Doug on IP Comm » iPhone

CounterPath upgrades Apple iOS NEC clients.

Doug Mohney — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:30:09 +0000

CounterPath (www.counterpath.com) has upgraded its soft client for the Apple i-Family (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and added a softclient to the NEC world.

The Bria iPhone Edition Version 1.1 is compatible with Apple’s iOS 4 operating system and enables multitaking on the iPhone; it will also do so on the iPad when iOS 4 is released for that device. Support exists for up to eight accounts and separate dial plans for each account. There’s also Bluetooth support and multi-call management options with the ability to switch between, merge, and split calls.

Enterprises and telephony providers have the option to customize brand the client.

NEC Unified Solutions gets a version of CounterPath software called NEC’s Smart Mobile Client. Release 2.2 supports Blackberry, Nokia and Apple iPhone interaction with NEC call servers, enabling calls to be seamlessly shifted off the cellular (billable) network onto an enterprise Wi-Fi network, along with enabling PBX routing for call savings.

Support for the Smart Mobile Client is currently available for the iS3000 and SIP@Net Communication servers, while release 3.0 (early 2011 release) will add support for NEC UNIVERGE SV8300 and SV8500 platforms.

Phone.com adds slew of mobile features

Doug Mohney — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:50:33 +0000

Note: Phone.com is an advertiser on HD Voice News

Phone.com (www.phone.com) has cranked out a whole bunch of mobile features for its SMB service, including clients for the iPhone and Apple plus SMB send support on phone.com phone numbers.

Released in June, Phone.com added the Phone.com Mobile VoIP client for the iPhone and the Phone.com Mobile Office Client for Android. The Mobile VoIP client enables iDevice users to use their Phone.com virtual account to place VoIP calls over either a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.

The Mobile Office Android client provides a user interface to enable Phone.com users to listen to/manage/read voicemail, view received faxes, review call history, block calls from unwanted or unidentified numbers, send and receive SMS messages, click-to-connect to a private conference bridge and (of course) use Phone.com to make low cost international calls.

Both apps show the user’s Phone.com number as the caller ID when calls are made and both apps can be downloaded free from their respective app store sites.

SMS send and receive is now included with all Phone.com local numbers and plans, so anyone can send an SMS text message directly to a local Phone.com number. The new feature is free of charge and included in every Phone.com plan.

Digium Switchvox gets IPhone, Blackberry app boost

Doug Mohney — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:51:00 +0000

Digium (www.digium.com) has announced the availability of Switchvox Mobile applications for iPhone and Blackbeery. The freely downloadable apps integrate with the Switchvox VoIP/UC solution to bring “advanced UC” functionality to users when they are away from the office.

The Switchvox Mobileapps are connected to an employee’s phone extension so when mobile workers make a business call through Switchvox mobile, the call appears to be from their work phone rather than their mobile (Personal) phone, and billing can be handled like any other call made from the office.

Mobile workers can place a call through Switchvox mobile by selecting a name from the company directory, dial the employee’s extension from the keypad, or return calls from the Voicemail and Call Log tools.

Other key features thrown in include the ability to control voicemail greetings, access the full company directory, view missed calls, check voicemail, and easily return call via smartphone. Users can also set call rules while away from the office.

Switchvox Mobile for iPhone is free of charge and available now through the iTunes App Store. It is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Switchvox Mobile for the BlackBerry is free of charge and available now through BlackBerry App World. It is compatible with the Bold, Curve, Pearl, Storm, and Tour models.

VoiceCon/Connect Enterprise: Sipera unveils UC security for the iPhone

Doug Mohney — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:59:46 +0000

Orlando, FL – For VoiceCon, Sipera Systems (www.sipera.com) has announced secure UC for the iPhone using its SLIC secure smartphone UC solution.

The company says SLIC – a finalist in the “Best of VoiceCon” voting – provides enterprise-class communications privacy, compliance, and security, enabling enterprises to use VoIP, UC, cloud telephony and other communications apps with “complete” security and privacy.

Using SLIC, enterprises can offload roaming minutes to WiFi networks, “enable” all smart features securely, and satisfy compliance mandates.

DiVitas Networks moves mobile UC client to Android, Blackberry, iPhone, desktop

Doug Mohney — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:43:50 +0000

Mobile UC solution provider DiVitas Networks continues to make steady progress. Today, the company announced it is rolling out “Enterprise Social Networking” (Hmm, I wonder if they’ve seen Avaya’s FacePhone demo) for all major commercially-available smartphones, including web client support for Android, Blackberry, and the iPhone. In addition, they added a desktop — which could just as easily go on a netbook or laptop — client as well.

Previously, DiVitas had announced support for Nokia Eseries and Nseries, along with various Windows Mobile smartphones.

And what is Enterprise Social Networking? DiVitas does a redirect of an existing desk phone number to provide business voice/PBX services to the smart phone. In addition, DiVitas has integrated business voice with IM and social networking applications to include a person’s availability, location and network. Contacts are accessed directly from an organization’s LDAP director for one-click access to any member within the secure corporate community and individuals within the secure community can check on availability of others via Mobile Presence and Status to figure out the best way to contact a person based upon a listed preference and location.

Net-net: If a corporate colleague is in a meeting and they don’t want a phone call, the client will indicate that, so you send an IM, enabling you to communicate faster than playing phone tag.

IT and service providers of DiVitas have the ability to maintain version control with the web client, allowing the most current version of the software to be provided; the DiVitas server can provide both the new web client and the native client simultaneously.

Vonage (finally) releases its Blackberry & iPhone mobile VoIP clients

Doug Mohney — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:32:15 +0000

After plenty of foreshadowing statements on earnings conference calls, Vonage has released Vonage Mobile, a free downloadable application for low-cost international calling on smartphones. The app is said to provide “seamless” low-cost international calling while on Wi-Fi or cellular networks.

Vonage says the service will have custmers more than 50 percent on calls to “dozens” of counties as compared to rates charged by wireless carriers — and no calling cards required. Vonage Mobile will be available for download on the iPhone, iPod touch, and BlackBerry and features include the ability to use an existing contact list for click-and-dial, using the existing clel phone number for caller ID identification, and real time balance updates.

By the end of the year, Vonage says it will enhance the app to include the Vonage World plan initially intro’ed for home service in August, giving mobile customers to make unlimited calls to over 60 countries for one flat monthly fee.

While the concept of a mobile app to make long distance calls sounds “old,” Vonage is the largest independent carrier/ITSP to load up the concept and cooperation with Apple to make the app available through the Apple app store implies that Vonage has played nicely (i.e. maybe some sort of recurring revenue) with Apple.

Be interesting to hear the field reports once the app is more widely deployed.

Vonage gets a Wall Street lift for working on an iPhone app?

Doug Mohney — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:52:07 +0000

Apparently, someone or someones is interested in pumping Vonage stock this week. Or it may be some people are drinking the Kool-Aid because the stock has gone from under 50 cents a share to over $2 bucks in a weeks time. That whole 300 percent lift gets stock gurus all hot and sweaty…

Frost & Sullivan has some bizarre theory that Vonage is getting a lift from all the talk around Google Voice stimulating more interest in VoIP and therefore more interest in acquiring the company blah-blah…

I could see where an acquirer might be interested in Vonage since the company has cleaned up its act and tightened its belt. Best Buy would be an interesting purchaser since they could clean house of Vonage’s expensive marketing department and integrate Vonage marketing into its promotional juggernaut. Best Buy would get another service business – monthly recurring revenue good to smooth out peaks and valleys of consumer biz. But, Best Buy would end up with a “competitor” to ooma and phone service offerings, so that makes the idea a bit more blue sky.

Still, just because Vonage has submitted an iPhone app for sale in the iStore doesn’t mean everyone should get all excited. Apple is still trying to work out its story regarding Google Voice and we all know how that’s going…

Kabuki theatre over Apple iPhone/AT&T/Google Voice

Doug Mohney — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:57:43 +0000

Can we just cut to the chase and allow VoIP apps on the iPhone already, regardless of who does them and what network they use?

AT&T has apparently ‘ fessed up that, why yes, the iPhone deal does block VoIP apps from using its cellular network, but VoIP over Wi-Fi is somehow OK.

And Apple is still “reviewing” the Google Voice app because it mucks with its look-and-feel, changing the “experience.” Doesn’t this smack of buying an IBM PC and being told you have to use IBM’s software — rather than someone else’s? Don’t we have case law floating around on this particular point already? C’mon public policy lawyers, get your textbooks out and challenge this already!

After all the years of bitching and whining about “Think Different” and “1984,” Apple has demonstrated it is just as petty and can pull the same sort of crap as any other company intent on holding onto market share by Any Means Necessary. Being a snob is one thing, being a bully is another.

It has a good collusion buddy in AT&T, who doesn’t seem to think that its own actions won’t move the FCC to do something real soon. Maybe AT&T is right, but it should start worrying about the Next Big Thing rather than trying to pretend we’re in pre-monopoly land all over again.

Comcast shows iPhone love

Doug Mohney — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:23:04 +0000

Comcast has announced a free mobile app for the iPhone to allow its customers access to all of the company’s “favorite” services, including a unified email inbox, visual voice mail, address book sync, TV listings, and trailers. One could almost image a Comcast product manager opening up his window and yelling “Can you hear me now, Verizon?”

More seriously, Comcast has bypassed normal politics by working with the iPhone/iPod touch — an AT&T-exclusive device — to provide a unified user interface, so a triple play customer can check email and even listen to voice mail in one combined in-box, manage voice mail and call logs, and get calls forwarded from a Comcast home phone to an iPhone and manage all those home phone details.

Universal address sync is cool, but you’d expect that sort of functionality from anyone who bought Plaxo.

For video junkies, the “what’s on TV” feature and the movie trailers are a nice little touch, and will keep someone who has 2 minutes of idle time on their hands entertained.

Perhaps the more interesting question is if/when Comcast rolls out other versions of this client to other platforms. An Android port shouldn’t be too touch, but are there enough ‘droid users to justify the work and support?