Android Developers Challenge I Winners!

As we have written a lot about the Android, the open handset alliance project (we are fans! our Google phone coming soon was a DIGG item.), we could not miss writing about developer challenge one, as well. But those lucky winners who got six figure prize money had to be little more than lucky. There were many competitors, each with brilliant ideas and tough judges, seven of them.
According to the Android blog, each judge reviewed all 50 selected Android Challenge applications collaboratively and gave initial scores. Then all judges met together to debate and support their ideas and scoring over conference calls. And that is how these judges came to consensus on which applications should receive $275,000 and which should receive $100,000.
And the winners are,
Ten $275,000 winners, from Cab4me to wertego and another ten, Breadcrumbz to Teradesk, $100,000 winners.
We don't really agree with Android judges (somebody even said lets get what they were smoking!, so we can judge ourselves), we respect their choices. We are good football (soccer) players we always respect the referee!.
But instead of listening to these personal ideas, you can visit the ADC gallery of winners and finalists. I think you will see why it is so hard to choose, they are all good ideas.

Android Developers Blog: Presenting the Winners of the Android Developer Challenge I

Tags: Android Developers, open handset alliance, OHA, Google phone, Android blog

Happy Birthday Skype!

When Skype was first born, it was so buggy that I gave up after first try but my colleague kept on using and insisting that we too use it! That seems a long time ago and now I have the the benefit of five years of hindsight and thousands of minutes on Skype under my belt.

I think Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis and their team of Estonian programmers knew what they were doing and where they wanted to go. But I am sure it it was far shorter, (again guessing) than what ebay wanted to pay for it!. Yet I feel that it needs a boost in the arm to recapture the money it spent on skype.

So far loyal and not so loyal users like me have amassed more than 100 billion minutes of Skype among them and yes it is a good sign. We wish you billions more minutes and enought reasons to write about, like uninstall skype, which has been a constant traffic source for this excuse for a VoIP Blog.

Happy Birthday Skype!

Tags: skype, skype birthday, uninstall skype, voip blog, Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis

Free Calls, Skype, Data Dongle, With Three's Skypephone S2

UK's Three has released Skypephone S2, follow up to Skypephone we wrote about last year, offering HSDPA data, a 3.2 megapixel camera, 50MB of memory with a microSD slot for plenty more, and of course Skype support!. Basically you can say it is a modern day cell phone with Skype built in. Yes I want one but Three is not here in US! So I have to wander around house with my wireless skype phone (Panasonic KX-WP1050) for now and use Jajah out side!
With Skypephone S2, Skype to Skype calls are free as usual and the Skype service could be kept alive by signing up for the £10 monthly pay as you go account (the phone will cost £70) , just like with the previous phone. The phone is free with £15 contract!. But I think if you live in UK (Some other European countries like Italy, soon) it is a good combination of Mobile phone, data dongle and a Skype carry around!

Tags: Mobile Skype, Skypephone, skype, three network, Panasonic KX-WP1050, Skypephone S2, Skype to Skype, free calls

Asterisk Gui 2.0, Feast For Your PBX Eyes!

Even though it was expected for a while, I found a new branch in Asterisk svn tree, branches/2.0 and well it was a pleasure to see the screen shots, even though I am yet to compile the new code. The former gui exists as gui version 1.0 on branch/1.0.
Compiling and installation is not a big deal and you can follow the instructions on AsteriskNOW site.
If you feel that you have input for the project, you can find out how to get involved here.
Oh, here are the screen shots released by the team.

Tags: Asterisk, AsteriskNOW, asterisk gui 2.0

Pingtel / SIPfoundry In Nortel's Hands, I Guess Asterisk Was Too Hot!

Why SIPfoundry was a better place for Nortel than Asterisk? Perhaps there might be reasons that you may have thought of. I have worked with SIPfoundry for a long time as well. Actually the SIP Softphone that I have worked on came from SIPFoundry. Now that Pingtel changed hands, a few times to end up in Nortels hand, I hope I continue to see the open source project prosper. SIPfoundry did provide for a niche that we worked on. The first open source conference server we worked on was from SIPfoundry.
I think you too should reaf what I read, The Hyperconnected Enterprise
by Tony Rybcynski from Nortel, on TMC Bloggers. Beelinebill told me about it.

Tags: Asterisk, SIPfoundry, Nortel, TMC Bloggers, Beelinebill

Sify Joins Google To Bring Google Apps Suite Of Communication And Collaboration Tools To Indian Users.

Chennai, India

Sify Technologies Limited (Nasdaq National market: SIFY), a leader in enterprise data services and consumer Internet with global delivery capabilities, announced today its agreement with Google Inc. to bring the Google Apps suite of communication and collaboration tools, including email, chat and online documents, to Indian Internet users. Google Apps will now power Sifymail and chat, as well as other applications using the Google Apps platform, which would be leveraged across Sify’s fast expanding Network Infrastructure, reaching out to over a million users across India and abroad.

Raju Vegesna, Chairman & CEO, Sify Technologies Limited, said, “There is a perfect confluence of the mission of our companies in enhancing the quality of life of individuals and businesses by empowering them with the Internet. Our agreement with Google makes superior applications available for communications and collaboration, coupled with our understanding of the needs of Indians, on our popular portal Sify.com. We believe that we can make compelling applications, tools and content based on Google’s expertise for many more Indians to use the Internet to enhance their productivity and quality of life. This agreement enhances our relationship with Google beyond powering the search on Sify.com”.

Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India Pvt. Ltd., said, "We're pleased to work with Sify to offer its customers access to our leading communication and collaboration tools. Our companies share a vision of giving consumers innovative choices that will the change the way they interact with each other and the world”.

Sify is a leader in providing Internet access in India through the ePort cyber café chain and home broadband access, as well as interactive rich media content with sites such as Sify.com for news, sports, finance, games, shopping and video content, Sifymax.com for broadband entertainment content, Samachar.com for global Indians to stay in touch with everything Indian. The agreement with Google will complement Sify’s strengths in connectivity and content to catalyze the use of the Internet by Indians with world-class applications, tools and content tailored to Indian requirements.

Sify will start launching these services for users in the coming months.

Tags: Google Collaboration, google, Sify, Google Apps, Samachar, Sifymax

Mitsubishi Launches First Ever All Japanese made Communication Satellite, Superbird-7

Tokyo, Japan – Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (President and CEO: Setsuhiro Shimomura)announced today it has successfully launched Superbird-7, which is Japan’s first domestically produced commercial communications satellite, and the next-generation communications satellite for Space Communications Corporation (SCC).
Superbird-7 was successfully launched from Guiana Space Center, French Guiana at 5:44 a.m. on August 15 (Japan time) using Arianespace’s launch vehicle, Ariane 5. The satellite separated from the launcher at 6:09 a.m. and succeeded in spreading its solar paddle at 7:02 a.m.
The Superbird-7 will be positioned into stationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above ground level and Mitsubishi Electric will continue in-orbit testing until September 2008.
Superbird-7 was made at Mitsubishi Electric’s Kamakura Works in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It uses Mitsubishi Electric’s original DS2000 satellite bus platform, which was developed based on the Engineering Test Satellite-8 (ETS-8), made for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The DS2000 is also currently used in the Multi-functional Transport Satellite-2 (MTSAT-2), made for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan and the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The well-equipped facilities at Kamakura Works have enabled Mitsubishi Electric to efficiently conduct its production and system tests in a single building, with a variety of testing facilities for satellite production such as a space chamber that simulates the high vacuum and extremely low temperatures of space, vibration test equipment, an acoustic test room and a compact antenna testing range. The Kamakura Works also has all the necessary satellite control equipment to check the satellite performance and functions in stationary orbit after the launch and separation of the launch vehicle.
Details of the Superbird-7 Launch
The agreement with SCC is for a ‘delivery in orbit’ (DIO) contract, in which Mitsubishi Electric will manage the project entirely from satellite design, production and launch, installation of satellite control equipment, to final extensive in-orbit testing prior to final handover to the customer. Mitsubishi Electric will hand the satellite over to SCC after the in-orbit testing and also, provide full operational support during its 15 year-life span.
To date, all 18 satellites currently operated by Japanese broadcast and communications companies have been US-made. Superbird-7 will be the first Japan-made commercial satellite to be launched into orbit.

Tags: Telecom News, communications Satellite, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Superbird-7, DS2000 satellite, Ariane 5

Free Calls WIth Asterisk And Gizmo5

image credit 2nm.com.au

Nerd Vittles has done it again with a fine ariticle on how to make free calls worldwide with Asterisk and Gizmo5 (All calls free). According to the article you will be able call any cellphone or landline in the United States at no cost, as long as it is not on AT&T number!
In fact you can check any of the numbers you call are free calls by checking with Gizmo5's back door. Nerd Vittles also explains about the carriers who are using the VoIP for their call terminations. I just checked my sprint number and it is free through Gizmo5 back door dialing. Back door dialing is easily accomplished by adding 0101 to the destination number, Just dial 0101 + 10 digit US telephone number.
While the technicalities are too long for a referring article, you can read all at leisure at Nerd Vittles. In addition, the article also tells you how to add Free Calls to 40 Million Asterisk Servers with e164.org. I am proud to say that four of those Asterisk servers are mine and there are about 100-150 that I helped to implement. You might also want to read ASTGizmo to setup Gizmo5 and Asterisk together.
So head over to; Free Asterisk Calls to Zillions of Phones with ENUM and Gizmo5’s Backdoor Dialing and start making those free calls.

Tags: Free calls, Free VoIP calls, gizmo5, Asterisk, nerd vittles, Gizmo5 back door, free calls worldwide

Ericsson Provides Solar Powered Communications In Rural Cambodia.

According to a post on Solarion, Ericsson has deployed a GSM base station and a Satellite transmission in a self contained solar powered site. This allows Cambodian Mobile operator, Star-cell the cover remote areas in the country, easily.
Hans Karlsson, President of Ericsson Thailand and Indochina, says: "This marks an important milestone and we are proud to implement the first solar-powered solution in Cambodia. This move highlights our technical leadership, our commitment to sustainable development, and our vision of providing communication for all." This deployment follows a series of initiatives from Ericsson to optimize the energy efficiency of mobile networks by creating solutions that reduce environmental impacts and lower operator costs. These initiatives include: BTS Power Savings features that put a network in stand-by mode during off-peak hours and saves up to 15 percent of the network access energy consumption; the innovative site concept Ericsson Tower Tube; biofuel-powered telecom sites; a hybrid solution using diesel and batteries that cuts network operating costs by up to 50 percent; and the Solar Village Charger, co-developed with Sony Ericsson. Ericsson delivered its first solar-powered sites in 2000 to Maroc Telecom in Morocco, and has so far provided more than 200 sites in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas. Read more at Solar Powered Communications With Ericsson

Tags: GSM base station, Satellite transmission, solar powered GSM, solar powered Communications, Ericsson Tower Tube, Solar Village Charger, Solar Power, Efficient Communications

SpeechTEK 2008 Implementation Award Goes To Angel.com Wins 2008

McLean, Va. – August 22, 2008 – Angel.com, the leading provider of on-demand call center and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions, announced today that it has won a 2008 Speech Industry Implementation Award for the success of its IVR solution for the International Republican Institute (IRI). The award, presented during the 2008 SpeechTEK Conference & Exhibition, August 18-20 in New York, recognizes user companies that have achieved a significant business benefit after implementing a speech solution or upgrading an existing system.

“It’s incredibly satisfying when our voice solutions help a customer exceed their business goals,” said Michael Zirngibl, CEO of Angel.com. “That IRI nominated Angel.com for this award speaks volumes about their success with our IVR solution.”

The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide. Among its many activities, the IRI sends delegates to foreign countries to monitor and observe election processes to insure they are open and transparent and follow the democratic process. IRI has monitored more than 130 elections in more than 40 countries.

Traditionally, field delegates would record observations in a hand-written notebook. Due to travel and other challenges, such a practice resulted in a two- to three-day turnaround from observation to reporting.

With spotty Internet access in many of the areas in which delegates operate, IRI leveraged an IVR solution from Angel.com to facilitate more immediate data collection and reporting. IRI first used the solution during the April 2007 elections in Nigeria. The speed and accuracy of the phone-based reporting system allowed IRI to quickly update the media on its findings.

“The biggest benefit of the Angel.com IVR is the benefit of real-time information,” said Shawn Beighle, Information and Technology Director at IRI. “As reports in Nigeria poured in from across the country, we were immediately able to see what was happening throughout the region.”

Another advantage of the Angel.com solution for IVR was the ease of implementation. Beighle was able to build and deploy the IVR application himself without leaning on IRI’s small IT team thanks to Angel.com’s easy-to-use SiteBuilder interface.
“The empowerment of SiteBuilder is a great advantage for Angel.com and for IRI,” said Beighle. “The user-friendly and intuitive solution enabled me to easily create my own application. The menu-based platform lets me make changes quickly, and they’re active almost instantly.”

IRI has since used the solution to observe and report on milestone democratic elections in countries such as the Ukraine and Kenya.

“We greatly value the ability for a non-profit organization such as ours to leverage high-level technology that truly helps make a difference,” said Beighle.

Tags: IVR solution, on-demand call center,VoIP Solutions Interactive Voice Response, SpeechTEK Conference

EMBARQ Selects The MetaSwitch For EMBARQ Smart IP Enterprise

Alameda, CA: August 20, 2008. MetaSwitch, a leading solutions and application provider, today announced that EMBARQ® has selected the MetaSwitch softswitch, media gateway and MetaSphere application suite to form the core of its new EMBARQ Smart IP Enterprise^SM solution. The integrated business solution, hosted in EMBARQ's core network, delivers an advanced suite of communication services to business customers.

"After evaluating the leading VoIP application server vendors, we selected MetaSwitch because it offers a rich set of advanced services built on a carrier-class softswitch platform, all supported by an extremely responsive team," said Susan Sarna, vice president of marketing and product management for EMBARQ Business. "MetaSwitch's solutions enable EMBARQ to deliver innovative applications designed to help business customers improve employee productivity and enhance customer service."

EMBARQ Smart IP Enterprise^SM will provide business customers with a bundled package of dedicated Internet access, local and long distance voice services and IP-enabled call features. The MetaSphere application suite enables click-to-dial with Microsoft Outlook integration and advanced voicemail features, all managed via the MetaSphere CommPortal user interface. MetaSwitch is also providing enhanced IP-enabled features, including rules-based call forwarding, Auto Attendant and Music On Hold. Features like SimRing, sequential ring and remote click-to-dial will enable EMBARQ's business users to improve customer service by integrating remote workers in virtually any location. In addition to the MetaSwitch softswitch, media gateway and MetaSphere application suite, EMBARQ has chosen MetaSwitch's SIP Provisioning Server to help ease the deployment of its SIP phones.

"Businesses are constantly looking to increase productivity without sacrificing customer service, as well as finding new ways to reduce costs," said Graeme MacArthur, chief executive officer, MetaSwitch. "MetaSwitch's solutions enable EMBARQ's business customers to provide advanced services to their employees without the expense of purchasing and maintaining an on-site communications system."

The service is currently being introduced across the EMBARQ network. The flexibility of the MetaSwitch solution will allow EMBARQ to introduce a host of new services to its business customers.

Metaswitch is here and EMBARQ could be found here.

Tags: VoIP business, voip news, EMBARQ Smart IP Enterprise, MetaSwitch softswitch, MetaSphere, SIP Provisioning Server, Snapvoip

Tags: VoIP business, voip news, EMBARQ Smart IP Enterprise, MetaSwitch softswitch, MetaSphere, SIP Provisioning Server

Nokia Gives Another Reason To Buy An iPhone Or A Google Phone

In it's all wisdom, Nokia seem to have shot it self in the foot by disabling VoIP calls on some of it's phones as Giga Om reports. (I have not tested myself the facts and I have read Giga Om long enough to trust it with facts.). I think it is moronic for Nokia to take this step just to please the carriers.
…the N78 (and also to affect the forthcoming N96) which is that Nokia has very quietly and seemingly sneakily redacted their built-in VoIP / SIP implementation in all phones that come with Symbian Series 60 3rd generation Feature Pack 2 (otherwise abbreviated as S60 3.2).
Since I do not have all the facts, I will direct you to Giga Om's article, enjoy reading and get an iPhone or Blackberry! Ofcourse you can wait a little for the Google Phone thai is coming soon.

Updated to add Giga Om link

What Color Is Your VoIP, VoIP Now Wants To Paint It Green!

Actually it is more than just painting something green. It is a much deeper look into the status of VoIP and how Environmentally Friendly the technology and the infrastructures are.
Even though we get the feeling the VoIP and the Unified Communications are green because they bring people together from all works of life from all corners of the world together. But if we look closely, you might go red! seeing how green we are. So I invite you to read the fine article on VoIP Now. You might learn a thing or two, I did!
Why VoIP Needs to Go Green, VoIP Now
snapvoip

Tags: Green Telecom, Environmentally Friendly VoIP

Northeast Wisconsin Gets AT&T U-verse!

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced the availability of AT&T U-verse^SM Voice in parts of Northeast Wisconsin, bringing consumers a next-generation digital voice service that is delivered over the AT&T U-verse Internet Protocol (IP) network. U-verse Voice brings together your AT&T home phone, wireless, broadband and TV services — all on one bill — with unique features that provide a new level of integration, convenience and control.

AT&T U-verse Voice completes the company's IP triple play and is available to all new and existing U-verse TV customers in parts of more than a dozen local communities, including Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay and Oshkosh. With U-verse Voice, customers receive new features that highlight the benefits of having advanced video, broadband, wireless and home phone services from a single provider.

"AT&T U-verse Voice is one more way we're making all of our AT&T services work together for our customers and connecting them to their world," said John DeVaul, AT&T general manager for Wisconsin. "U-verse Voice uses the power of IP to enhance the calling experience. Just like U-verse TV has changed the way people watch television, U-verse Voice will change the way people use their home phone."

AT&T U-verse Voice is a managed IP-based service that is delivered over AT&T's fiber-rich network, unlike many Voice over IP (VoIP) providers that offer best-effort digital phone services over the public Internet. This allows U-verse Voice customers to enjoy great sound quality and reliability, as well as unmatched calling features that combine with your AT&T U-verse TV, broadband and wireless services from AT&T.

"The expansion of our IP-based services to our customers further demonstrates AT&T's strong commitment to roll out new technology to our state's residents and businesses," said Scott T. VanderSanden, president of AT&T Wisconsin. "Our deployment of U-verse Voice is an integral part of the major investment that AT&T has delivered in Wisconsin as a result of progressive reform legislation that the Legislature and governor enacted."

AT&T U-verse Voice has advanced features that go beyond traditional phone service and many competitors' offerings, including:

• Combined AT&T U-verse Voice and AT&T wireless voice mail with U-verse Messaging, which provides a single voice mailbox that can be accessed from any phone line or PC.
• U-verse Central, an online management portal that gives you the option to easily and conveniently manage your call preferences, voice mail, contacts, call history and more from any PC, in addition to the ability to control call preferences from your home phone.
• An online voice mailbox to check, manage and forward voice mail from the online portal, much like an e-mail inbox.
• Call History, which enables you to view your most recent incoming and outgoing calls online or to view your most recent incoming calls on your AT&T U-verse TV screen.
• Click to Call, which will initiate a call from your home phone to any number in your Call History with one click of a mouse or the U-verse TV remote control.
• An online Address Book that is accessible from any PC and allows you to Click to Call from your home phone, to create and share contact groups with other U-verse Voice customers or to set up distribution lists for voice messages.
• Locate Me, a feature that provides simultaneous ringing on up to four wireless or landline numbers so that you never miss an important incoming call.
• Traditional calling features, such as Call Screening, Call Blocking, Do Not Disturb and privacy settings.

All U-verse Voice customers will have 911 service. Where available via the local 911 network, U-verse Voice customers will have Enhanced 911 (E911) service.

U-verse TV customers can choose from two flexible U-verse Voice calling plans:

• U-verse Voice Unlimited, which includes unlimited local and nationwide minutes to any location in the U.S., Canada or U.S. territories for $40 a month.
• U-verse Voice 1000, which includes 1,000 Call Anywhere minutes to any location in the U.S. or U.S. territories for $30 a month.

A second phone line, which shares the primary line's calling plan, can be added for $20 a month, and each plan features competitive international rates with no recurring monthly charge. Professional installation is included for new AT&T U-verse customers who order U-verse TV and Voice.

AT&T's wireless customers who subscribe to an AT&T Unity^SM plan can call any AT&T U-verse Voice number from their mobile phone as part of the nation's largest free calling community without using any wireless Anytime Minutes.

For additional information on AT&T U-verse, visit http://uverse.att.com.

Tags: digital voice service, AT&T, AT&T wireless, Click to Call, Locate Me, AT&T Unity, AT&T U-verse

What's Not Telling About Asterisk?

Jay Phillips, creator of the open-source Ruby framework Adhearsion has written a very nice article about Asterisk Ecosystem. I enjoyed the article very much and then I found it even better as Mark Spenser of Digium, the creator of Asterisk has responded with a lengthy comment. I think the aritcle and the comments, (skip mine ;) ), are very inspirational and something every Asterisk "Developer" and "User" Need to read. I did read and will be going back to check on comments!
Jay's blog article, What We’re Not Admitting about Asterisk
I am looking forward to Jay's next article as well.
SnapVoIP

Tags: Asterisk, Asterisk Developer, Asterisk User, Adhearsion, Mark Spenser

So What Are those iPhone Trouble And Whom To Blame?

iPhone 3G Reception Problems? Yes, The problems seem to have started as soon as the Phone was released on 11th July. But people were too busy stroking their new and sleek phones, they could not believe that the phone could have any problems. Of course ignore those activation glitches, they were because of those servers that could not keep up with the demand.
So the problems seem to involve 3G service as we too mentioned in our previous article. Bad reception, equally bad and wavering signal strength, Slow data speeds and worse, dropped calls. (I have been known to throw phones when that happens and I always took those expensive insurance form the phone companies that were looking to make an extra bucks. So I could afford to throw one or two phones!.
Back to iPhone troubles, I have been following discussion threads on Apple's board from the beginning and on the first thread I read statements like;
""Two cups and a string could get better reception!""
But there were no proper answeres tot he question regarding reception question raised. People have gone through software upgrades and such but without success in getting better working iPhone. In the last thread one user mentioned that he is having trouble with both Softbank, Japan (Now we know why those Japanese were stroking their iPhones.) and AT&T thus concluding that the problem lies with the phone!
That thread you can find here. So far I have not seen any response from Apple. So it will be interesting to know how many phone did get returned!. The current active Discussion thread is here.
I would blame Steve Jobs for all this trouble. Let him go and find the one to blame and fire! If you want more information on the subject, you can follow this Slashdot discussion as well. And if yoou are still unhappy, get a Blackberry!

First thread at Apple which got locked and continued here only to be continued in the above thread.
iPhone 3G Reception Problems?

Tags: iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G problems, Softbank, AT&T, Apple, Steve Jobs, Blackberry

Japanese Buy iPhone 3G, Just To Stroke It!

Image by Brandon Shigeta

One of us already returned his iPhone 3G because it lacks quality. Constant dropping of calls were one of the reason and the iPhone first G and the 3G at the same place has different number of bars. So it is iPhone 1G and Blackberrys for us.
So we were wondering why do people still flock to iPhone stores and even defend it with their lives. But today I read about another moronic reason to buy an iPhone 3G, "It is so sexy, I bought it just to stroke it" seriously, following is what an author of a serious article about iPhone in Japan and why is so popular despite there are are many many better phones in the market!

"What is the attraction of the iPhone? -- I have been wondering this for quite a long. The iPhone 3G, which I bought for personal use, creates a sense of comfort that tempts me into fiddling it for no special reason." wonders, one of the Japanese I read regularly!
I myself have found Japanese people loving MACs than PCs, most of the people I lnow, uses MAC Book or a MAC Mini. Perhaps all those people are flocking to iPhone 3G hoping for the same quality and the ease of use that MAC OS X offers.

But the rest of the article deals with very interesting information about Japanese mobile market, Mobile industry and making phone catering to networks rather than people, even though phones themselves are really good and capable of delivering a lot in a tiny package. As I have said before I know Japanese people who do not have home phones, they only have Cell phones for all the needs, from talking to broadband.
I think iPhone will make dent in Japan, and the rest of trend followers in the region, South Korea, China, Malayasia, Singapore, Thailand etc.
Good Job Steve, but we think Blackberry is for us! may be your Next Next Gen iPhone!
You can read Toshiyuki Oomori's " iPhone Sheds Light on Weakness of Japanese Handset Makers". It is a good read despite my jokes.
iPhone 3G in Japan.

Tags: 3G iPhone, Apple Japan, iPhone in Japan, Stroking iPhone, Japanese mobile market, Mobile industry

WebEx Online Meetings Promotional Package for Small Businesses Introduced By Cisco!

With all the gas price talks and every small business trying to achieve cost saving or looking for best value for the price have something from Cisco. WebEx Online Meeting will be able to save money by bringing customers and service personnel together online.

• With gas prices so high today, commuting to the office and traveling to customer sites by car or air has become very expensive. Small businesses and individual professionals feel the pinch acutely, and are seeking new ways to serve customers and interact with colleagues while saving travel expenses. Many are discovering they can take care of business very effectively-at far less cost-with WebEx online meetings.
• WebEx makes it possible for people to share presentations and documents, and demonstrate applications over the web, much like they do in person. They can even share their webcams to create a face-to-face experience.
• WebEx is a great way to makes sales presentations, consult with remote clients, provide training, and have routine staff or project meetings. People can host and join online meetings from any Internet-connected computer, anywhere in the world.
• A special Meetings Plus promotional package is currently available to small businesses. It is a limited-time offer, and runs through October 25, 2008. It includes:
  1. Unlimited use of WebEx Meeting Center, the company's premier web meeting service, compatible with both PCs and Macs
  PLUS
  2. Integrated toll teleconferencing and Voice over IP (VoIP) calling delivered over the highly secure, private WebEx network at no extra charge.
  3. The package provides meeting capacity for up to 25 people per meeting, and is available at a special low price of just $59/month with pre-paid annual commitment or $69/month with no commitment.
• Individuals and businesses can accomplish more and serve customers better while spending less on travel. Using WebEx saves time and money…plus it reduces carbon emissions.

Meetings Plus offer
Try WebEx for free
WebEx MeetingCenter
More WebEx small business solutions

Tags: Cisco, WebEx, Cisco WebEx, teleworking, web conferencing, online collaboration, online meetings, virtual meetings, on-demand collaboration, web meetings, video conferencing, carbon emissions, e-learning, remote support, webcast, webinars, web collaboration, travel alternatives, gas prices

VoIP and Web conferencing offerings From Etelos Marketplace

MTP Conferencing provides cost-effective audio conferencing services. Your conference participants can call from around the world at any time of day (or night!), with toll-free access available in over forty-five countries. You get MTP's crystal-clear sound quality, plus FREE Web conferencing for online meetings and advanced features such as attendance reports with playback.

The next time you need to make a conference call, use MTP to reduce your costs by over 90% over other conference call providers. An advanced set of features makes MTP a great choice or any organization, and low rates make it an easy decision over other conferencing carriers with extra fees and costs.

San Mateo, Calif. - August 18, 2008 - Businesses looking for an integrated Web and telephone conferencing system need only to look to the Etelos Marketplace™ as Etelos, Inc. (OTCBB: ETLO) today announces the release of two new solutions from its Marketplace partner, MTP.

A new hosted-VOIP service and hosted Web conferencing solution are making their debuts. They join MTP's existing teleconferencing application in the Etelos Marketplace.

"MTP has seen the value that the Etelos Marketplace provides not only for application providers, but for application users," said Jeffrey L. Garon, Etelos President & CEO. "Etelos is out to create a Marketplace that is capable of addressing any issue or problem a business may face and address it with the best possible solution."

MTP Hosted VoIP Service, powered by Global Phone, is a business-grade hosted PBX system using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that provides your business with a reliable alternative to costly PBX, IP PBX or Centrex lines. MTP is using the Dimdim platform to deliver Web conferencing as well. Dimdim is an open source Web conferencing service where you can share your desktop, show slides, share documents, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via Web cam with absolutely no download required for attendees.

"MTP has been selling IT and telecom solutions since 1983 so we have first-hand experience with every type of sales channel imaginable," MTP CEO Thomas A. Capone said. "Etelos provides MTP with an efficient way to deliver best-of-breed solutions to clients anywhere in the world, with excellent customer service and support. Half the battle in selling any type of IT product or service is getting customers to experience the savings, and the promised ROI of the offer. Etelos makes that problem disappear from the sales cycle"

For more information about MTP's products or the Etelos Marketplace, please visit www.etelos.com.
VoIP Conferencing.

Tags: VoIP, Web Conferencing, hosted-VOIP service, Etelos Marketplace, PBX, IP PBX, Centrex lines, Dimdim platform, open source Web conferencing, Etelos

High Performance Echo Suppressor For PJMEDIA

If you were unhappy with the performance of echo suppressor in PJMEDIA, specially on mobile devices, This is partially due to AEC, Acoustic Echo Canceler cannot be used on these devices due to the high processing requirements.
PJSIP group has whipped up a completely new echo suppressor, and according to a post on the PJSIP Blog, it works better than before. I have had no time to test yet but will be working on doing so next week.
In tests conducted by the development team, on PocketPC 2003 PDA with 312MHz StrongARM CPU,(which I am using for mobile tests as well) it only used less than 0.5% (half percent) of CPU.Not only that it used a very little CPU power, it was able to suppress echoes! That indeed is good news.

The new echo suppressor is available in SVN at pjmedia/echo_suppress.c, and it will be included in the next release.
Free SIP Accounts

Tags: pjsip, pjmedia, Acoustic Echo Canceler, Echo Canceler, Echo Canceler for pjmedia

City Of Oakland Gets Unified With ShoreTel.

City of Oakland has deployed Shoretel system for Unified Communications through out the City department very successfully. The deployment has began in 2003 and after multiple pilot deployments system now cover the city, except the 911 system. Rather than me blabbering about it, I will let you watch the video and find out why the city did so. I found the video on network world. The Shoretel has a report on the system as well. Even though many news sites are reporting that Shoretel replaced a Cisco system but I have not been able to find any infomation on such system. There was a small deployment of a Cisco system in one of the departments. So far the best source is the ShoreTel's report if you are looking for details.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Tags: Shoretel, City of Oakland, Unified Communications

Do You Know What FISA Is?

I think you better learn if you did not know before. Government could alway listen to your conversations if it wanted, legally, with a warrant.
But with FISA, which President Bush signed (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Amendments Act of 2008 into law, it does not need warrants. John Edwards of VoIP News has done a better job of describing the procedures that the government may use for the surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers." Read and educate yourself.

VoIP
Tags: FISA, VoIP

Python SIP, Yes PJSIP Wraps It!

Yes now it’s done! The new module, does the abstractions in two layers. According to a blog post, the lower layer is the _pjsua C extension which exports PJSUA API to Python. This is similar to how the old Python SIP extension was implemented. But now we also add a higher layer abstraction, object oriented, pure Python module on top of this. And that is the pjsua.py module. We are a bit excited as we have been playing with PJSIP for a while. We will look in to this module very soon. So go ahead get the module, develop a softphone and sign into one of these free SIP accounts and talk away!

The pjsua module provides high level API for constructing SIP multimedia user agent applications. It wraps together the signaling, media, and NAT traversal functionality into easy to use call control API, providing account management, buddy list management, presence, and instant messaging, along with multimedia features such as local conferencing, file streaming, local playback, and voice recording, and powerful NAT traversal techniques utilizing STUN, TURN, and ICE.

You can read more about it and follow the Python SIP Tutorial from this blog post, Python SIP Take Two (Part 1)

Python SIP, Yes PJSIP Wraps It!

Tags: call control, account management, buddy list management, presence, instant messaging, local conferencing, file streaming, local playback, NAT traversal, STUN, TURN, ICE, SIP, pjsip, free SIP accounts

chan-mobile on Asterisk 1.4

I see a lot of people looking for chan-mobile information. Since I wrote about configuring chan-mobile (Chan_mobile) last time, things have changed a bit.
chan-mobile is a part of the Asterisk development and will be appearing on your server computer with the release of Asterisk 1.40. You can browse the chan-mobile at the development tree at Asterisk SVN server. So if you are running the development version, you should have in your SVN tree.
If you need to get it running with Asterisk 1.4X. Follow the simple instructions, you can have your Asterisk over Bluetooth! in no time. Using chan-mobile with Asterisk 1.4.x requires patching the development version of asterisk-addons and compiling with Asterisk 1.4.x, not a big deal.

Follow the process below

1. Checkout the trunk version of asterisk-addons from Digium's SVN repository
2. Download the chan-mobile 1.4X patch from here. Save it to asterisk-addons directory.
3. Change to the asterisk-addons directory
   
4. patch -p0 chan_mobile-1.4.x.patch
5. ./configure
6. make menuselect
7. make
8. make install (as root)

You are done!. Now you have Asterisk with chan-mobile enabled. One of the most common problems are missing bluez! chan-mobile requires that the bluez headers and libraries are installed on your system. Most distributions provide a package that contains the blue-z development libraries. It is probably called something like libbluetooth-dev. Use the latest versions from the blue-z website. Download and install both the bluez-libs and bluez-utils packages.
Please also check the Digium Bug Tracker (this link tekes you directly to chan-moblie issues) as any issues and new developments will be listed.

Tags: asterisk-addons, chan-mobile, Asterisk, Digium, Asterisk 1.4, Asterisk 1.4

General Dynamics Awarded NSA Contract to Add “PSTN Connect,” to the Sectéra® vIPer™ Universal Secure Phone

Photo Courtesy of General Dynamics C4 Systems

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Aug. 7, 2008 — General Dynamics C4 Systems, has been awarded a $2.8 million contract by the National Security Agency (NSA) to add a new Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) feature to the Sectéra® vIPer™ Universal Secure Phone. The new feature, called “PSTN Connect,” will enable the vIPer Phone to connect with traditional telephone networks, enabling users of secure desktop phones to use one secure phone on either PSTN or VoIP networks. The vIPer Phone currently operates on Internet Protocol (IP) networks.

“The idea behind PSTN Connect is to provide users with a flexibility they don’t have today. For example, the vIPer Universal Secure Phone will appeal to those whose installations currently use the PSTN network, but who plan to migrate to voice over IP; users who currently have voice over IP networks; and others who plan to stay with traditional PSTN,” said John Cole, vice president of Information Assurance for General Dynamics C4 Systems. “It’s about protecting our customers’ investments by providing a product that will accommodate evolving communications technologies.”

Introduced in 2006, the Sectéra vIPer Phone remains the only voice over IP phone certified by the NSA to protect information classified Top Secret and below over commercial networks. The vIPer Universal Secure Phone, with PSTN Connect, will be submitted for NSA certification testing in the third-quarter of 2008. The vIPer, with PSTN Connect, upon successfully completing certification testing, will provide secure phone users with a cost effective solution for replacing legacy secure phones, including the Secure Telephone Unit (STU-III).

General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), is a leading integrator of secure communication and information systems and technology. The company specializes in command and control, communications networking, space systems, computing and information assurance for defense, government and select commercial customers in the United States and abroad.

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 84,600 people worldwide and anticipates 2008 revenues of approximately $29.5 billion. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about the company is available on the Internet at www.generaldynamics.com.

Tags: PSTN Connect, Sectéra® vIPer™ Universal Secure Phone, PSTN, VoIP, Government VoIP, General Dynamics C4 Systems, NSA, Secure Telephone Unit

Kill Switch For Your iPhone, Jobs Confirms It.

According to various media, Appl's Steve Jobs has acknowledged that Apple could cripple applications previously downloaded to iPhone and iPod Touch devices.Utilizing a special iPhone Kill Switch that in embedded in the device, be it iPhone or iPod Touch. It could be that applications have special app number that Apple could prevent iPhone OS from executing it.

The so-called kill switch is necessary as a last-ditch option should a malicious application slip through Apple's security checks and make it into the App Store, Jobs argued. "Hopefully we never have to pull that lever, but we would be irresponsible not to have a lever like that to pull," Jobs told the WSj. Yes Job's We know you want to rule the world! Too bad you are not British!

Mr Jobs also announced that in the month since the iPhone 3G was released and the Application Store launched, around 60 million applications had been downloaded for the iPhone and iPod touch. About $30 million in revenue has been generated by the store. Developers keep a 70 per cent slice of this revenue, while Apple take the remaining 30 per cent. Mr Jobs said Apple was on course to make about $360 million this year from the App Store, that is a million a day!.

Get me an iNstinct! or a BlackBerry!

Read more at Computerworld.

Tags: iPhone, steve jobs, apple, iPhone 3G, iPod touch, App Store, iPhone Kill Switch, iNstinct, BlackBerry

Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Oman issues 5 new licences to basic mobile service resellers.

TRA issues 5 new licences to basic mobile service resellers

In the framework of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)'s policies aimed at enhancing liberalization of the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate, and in its effort to provide a wide variety of telecom services in the Sultanate, the TRA has issued on the morning of Saturday June 28th 2008 a statement on the granting of five class II licences to five companies as resellers of basic mobile services in the Sultanate.

In its statement, the TRA said that the five granted licenses are for a period of five years, but extendable. The TRA statement said the licensees can resell basic mobile services after buying airtime from operators at bulk rates in accordance with commercial agreements concluded with the operators. These services can then be rebranded and offered to subscribers at retail rates.

The TRA added that, licensees have the option of programming and issuing their own branded SIM cards or relying on the host operators to provide their programmed SIMs. Additionally, the licensees can independently recharge the products and services distributed by them, or utilise the infrastructure of the host operator. Billing and invoicing may also be independently handled by the licensee or by the host operator.

Mohsin bin Alawi al Hafeedh, TRA Member, said "the new Class II licences were expected to boost demand for basic mobile services as the resellers target new subscriber segments through enhanced marketing strategies."

The TAR member said, "the infrastructure serving basic mobile services is expected to grow as well, and hoped hope that the new licences would help bring down prices and further diversify of the offered mobile services to subscribers."

AL Hafeedh added, "under the license terms, the new firms are obliged to earmark a minimum of 65 per cent of all jobs for Omanis during the first year of operation. They must also set up contact centre to respond to customer queries and complaints".

It's worth mentioning that the five licences are granted to Injaz International, Kalam Telecommunications, Majan Telecom, Mazoon Mobile and Arabia connect (FriNDi mobile ) .

The telecommunications Regulatory Authority is a corporate body established under the telecommunications Regulatory Act issued under Royal Decree No.30/2002 as a result of the Government’s initiative to liberalize the telecom sector in Oman.

The TRA’s mission is to set up and implement a fair, flexible, efficient telecommunications regulatory framework, develop the industry through a market-driven environment, ensure accessibility of all kinds of services within limits to all, balance the interests of all stakeholders and align with Vision 2020.

For further information please contact

Mr. Hafidh bin Nasser Al Maskary

Media and Consumer Affairs Manager

Tel: +968 24574339

E-mail: hafidh@tra.gov.om

Tags: Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Oman, Telecom News, wireless

Asterisk versions 1.4.21.2 and 1.2.30 And Three New Versions of libpri Released.

The Asterisk.org development team has released Asterisk versions 1.4.21.2 and 1.2.30 as well as new versions of three libraries used with Asterisk.

The Asterisk releases include fixes for two security issues. Both of these issues affect users of the IAX2 channel driver. For more details on these vulnerabilities, see the published security advisories, AST-2008-010 and AST-2008-011.

AST-2008-010: Asterisk IAX 'POKE' resource exhaustion

AST-2008-011: Traffic amplification in IAX2 firmware provisioning system

The three libraries used with Asterisk that are updated are;

libpri-1.2.8:
This release contains a number of bugfixes that had been unreleased for months, along with clarification of the licensing of the source code. The change log.

libpri-1.4.7:
This release contains primarily only clarification of the licensing of the source code and some minor build system fixes. There is no need for users of version 1.4.6 to upgrade. The change log.

libss7-1.0.1:
This release contains a number of bugfixes, along with clarification of the licensing of the source code. The change log.

All releases could be downloaded from Asterisk downloads site.

Tags: Asterisk, libpri, AST-2008-010, AST-2008-011, Asterisk Security vulnerabilities, Asterisk 1.4.21.2, Asterisk 1.2.30

Google Translate On Your iPhone

Some clever people at Google Mobile have ported, actually built an iPhone interface to Google Translate. The difference is that it is optimized for speed and it holds on to the translations that you have done already and give back to you if you request the same later.
The data transfer cost if you are wondering about (if you do, go get an unlimited data plan, it is much cheaper!) is averaging around 300 translations per 1MB download of data.

So if you are interested point your iPhone or iPOD touch browser at translate.google.com.
Official Google Mobile Blog: Google Translate now for iPhone

Tags: google, iPhone, Google Mobile, Translate

GIPS VoiceEngine™ Mobile Enables VoIP For iPhone.

Oslo-based GIPS Corporation announced the release of VoIP stack for iPhone platform based on their GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile. The software stack will allow developers to integrate voice over IP elements into iPhone applications.

"The iPhone is a very interesting platform, and we're excited about the enterprise uses as well as the more obvious gaming and instant messaging possibilities for VoiceEngine Mobile on iPhone," Dovid Coplon, director of product management, said. "It works well with our strategy, which is to leave our programs open for any application customers see fit."
Following is the Official Press Release;

San Francisco — August 11, 2008 — Global IP Solutions (Oslo Børs: GIPS), the leading provider of IP multimedia processing solutions, announced today that GIPS is enabling voice over IP (VoIP) for Apple Inc.’s iPhone. Using GIPS VoiceEngine™ Mobile, iPhone application developers can quickly integrate quality, real-time VoIP applications, which makes it easier for consumers to enjoy their favorite iPhone games, applications and social networking experiences.

"The popularity of the iPhone, along with the emergence of various applications and faster connectivity, makes it an ideal platform for developing applications that incorporate quality real-time VoIP, giving consumers real-world communication experiences like in-game, multi-person chat," said Emerick Woods, GIPS' Chief Executive Officer.

Woods continued, "We are excited to enable the iPhone with VoIP capabilities and lead the mobile communications market with our voice processing technology. With GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile, we are providing the capabilities that turn voice into IP packets so they can be transmitted via Wi-Fi, making it easier for applications developers to come to market quickly with integrated VoIP applications. GIPS technology is second-to-none, and we're excited to introduce our award-winning VoiceEngine to the increasingly popular iPhone application development community."

Inventors of the popular IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) iLBC codec standard, a narrowband speech algorithm designed to optimize calls made over the Internet, GIPS pioneered VoIP technology for many of the leading Internet service providers, application developers and hardware manufacturers worldwide. iLBC is currently part of the iPhone.

GIPS is recognized for its media processing expertise for IP communications and continues to innovate by enabling iPhone application developers to accelerate their time-to-market with applications that include the best voice experience possible.

A highly competitive and exploding market, a recent Strategy Analytics forecast reports that 297 million mobile phones were shipped worldwide in the second quarter of 2008, an increase of 15 percent year-on-year. According to Apple the demand for the new 3G iPhone has been enormous: it sold more than one million during the weekend the phone launched, in mid-July.

GIPS VoiceEngines have been downloaded more than any other voice engine worldwide, enabling consumers and businesses to enjoy high-quality IP-based communications, even under adverse network conditions.

For more information visit www.gipscorp.com/ve

Tags: GIPS VoiceEngine™ Mobile, iPhone sdk, IP multimedia processing solutions, iPhone application, mobile communications market, mobile communications, narrowband speech algorithm, 3G iPhone

Free Conference Solution, Free Conference Call Gets Direct Dial-in Numbers.

Free Conferencing Corporation, also known as freeconferencecall.com has taken another step by adding New Direct Dial-in Numbers for its Flagship Voice Messaging Services,SimpleVoiceBox and SimpleVoiceCenter. So these Private Numbers with “No Limits” Now Available for trouble free conferencing.

Long Beach, CA (August 11, 2008) – Free Conferencing Corporation of America, the leading provider of FREE collaborative communications solutions, today announced the launch of private numbers to its SimpleVoiceBox and SimpleVoiceCenter services. The new Private Numbers give customers direct, immediate access to their voicemail boxes without dialing an access code.

"We are giving our existing and prospective SimpleVoiceBox and SimpleVoiceCenter customers a truly ‘No Limits’ voicemail service," said David Erickson, founder and CEO, Free Conferencing Corporation of America. "We now offer unlimited outgoing greetings, place no limits on incoming messages, and do not require access codes or extra digits – you simply dial the area code and number. It is powerful yet simple."

According to Erickson, Private Numbers are ideal for consumers and small businesses seeking an alternative to costly phone systems. It can also be used in social networking environments such as Facebook and MySpace; other Web 2.0 applications such as online dating sites; and marketing sites including Craigslist and Ebay. “Online identity protection is key when socializing, interacting or transacting on some of these popular sites. We are providing anonymous, private and confidential numbers that can be given out without the need to disclose actual contact information. Private Numbers are a great alternative to your home or cell phone numbers,” he added.

This expanded offering provides a full featured voicemail service which can be activated immediately without any long term contracts. Other features include: online account access, phone or web administration, multiple configurations that allow users to utilize the voicemail service as a broadcaster, 24/7 availability, email notifications of new messages, and Daily Activity Reports with a “Caller ID Capture” feature. The single voice box is available for $4.95 per month and the unlimited multiple voice box version is available for $9.95 per month.

“For the past four years, SimpleVoiceBox and SimpleVoiceCenter have been providing extremely useful voicemail services to more than 800,000 users, resulting in more than 7.5 million connected calls per month,” noted Erickson. “We hope to replicate our success as the leading provider of free conferencing solutions and become the leader in voicemail services.”

For more information or to register for SimpleVoiceBox or SimpleVoiceCenter, please visit www.simplevoicecenter.com or www.simplevoicebox.com or call 877.482.5838.

Tags: VoIP Conference, Conference Solutions, freeconferencecall, FREE collaborative communications solutions, Direct Dial-in Numbers

Gartner Places Digium In Magic Quadrant Again And Moves Digium To Visionary Quadrant.

I have seen Digium being placed in the coveted ‘Magic Quadrant’ for Corporate Telephony for last two years. It is envigorating to see that Gartner has again placed Digium in the Quadrant but with a big difference.
Digium due to its contribution to Open Source (read Asterisk) and to enterprise, corporate and SMB telephony solutions has been moved from the Niche player quadrant to the Visionary quadrant in Gartner’s analysis. We all should be proud to see our favorite Digium has placed itself next to Microsoft in the Visionary category.
Congratulations! Digium!
You can leave a congratulatory comment on the Digium Blog! RavenII has left one already for our team.

Tags: Magic Quadrant, digium, Asterisk, Gartner

Jajah And MOBIVOX Offer Jajah Concierge For Hands Free Calling.

JAJAH, a managed services provider in IP-telecommunications, has announced a partnership with Mobivox provide mutually beneficial services. Jajah platform has been selected by MOBIVOX, for call termination and a range of other back-end service management functions. The Mobovox's voice-enabling application platform will be utilized by Jajah to to launch JAJAH Concierge. This value-added service allows JAJAH customers to use voice commands to make a hands-free JAJAH call or group call, send an SMS message and more. This comes at a time when there is rise in legislation, most recently in California, requiring hands-free phone calls while driving.

"This is a great partnership between two companies at the forefront of the development of voice 2.0 services," said Trevor Healy, JAJAH CEO in a press release. "MOBIVOX customers benefit from enhanced voice quality, while continuing to use the service they know and love. At the same time, we are delighted to offer JAJAH customers a new service developed on MOBIVOX's voice application platform."

JAJAH Concierge

With JAJAH Concierge, which voice activates JAJAH's core services there is no more scrolling through address books or dialing long phone numbers. This free service gives every JAJAH customer a local number which can be used to initiate phone calls, send a text message or establish conference calls, all at JAJAH's low rates and without lifting a finger.

To use JAJAH Concierge:

1. Go to www.jajahconcierge.com to get your local access number.

2. Call your local access number; JAJAH Concierge will answer with a personal greeting and await your instructions.

3. Say the name of the person from your contact list you wish to call and your Concierge will connect you.

4. Concierge can also add other parties to the call, send an SMS or add a contact to your JAJAH address book.

Tags: hands free talking with Jajah, Jajah, MOBIVOX, JAJAH Concierge, hands-free phone calls

Converse In Mandarin With Jajah

If you are in China for Olympics but not a speaker of Mandarin, the Chinese language spoken by people in mainland China, you have a mobile interpreter now thanks to Jajah.

JAJAH Babel takes the hard work out of traveling in China with real time translations. Speak in English and say it in Mandarin from any phone.
What could be more easier than dialing a number, say what you need in English and hand over the phone to the Chinese person you want to talk to, like a taxi driver or hotel clerk.
More information from Jajah Babel.

Tags: Jajah Babel, Olympics, Mandarin, say it in Mandarin