Blackberry uses PBX and WiFi support to give employees central contact point

The BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 (MVS5) employs PBX and WiFi support to allow workers to use their landline phone number and extension from their BlackBerry smartphone.
They can also receive and make calls, or look up corporate directory numbers on their home WiFi network using their BlackBerry mobile device.

BlackBerry MVS5 calls are routed through a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) which is supplied by Cisco Systems. The PBX connects telephone extensions from inside and outside the corporation. The result is a product similar to Google Voice where you can have one number for all your calls.

The impressive new product will be available from all major American stores this summer including Wal-Mart. It was originally unveiled by RIM, the maker of Blackberry, at its Wireless Enterprise Symposium.

In a press release RIM said: "With MVS5 employees are now more accessible via their work number and also enjoy the convenience of extension dialling from their BlackBerry smartphone. Furthermore they have the flexibility to move calls from their BlackBerry to their desk phone."

By putting calls through to both the BlackBerry and the desk phone, employees stay connected with colleagues. And when mobile workers use WiFi for mobile calls they actually save their companies international roaming charges and long-distance fees.

BlackBerry MVS 5 includes BlackBerry MVS Server, which enables communication between PBX and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
There is also a BlackBerry MVS smartphone client software application which can be distributed over the air to BlackBerry smartphones through BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Android points the way with new sat nav system

Sat navs may soon be a thing of the past given the advances in smartphone technology.
The Android platform is the latest operating system to make use of Google’s maps and provide drivers with a step-by-step guide to their route.
Android provides a free download from the Google Maps market which is easy to download.



Then, by clicking ‘Navigate’, the phone downloads the entire route you wish to take (so having a signal is not necessary during your trip).
Previously only available in the United States of America, Google Maps can now be accessed by Android users in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Owners of HTC Desire, Nexus One or Motorola Milestone phones with version 1.6 of the Android operating system or above can make use of the maps technology, though it is still only in Beta.

Probably the biggest advance is a compatibility with Google Street view which allows you to actually see the street you should be driving down as you look for the turning. You can then use real pictures of buildings or landmarks as a reference. Google Street view can be brought up with a simple double tap on the screen.
Utilising both touch-screen technology and the latest in voice-recognition, the Android can find exactly which address, shop or business you are looking for.
As the system is web-based the latest maps are always available, unless you have signalling problems. There could also be high costs for people using their Androids abroad.

Also, if you enter a generic term such as ‘hotel’ it will come up with advertised hotels nearby. This could disrupt the advertising revenue streams currently employed by sat nav companies.
The phone system can also deliver live traffic updates using a colour-coded system to tell you whether certain roads are jammed.

3CX Phone System for Windows Recognized for Exceptional Innovation

3CX announced today that Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC®) has named 3CX Phone System for Windows as a recipient of its 2009 Unified Communications magazine Product of the Year Award.

Nick Galea, CEO, 3CX says “3CX excels at building an easy to use and easy to manage unified communications platform for any size business. We are delighted that the 3CX Phone System for Windows has been recognized for the unique unified communications capabilities and was awarded for the 2009 Product of the year Award for two consecutive years."

3CX Phone System for Windows is a revolutionary IP PBX that delivers unified communications technology by merging voice and data networks, allowing businesses to simplify real time delivery of information and ensure ease of use.

With 3CX IP PBX, collaboration between co-workers is made easier and cooperation with business partners and clients becomes more direct; even when the parties are not located in the same place.

To read more on this press release, please click here.

VoIP comes to Blackberry

While Android, i-Phone and Symbian have long had VoIP technology, wireless voice over IP capabilities are only now just coming to the Blackberry platform.



The software comes courtesy of German developer fg microtec which has created a new kit with the aid of Research In Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of Blackberry smartphones.
It uses fg microtec's fgVoIP Engine to allow developers to add full duplex media processing. Therefore they can send and receive real time voice to a BlackBerry.
Robert Mirbaha, CEO of fg microtec said: "For a long time VoIP on BlackBerry has been both a challenge and a market requirement. Companies have tried to crack this problem for many years without success."

"But now through our new fgVoIP Engine, BlackBerry developers can create VoIP-enabled applications in less time. This allows more users to benefit from the cost advantages of VoIP."

Until recently RIM has only had VoIP capability through Unlicenced Mobile Access. Now though FG Microtec has created a VoIP toolkit which can be used in association with products such as Truphone.

Intec develops solution to congested VoIP line between Tokyo and Shanghai

By developing a new device, the Japanese IT company Intec has enabled quality VoIP, video conferencing, email and packet sharing between two countries.

The Blue Coat PacketShaper has helped overcome the network congestion which was hindering communication between Tokyo and Shanghai.

The congestion was slowing down both remote file access and email capabilities making it difficult for Intec to do business.

Intec general manager Satoshi Nishihara, of the information systems department, explained: "Because of severe congestion on the line between our Tokyo headquarters and our Shanghai development centre it was not possible to use VoIP or video conferencing.

"The Blue Coat PacketShaper device helped us to regain control of our network. This brought it in line with our business priorities and ensured quality communication.

Although Shanghai and Tokyo are relatively close the network was so busy that there was a latency of only 300 milliseconds. This poor latency was mainly caused by a high volume of web traffic narrowing the available bandwidth.

The Blue Coat PacketShaper was able to cut down response time between the server and the client and therefore boost business.

Lotus Racing Formula 1 communications accelerate with 3CX

3CX appointed Official Technical Supplier

London March 24 - Lotus Racing and 3CX announce that, 3CX has been appointed as technical
supplier and that Lotus Racing has installed 3CX Phone System in its technical centre and mobile race track operations. Thepopular VoIP PBX system will be used for each F1 race around the globe – providing the vital comms link between Norfolk HQ and the track team.

Commenting on this alliance, Lotus Racing Head of IT Bill Peters said “We needed a state of the art PBX that would deliver unified communications and high quality voice across the globe. 3CX and Lotus Racing clearly share the same ethos of excellence and success, with a winning attitude.” 3CX Phone System Enterprise Edition 8 was implemented last month at the Technical Centre in Hingham, Norfolk with 1 Patton ISDN E1 gateway, VoIP Unlimited trunks and 130 Cisco SPA phones.

Nick Galea, CEO of 3CX felt privileged to be selected by Lotus Racing. “It's a team with a long heritage of success and technical innovation in a sport which depends so much on technology and reliability. We’ve built reliability into the core of 3CX and to receive acknowledgment from Lotus Racing is a great accolade for the 3CX Team.”

Although there are many benefits to implementing 3CX Phone System, the top paybacks for Lotus were seen as follows:

• Mobility: 3CX Voip technology enables staff to work remotely around the globe. Remote extensionstrackside enables the racing crew to talk to each other irrespective of their location. The MyPhone portal makes it easy foreach employee to configure rules on how calls were to be treated and routed.


• Manageability: Extensions and phone lines can be added on-the-go with a few clicks and the phone system can be backed up like any other windows application.


• Savings: A large proportion of Lotus’ phone traffic is now sent over inter-company VoIP
  circuits thereby considerably reducing high mobile phone costs and prohibitive roaming charges.


• Unified Messaging: Employees have easy desktop call control and can contact colleagues and transfer calls with a click of a button. Voice mail and faxes are delivered to the users email inbox.

To read more on this press release, please click here.

Spitfire and 3CX offer channel complete SIP solution

London, UK – February 17, 2010 - Spitfire, the leading Internet Telephony Service Provider, has completed full Interoperability testing with 3CX and agreed to promote 3CX to Spitfire’s 200 strong partner channel. Spitfire has become a 3CX Supported SIP Trunk provider, with Spitfire SIP Trunk configuration built into the latest release of 3CX software, and support for Spitfire SIP Trunks being available from 3CX’s global technical support center.

Spitfire presented 3CX to its partner channel in a joint seminar for Spitfire Partners at the end of January 2010, to promote the benefits of the 3CX IP phone system using Spitfire SIP trunks. In addition to this 3CX is holding two fully subscribed training days exclusively for Spitfire Partners at their training center in Kingston-upon-Thames.

The 3CX phone system is a Windows based IP PBX that replaces a proprietary hardware PBX. 3CX’s IP phone system has been developed specifically for Microsoft Windows and is based on the SIP standard.

Spitfire’s Partner Service provides a wide range of telecoms support for IT support companies and VARs looking to move into voice. This includes overviews on an introduction to telecoms, third level support and access to Spitfire’s Wholesale Line Rental and SIP products.

Nick Goodenough, Spitfire’s Partner Service Manager says, “Our aim is to help IT companies that wish to move into voice take the initial steps. IT resellers have great relationships with their clients and are on site on a regular basis. They should consider providing voice as delivering and supporting another application on the LAN. Spitfire’s role is to provide our IT Partners with the service wrap and products to give them the confidence to provide voice services with our support. Spitfire offers over 20 years experience in the voice market and is now a leader in SIP Trunks, VoIP and business Internet connectivity, so we offer the complete package to support IT companies moving into voice”.

To read more about this post, click here.