs massively.
This is in part because the American network operator AT&T have allowed cellular access to their VoIP network.
Although Skype to Skype calls have always been possible, in the past they could only be made using a Wi-Fi connection.
Not only can you save a packet on your calling costs but you can take advantage of faster setup times and crystal clear calling quality.
Unfortunately Skype don't seem to have any plans to do the same for the Windows Phone, so bad luck if you're stuck on that platform :(

AT&T network rings dead

A major American phone system operator suffered from a dead network in more than 20 US states.
The AT&T Inc system failed for four hours last Tuesday preventing customers from making their usual voice calls over an internet connection.
An AT&T spokeswoman Mari Melguizo said: “The outage started at about 10.30am but the service was restored to most subscribers at 2.45pm. However the full extent of the outage is unknown.”
The network failure highlights possible problems with relying on Voice over Internet Protocol
A crashed server meant that the whole internet phoning system was rendered ineffectual.Customers who were trying to use AT&T’s U Verse VoIP phone service were greeted with no dial tone.
The problem was created by an IP network failure in the United States. There are an estimated 1.15 million AT&T U Verse Voice customers.

VoIP creates huge company savings

An American company is saving a staggering $20,000 per month by using VoIP instead of a traditional office phone system.

Aquent is a recruitment firm based in Boston and the company decided that its previous phone system had become outdated and turned instead to a VoIP solution.

Not only is the company now saving on the cost of each and every phone call but the VoIP telephone system requires no training to implement or costly maintenance.

An Aquent spokesperson said: “There have been many benefits of switching to VoIP but one of the main pluses is integrating all forms of communication within the company."

With the VoIP system employees can now send voicemails in the form of email attachments or engage in video conferencing, which is ideal for communicating with their colleagues who are working from home.

Skype hesitant about developing mobile software for Windows Phone 7

The Skype Asia and Pacific Vice President said at a meeting in Sydney that the VoIP company would not be developing mobile software for the Windows Phone 7.
The announcement followed news that the internet calling provider has scrapped its Windows Mobile app, saying that the OS was not up to standard.
A Skype spokesperson commented: "We try and focus on where the best experience is, not only where the need is. We feel that Skype can best develop by serving its existing operating systems – Android, Symbian, BlackBerry and iPhone.
Skype qualified this hesitancy by adding: “We are giving consideration to developing a Skype app for Windows Phone 7 but the question is how quickly we’re going to get around to it. We feel that the best areas for us to develop are on the operating systems that we currently support.”
Skype is currently the world’s most successful VoIP calling application and it has more than 520 million users worldwide. Skype has just released new low-cost calling plans as well as a beta Skype 5.0 version which allows five way video calling.
Industry analysts have seen Skype’s rejection of the Microsoft app as a serious blow to the Microsoft’s hopes of infiltrating the smartphone market.

NTA creates VoIP solution for mobile phones

The UK VoIP provider is to launch the True Mobile VoIP solution which gives customers VoIP flexibility through the use of a SIM.
The VoIP solution is expected to reduce costs for NTA mobile users. The company gives VoIP access without relying on WiFi, a SIP client or VoIP software.
NTA Managing Director Paul White said: “We will now be able to take our customer’s existing mobile phone and make it an extension of the NTA network.
“This pioneering move means mobile phones can now have the same impressive functionality as an office-based VoIP system.”
Mr White added that NTA is the first VoIP provider to offer pure-play VoIP for mobile customers, in addition to Mobile VoIP Extensions which do not have area limitations or expensive mobile forwarding charges.
Various different telephone numbers can be assigned to the NTA SIM card, whether they are mobile or landline numbers. The SIM gives many of the traditional benefits associated with VoIP such as call recording, call transfer and fax to email capabilities.
The service will cost £7.99 per month (plus £0.99 for number hosting) when it is launched on May 28, 2010.