Posts tagged VoIP
Apple Peel case attempts to turn iPod touch into iPhone
Jul 28th
Apple Peel 520 is an adapter case that just might hack your iPod touch into something closer to an iPhone, courtesy of a VoIP client, SIM card, and a dream:
Powered by an Infineon baseband chip, this adapter not only offers voice calling and text messaging (presumably requiring a jailbroken iPod touch for the apps; GPRS not possible yet), but it also doubles up as an 800mAh battery and provides 4.5 hours of call time or 120 hours of standby juice.
Whether this ever hits the market in Asia — let alone North America — is anyone’s guess but if it did show up, would you want?
[Engadget]
Apple Peel case attempts to turn iPod touch into iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Line2 iPhone VoIP App Hits App Store — Sort Of
Mar 26th
Line2 is new VoIP app for the iPhone and iPod touch that allows you to make calls on your iPhone over your 3G data connection while avoiding using up your ever important voice minutes. The app itself will cost you $1 but unlike Google Voice or Skype there is a $15 per month fee (after the initial free 30 day trial) but most of you will find that you do get your money’s worth with all of the following features.
- A dedicated number that finds you on any phone. Get a local number, an 800 number, or transfer an existing number.
- Powerful office phone features including call waiting, call transfer, caller ID, call forwarding, and more.
- A second number for your cell phone that allows you to place and receive calls on your cell phone from your Toktumi number. Now you can keep your personal cell number private without having to carry two cell phones.
- Auto Attendant (”Press 1 for…”) that’s like a 24/7 receptionist – managing and routing incoming calls to the right person or department automatically.
-Instant conference calls for up to 20 people — you can even record your conference calls for future reference (windows only). - Voicemail by e-mail that simplifies your communications and helps you easily manage your important messages.
- Virtual Assistant that screens and announces calls and provides different greetings for business and personal callers.
- PC-based calling for conducting calls and conferences from your PC anywhere worldwide. You can even dial numbers by name or keyword (windows only).
- Unlimited calling and conferencing to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as to other Toktumi users worldwide.
- Simultaneous call forwarding to up to six numbers
- Ultra-low rates for international calls, e.g. $.02 per minute for calls to China, Italy, and the U.K. See rates here.
All of the above are great features but not everything is a bed of roses. Two major drawbacks are as follows – until Apple allows for multitasking you must have the app running in order to receive incoming calls and currently you can not receive or send text messages (the latter should be fixed in a future update).
Now before you head into the App Store looking to download Line2 you should be aware it has been pulled by the developer, Toktumi. The blame goes to a DNS attack and not Apple like you may have thought so it will be back once the attack is cleared up.
Once it is up and running and if you decide to give it a try, let us know how it works for you in the comments below!
[Via New York Times, thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Line2 iPhone VoIP App Hits App Store — Sort Of is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb – The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Skype Android app for Verizon Available Thursday
Mar 24th
Skype and Verizon announced at CTIA that a Skype Mobile app will be available in the Android market beginning Thursday, March 25, for users of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Devour on Verizon. The app is not the VOIP app you might be imagining: it relies on Verizon’s voice network to connect calls.
The app will allow users to:
- make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls
- send and receive unlimited IMs with other Skype users
- manage their Skype contact list within the app
- make international calls at Skype’s calling rates.
The two companies announced they’d be partnering on this project earlier this month. This week’s announcement gives us more specific information about the timing of release (this week!) and the features of the app.
A Skype representative was noncommittal when asked if or when they might bring a pure VOIP app to Android, and I believe I read a big, fat “nope” between the lines, especially given their more positive noncommittal response to other inquiries.
If you’re a Verizon customer who uses Skype, let us know what you think about the app once you’ve had the chance to try it out. If you use the Skype Lite app that was available more generally in the Market, know that if you uninstall it, it’ll be gone forever: Skype has pulled it from the market. And if you’re interested in using a VOIP service on your Android phone, your best bet might be to check out other apps like Fring or Tubaloo.
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Motorola HS1001 (Home Phone) in Action
Mar 11th
Motorola was in attendance at this year’s CeBIT and they were showing off the new HS1001 home phone made in conjunction with Binatone. The omnipresent Nicholas Charbonnier (Charbax) was also there and grabbed some video of the device in action. Running what appears to be a customized version of Android 1.6 experience, the HS1001 handles VoIP, gets emails, and messages just like your handset does. [Video after the jump]
The unit is expected to sell for 99€ in Europe and $149 in the USA when it arrives this summer. As pointed out by Charbax, the phone comes with a speaker-equipped charging station so you can play your Pandora or Slacker Radio stations while docked.
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Verizon Shows Us How Skype Mobile Works [VIDEO]
Mar 8th
Verizon recently announced that they’ve worked out an exclusive deal to offer Skype Mobile on their Android handsets. Starting this month, the Droid, Droid Eris, and Devour handsets will come loaded with the “new” feature that allows for calls anywhere in the world without using minutes. Since neither Skype nor Skype Mobile are technically new, we’d understand if you already know how the respective services work. However, there’s a large segment of the population who have yet to learn of Voice over IP (VoIP).
Verizon has taken to a cute little YouTube video to show us how their exclusive agreement stands to benefit current and potential Android users on the nation’s largest network. Never one to resist taking a dig at the iPhone, Verizon reminds us that “these phones can run more than one app at a time”.
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iCall, Fring — VoIP over 3G Apps Begin to Arrive for iPhone!
Jan 28th
VoIP over 3G apps for iPhone are now beginning to show up in the iTunes App Store.
After AT&T said they would allow VoIP over 3G, all that remained was for Apple to follow through with an amended SDK, and that happened with iPhone 3.2 SDK for iPad.
So far iCall Free VoIP [Free - iTunes link] and Fring [Free - iTunes link]
We’re not seeing the monster in the space, Skype over 3G yet, but we’re willing to bet that’s incoming.
We’re also happy to see that the iPad is indeed pushing things along for the iPhone as well, and we’re wondering if this means we’ll have VoIP over 3G to go along with those new AT&T iPad data plans they announced yesterday?
If you try out VoIP over 3G on your iPhone let us know how it works for you!
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
iCall, Fring — VoIP over 3G Apps Begin to Arrive for iPhone!
iPhone 3.2 SDK for iPad – VoIP, External Displays, Shared File Directory, 6 Apps in Dock
Jan 28th
MacRumors is reporting that the new iPhone 3.2 SDK, now available via developer.apple.com, but (currently?) only supporting the just-announced iPad, brings a couple interesting new features to the table tablet.
- External displays, which had potential but no official APIs in previous iPhone SDKs, looks like they’ve gone legit. Video out to come? No word on an HDMI cable still…
- Shared file directory, which mounts on both Mac and PC. It isn’t the Mobile Finder we’ve wanted, but it sounds like it might make getting docs on and off a whole lot easier.
- Universal apps, which means developers can make a single build that will support both the smaller iPhone and iPod touch, and the bigger iPad.
In addition, MacRumors says iCall Free VoIP [Free - iTunes link] has told them:
With the latest revisions Apple has made to the iPhone developer agreement and Software Development Kit, iCall for the iPhone and iPod Touch now enabled unrestricted free local and long distance calling over 3G data networks.
Finally (for now), 9to5mac shows that while the demo iPad only had 4 apps in its dock, like the iPhone, the SDK simulator has room for 6. Makes sense given the extra width. (Pictures above)
We’d wondered what happened with VoIP over 3G. Will iPhone 3.2 be the answer?
This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
iPhone 3.2 SDK for iPad – VoIP, External Displays, Shared File Directory, 6 Apps in Dock
