Skype Internet Telephony Goes Cordless; Siemens and Skype Combine ...
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The adapter works with the recently launched Gigaset C340/345 and Gigaset CX340/345isdn, Gigaset S440/445 and Gigaset SX440/445isdn, Gigaset S645 and Gigaset SL440.
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Dutch Philips Electronics PHG.AS   PHG.N said on Thursday it would introduce the world's first   cordless DECT phone that can make Skype Internet calls without   being connected to a personal computer.
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Internet telephony provider Skype Technologies has released a final version of its peer-to-peer (define) VoIP (define) software for Wi-Fi-enabled Pocket PC devices.
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(InfoWorld) - Intel and Siemens have agreed to collaborate in the development of new enterprise communication systems using VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) technology. The world's largest chip maker and the German industrial conglomerate will both fund and conduct research focused on secure wireless networks and real-time communications using VOIP technology, the companies said Thursday. The goal is to develop VOIP-based systems based on Intel's dual-core chips and rack-mounted servers and Siemens' HiPath 8000 and OpenScape telecommunications technology. The two companies plan to demonstrate the first wave of their findings at an undisclosed Intel lab by the end of the year. Siemens is in the process of transferring its telecommunications and enterprise communications manufacturing operations into new joint ventures, including one with Nokia.
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(InfoWorld) - Nearly one year after Skype stole the headlines at the 3GSM World Congress with itsÂ plans to offer a mobile versionÂ of its Internet phone, a couple of nimble startups -- and not the Net telephony pioneer itself -- appear to have found a way to make this type of service work, both technically and commercially. Earlier this week, JajahÂ announced aÂ new mobile VOIPÂ serviceÂ that allows smart-phone users to make low-cost and, in some cases, free international calls. Customers simply enter Jajah's mobile Web portal through their handset's browser, enter their user name and password and then make a either a free or low-cost call. The launch of Jajah Mobile Web comes on the heals of a mobile VOIP (voice over IP) offering by Fring, which, unlike Jajah, requires users to download software and install it in their Internet-enabled handsets. The Fring service gives mobile users access to P-to-P (peer-to-peer) VOIP offerings such as Skype and Google Talk. Microsoft appears to have its finger on the pulse of mobile VOIP, too. Next week in Barcelona, the U.S. software giant will unwrap aÂ new version of its Windows Mobile OSÂ that will supposedly enable carriers and device maker to add VOIP functionality to Windows Mobile devices. All these announcements -- and the many more expected at this year's 3GSM World Congress -- come as Skype, which essentially stunned the mobile phone industry last year with its VOIP plans, acknowledges technical and commercial hurdles. In a recent interview in Finnish newspaper, Skype co-founder and CEO Niklas ZennstrÃ¶m spoke of "technical obstacles" and conceded that efforts to make Skype work had been taking "much longer than expected." At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, Eric Lagier, Skype director of business development for hardware and mobile, called the lack of attractive flat-rate fees for most mobile phone services a key commercial hurdle to mobile VOIP usage. He said the company didn't want to be in a position of claiming that its service is free, but facing users who at the end of the month are docked with a huge broadband usage fee. At last year's 3GSM World Congress, Skype and the Hutchison 3 Group (Hutchison 3G)Â announced a partnershipÂ to provide what they had hoped to become the world's first commercial VOIP service for mobile phones. Hutchison 3G, which operates IP-based mobile broadband networks in several European markets, was one of the first mobile phone operators to embrace VOIP, a technology many in the industry view as a major threat to their cash-cow voice business. But industry experts admit that challenges remain.Â One hurdle in providing quality VOIP serviceÂ over mobile handsets is the uplink, which is currently too slow to support quality voice calls, John Giere, chief marketing officer at Alcatel-Lucent, said in an earlier interview. To increase uplink speeds, operators of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) networks, which dominate Europe and many parts of Asia and Latin America, will need to upgrade their networks with HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) technology, which will give operators "the bidirectional capability they need to run real VOIP," he said. The high-speed technology is not expected to become commercially available in volume until the latter part of 2007 or early 2008. Operators are presently busy rolling out the downlink counterpart HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access).
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Internet telephony firm Skype today promised free wireless voice calls for millions of European surfers via a version of its software for the recently launched Siemens Gigaset DECT cordless phones.
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New service will feature SkypePlus voicemail and expanded conference calling, as well as let users get calls from the traditional phone network.
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Skype Technologies has launched Skype for Pocket PC Version 1.0, which allows users to make Skype voice calls for free using Wi-Fi wireless networking.
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Vonage, which offers low-cost phone service over the Internet, has partnered with UTStarcom to introduce a portable Wi-Fi handset by the middle of the year.
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(InfoWorld) - Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV has announced a new phone that allows users of Skype Ltd.'s Internet telephony service to make calls without having to boot up their PCs. The VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phone, the VOIP841, is the first such phone to be based on DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) technology, Rudy Provoost, chief executive officer of the Philips Consumer Electronics division, said Thursday at a news conference at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. On Thursday, Skype separately announced that Netgear Inc. will also deliver a Skype phone that operates without a PC. Typically, Skype phones work through a computer or a laptop. The new Philips and Netgear phones plug into a broadband connection jack and a standard home phone jack. They can send and receive Skype calls over the Internet as well as calls from a regular home phone number. The VOIP841 will be available in December, Provoost said. He gave no pricing information. Availability and pricing details about the Netgear phone were not immediately available. The new generation of phones could help Skype reach a larger group of consumers who are not tech-savvy and tend to shy away from phone gadgets that require computer knowledge. In July, Skype announced that several manufacturers, including Netgear, planned toÂ deliver Wi-Fi phones preloaded with the VOIP service provider's software client. The phones were slated to hit the market in the third quarter. Â
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The motherboards are able to turn common household telephones into Internet phones using the popular Skype VoIP software.
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Siemens have announced the availability of a range of handsets that works with (Voice over IP) VoIP software, Skype. Simply by plugging the a USB adapter in to a computer running an updated version of Skype
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Intel and Siemens announced plans Thursday to take VoIP from a largely consumer-based medium and expand its use in the corporate world. To achieve that goal, the two companies will work together on new technologies.
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Skype for Windows, Skype for Pocket PC and Skype for Linux -- Skype for Mac OS X is free. Skype users can control their online presence and
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Skype has announced its free software is now available for the Siemens Gigaset DECT cordless phones, meaning that users can now utilise a cordless phone to place calls to other telephones, over the Internet.
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(InfoWorld) - Internet phone service provider Skype plans to start charging U.S. and Canadian users $29.95 per year for unlimited calls to regular phones in both countries, as theÂ end of a free trial offer looms. Users who sign up before Jan. 31, 2007 will receive a special rate of $14.95 a year and 100 free minutes of international calling, Skype said in a statement on Wednesday. Any user wishing to continue using Skype to make calls to regular phones or mobile handsets after the free trial expires Dec. 31, but does not want a yearly plan, can pay for SkypeOut at a rate of just 2.1 cents per minute for calls within the U.S. and Canada. Computer-to-computer calls using Skype software will remain free. Skype allows users to make voice and video calls to regular landlines, mobile phones, or PCs over the Internet. The company's popular software can also be used to share files, send instant messages, conduct conference calls, and more. The new plan to start charging users for calls to regular phones comes just six months after Skype launched a free trial of its VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) service in both countries. The company is part of a growing trend of users making voice calls over the Internet at rates far lower than traditional phone companies charge. The plan also pits Skype against other Internet calling carriers, such as Vonage Holdings, which offers a $24.99 monthly package in the U.S. that includes calls to several European countries such as the U.K., Spain and France, as well as extras such as voice mail,Â 911 emergency-dialing, and a free phone adapter. Skype, a Luxembourg company bought by eBay last year, already serves more than 136 million registered users globally, as of the end of September 2006. The company made a name for itself by offering free PC-to-PC calls over the Internet with the aid of its free software.Â New Skype-enabled devicesÂ able to link to the Internet, such as mobile phones able to connect to wireless-LAN networks, continue to become available.
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(InfoWorld) - Sales of new Wi-Fi mobile handsets that use Skype software and do not require a PC to make calls are gaining momentum ahead of the holidays, companies report. The Wi-Fi mobile phones are rousing interest for two reasons: the low cost of using Skype services to make calls, and because people can use them more like a traditional mobile phone, without the aid of a PC.Â Skype is offeringÂ the WSKP100 by SMC Networks in a package on its Web site that includes the handset, a Wi-Fi router, 500 minutes of calls to regular mobile phones and landlines (SkypeOut) and 12 months of Skype voicemail for just Â£99 ($196). "Sales are going great so far," said Brian Nickell, product manager at SMC Networks. He said SMC is currently selling its Wi-Fi Skype handset, the WSKP100, in North America, Europe, and Asia, and that the company will release more local language models soon. The Chinese language version of the handset became available Tuesday in Taiwan. Users can download a firmware upgrade at SMC's Taiwan Web site. The SMC model is identical to the VM1185T by Accton Technology and the F1PP000GN-SK by Belkin International for a reason. SMC is the U.S. marketing subsidiary of Accton, whichÂ developed the Wi-Fi handset. The Taiwanese company reported that its overall sales in November rose 13 percent over October thanks to the handset, a sign users may find them in their stockings this holiday season. The company's November sales reached NT$1.38 billion (US$42.7 million), up from NT$1.22 billion in October, it said Tuesday. The Wi-Fi handset offers Skype VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) software, and features such as 802.11b/g compatibility with added security features to keep conversations private. Users can use the handsets anywhere they canÂ access Skype services, such as Wi-Fi networks at Starbucks coffee shops or on college campuses. It automatically searches for Wi-Fi signals. The SMC and Belkin versions of the handset can be found at reseller shops for around $190.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.