Deltenna's WiBE Brings Broadband Services To Rural UK and Ireland

Rural Broadband http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
While everyone, politicians Telecom carriers, FCC and Telecom bloggers have be harping about broadband services to rural masses, Deltenna, a small company in UK is taking the technology to the field, literally. A small device Deltenna developed, connects to 3G services and becomes a hotspot to serve farmers and cows and who ever happened to be in the rural areas.
But this is different from MiFI I just got from Virgin Mobile, (which is as slow as a jar of molasses when two people are connected, forget about the 5 connections the miFi allows), Deltenna's device connects with tested speeds as high as 2.8Mbps in rural areas. The device could reach theoretical limit of 7.2Mbps in ideal connections.
Cetag Systems, Ireland and Buzz Networks in UK will be the first to deploy the service. In England the the device could cost as high as £425 while in Ireland it will cost €299.
Press Release;

1st November: Deltenna's WiBE, a device to deliver fast broadband to rural areas that are far from the phone exchange, will today become available to consumers and businesses in the UK and Ireland through its reseller network.

The gadget connects to the 3G mobile network and creates a web hotspot - even when a mobile phone, dongle or MiFi device wouldn't register a 3G signal.

Recent independent tests for a UK broadcaster showed that in areas of weak signal the device delivers a data throughput 30-times greater than a 3G USB modem dongle. And the connection range is typically between three and five-times that of the 3G dongle.

The WiBE's maximum throughput is 7.2Mbps and extensive tests in the UK demonstrate a typical download speed of 2.8Mbps in rural regions. These are achieved through Deltenna's patented directional antennas and alignment algorithms.

Users connect laptops, smartphones or VoIP phones to the device via WiFi.

The device automatically tests each mobile cell in range to determine the fastest available download speed and configures its aerials to achieve the best possible connection and block any interference.

The first companies to offer the WiBE are Cetag Systems in Ireland and Buzz Networks in the UK. Buzz will resell the WiBE with its VoIP service under the name Hubb@.

The WiBE is also undergoing trials with major network operators and was recently selected by the UK Trade and Investment to represent the best of British innovation at Mobile World Congress 2011.

 

Unlocked And Gorilla Gassed Palm Pre 2 Will Be Available Direct From HP!

Unlocked And Gorilla Gassed Palm Pre 2 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Palm has unveiled that not only the gifted webOS 2.0 developers but everyone will be able to get their hand son a New Palm Pre 2 Hero sporting 3.1-inch 480 x 320 (HVGA) multitouch display, a black enclosure, Exchange support, built-in GPS, ambient light / proximity sensors, an accelerometer, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 16GB of inbuilt storage space, a battery good for around 5.5 hours of talking and a 3.5mm headphone jack all attached to multitasking WebOS 2.0 which is occupying 1GB of the 16GB memory.
Yes you can use it with Palm Pre Touchstone charging Dock as well as through the microUSB connector.

Google Maps 4.6 for Android Brings Place Page Reviews, Search Filter Options, and Google Latitude real-time updates.

#GoogleMaps 4.6 for Android Brings Place Page Reviews, Search Filter Options, and Google Latitude real-time updates. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Google Mobile Team announced that the new Google Maps For Android aim to make your life even easier, Google Maps 4.6 for Android brings Place page reviews with the now famous Places icon and newer options to filter your searches. It also allows you to Google Latitude updates in real time, allowing socially engaging map usage.
As you can see from above, your search results gives you options like distance, ratings, with neighborhood and open now buttons.
If you are planing to make use of Google Latitude real time updates, make sure your friends have Android 2.2 and Google Maps 4.6.
Happy traveling with Google Maps!


New in Google Maps for Android: Updated reviews, search filters, and Latitude real-time updating - Official Google Mobile Blog

Sony Playstation Phone Is Running Android 2.2 (FROYO)

Sony Playstation Phone Is Running Android 2.2 (FROYO) http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The elusive Sony playstation phone is coming to lime light, bit by bit. Engadget has gathered some photos, say a lot of photos and some information regarding what is under the hood. This one seem to run Android 2.2 but sightings of other variants of Android OS were heard else where.
The Playstation Phone, code named Zeus, was running Android Froyo and looks like to have 8GB Micro SD card in addition to on board memory which is assumed to be at least 512MB or possibly 1GB. The device is 17mm thick. That is what we know for now and will let you know if we find more.
Engadget

iPod And A Tech-Savvy 12 Year Girl Thwarts A Would Be Kidnapper!

iPod And A Tech-Savvy 12 Year Girl Thwarts A Would Be Kidnapper! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
A quick thinking 12 year girl avoided being kidnapped by pretending to make a call on her iPod. According to a news item on ABC news, a white male in 35-45 year range approached the girl while she waited outside her school to be picked up when the creep approached in a white van.
She promptly pretend to make a call on her iPod and the would be kidnapper sped off. 

The suspect is described as a white male, 35-45 years old, with a dark crew cut. He was last seen wearing a dark sweatshirt. Investigators are asking anyone with information about the man to contact Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333.

Well Steve Jobs, I think it is time you allowed those iPod VoIP apps like iPod SIP by touchmod on the iPod so these kids can actually make emergency calls should the need arise and they are within a wireless network. I think this should be a good use for those white spaces in the spectrum, envelope the country with a wireless network for emergency calls.
ABC News via Cultofmac

White iPhone 4, Watch This While Waiting For It.

#ooJLEoo White iPhone 4 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
JLe productions that made you laugh or cry about the iPhone 4 Antenna issue, depending on who you are, has come out with a new spoof about the elusive iPhone 4 white, "Banned iPhone 4 Promo"

HTC Desire HD Is It All That What It Meant TO Be?

HTC Desire HD Reviewed http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
After reading the review by engadget, the feelings are mixed. Yes it carries a whole lot of goodness but the battery life and the design quirks make it hard to make my phone. I am looking forward to a good phone so I can replace the soon to expire iPhone contract. I hope it will not be an iPhone 4, even though we already have a few Droids among us.
The HTC desire HD presents Android Froyo on a 4.3 inch screen running new version od HTC Sense and hiding the second generation snapdragon, 1GHz QSD8255 chip, with Adreno 205 for graphics powering the phone. 768MB of RAM supports Android Froyo to shoe some magic. While empowering the phone with features like above, HTC missed out on providing a proper battery to carry the load, the 1230mAH fail! Engadged says it the best

"Leaving the house with a fully juiced Desire HD at 11AM, we got to enjoy some very light browsing at the airport, a 30-minute round of Angry Birds while in the air, a few pictures taken en route to the hotel, and then some WiFi-based web exploration at our resting place before the battery gave up on us in the evening."

I think you should read the lengthy but very well done review, if you are thinking of getting your hands on the HTC Desire HD.
Engadget

Asterisk SCF, A New Open Source Telephony Project, Will Simplify Creation of Complex Communications Systems

Asterisk Scalable Communications Framework. Asterisk SCF http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Digium, the asterisk company announced the Asterisk SCF, Asterisk Scalable Communications Framework at the Astricon 2010. Digium along with the Asterisk Open Source community will work together to provide real time communication solutions encompassing voice, video and text to accommodate today's needs of  always online community, business or otherwise.
The Asterisk SCF platform will support, as a part of its basic architecture, the full range of real-time IP communications, including video, multi-channel wideband and ultra-wideband audio, chat, desktop sharing and other media types that may arise in the future.
"The Asterisk community asked for easier ways to use Asterisk in larger and more complex applications, They want to make massive scalability and fault tolerance simple, they want rich APIs for developing applications, and they want performance that effectively utilizes modern systems and architectures. Rather than trying to 'grow' Asterisk to address these areas, Digium and a committee of Asterisk developers decided that a companion product would be the most effective approach, since it allowed us to consider the widest range of tools, platforms and architectures." said Mark Spencer, creator of Asterisk and Digium's founder and chief technology officer.
A version of Asterisk SCF for early adopters is now available at the Asterisk website (http://www.asterisk.org). The project will evolve aggressively during the next 12 months. Digium invites developers interested in contributing or wanting to learn more about Asterisk SCF to visit http://www.asterisk.org today.
The Asterisk community and the Digium also pointed out that this does not mean the Asterisk SCF is not a replacement for the Asterisk, the world's most widely used open source voice communications platform. Digium and the Asterisk community are committed to the continued development and support of Asterisk, the telecommunications software.  This commitment is emphasized by the recent announcement of the release of the next long-term support version of Asterisk, Asterisk 1.8 LTS.

LimeWire Leaves Limelight, Shutdown On Court Order.

#LimeWire Shutdown On Court Order. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Limewire, the controversial online file sharing service has been ordered to cease operations. Judge Wood of U.S. District Court in Manhattan said that LimeWire "intentionally encouraged direct infringement" by users of its site, and also "marketed itself to Napster users, who were known copyright infringers "
The site displays a sign "This is an official notice that LimeWire is under a court-ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software. Downloading or sharing copyrighted content without authorization is illegal." as shown above but the corporate site displayed the following note;

As of today, we are required to stop distribution and support of LimeWire’s P2P file-sharing service as a result of a court-ordered injunction.
Naturally, we’re disappointed with this turn of events. We are extremely proud of our pioneering history and have, for years, worked hard to bridge the gap between technology and content rights holders. However, at this time, we have no option but to cease further distribution and support of our software.
It’s a sad occasion for our team, and for you – the hundreds of millions of people who have used LimeWire to discover new things.
While we have enabled open sharing and discovery for the past decade, LimeWire is mostly the product of the people who used it. You made LimeWire. Thank you for letting us be part of that. Your support and enthusiasm has fueled everything that we do.
During this challenging time, we are excited about the future. The injunction applies only to the LimeWire product. Our company remains open for business.
We remain deeply committed to working with the music industry and making the act of loving music more fulfilling for everyone – including artists, songwriters, publishers, labels, and of course music fans.
Our team of technologists and music enthusiasts is creating a completely new music service that puts you back at the center of your digital music experience.
We’ll be sharing more details about our new service and look forward to bringing it to you in the future.

Google Will Give Away 10,000 Google TV Devices To Developers.

#IWantMyGTV Google Will Give Away 10,000 Google TV Devices To Developers. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Google TV is marching on and I am looking forward both to experience the Google TV and develop with our partners. Those who, like us, already have an Android Phone,will be using the Android Phone as the remote control!
Amanda Surya of Google TV's Developer relations team announced today that Google will give away 10000 Google TV devices to developer who are seeking or looking to develop for Google TV.
One of our team also working on such project, IWantMyGTV is the theme.
Google already gave away 3000 devices to who attended the Adobe MAX conference and Google is actually reaching out to developers in the Google Code Community to provide them with such devices.
If you are a professional web developer who wants to help make the Google TV experience even better and you do not belong to the above two groups, You can submit an entry to Google TV Web Developer Promotion and include a short summary about the type of interesting website your company would like to create or optimize for Google TV.
The Google Code blog has more info on the subject with some example sites etc.

Join "Meet snom One" Webinar! You Might Win An Amazon Kindle 3!!

Join "Meet #snom One" Webinar! You Might Win An Amazon #Kindle 3!! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
snom will hold a webinar on November 4th 2010 to introduce it's new VoIP Ip Telephony Solution, The snom One. The webinar is specially directed towards the VARs in Americas.
The webinar will provide an opportunity to to learn about snom's "One System, All features and No limits" solution.
More over, you might be the lucky winner of an Amazon Kindle 3. Register here.

AstriCon 2010 under way.

#AstriCon 2010 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

JTodd Owns the Photo!

WePay Freezes Paypal With “PayPal freezes your accounts” Iceblock

“#PayPal freezes your accounts”  #WePay http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Paypal conference attendees in our fine city San Francisco got cold laugh this breezy and cold morning. A ice block assumed to ab about 600 pounds with bunch of dollar notes and the note “PayPal freezes your accounts” and that you should “unfreeze your money” with WePay.
The drama was made funnier by Moscone Center Security chasing a pallet mover, which now seem to be carrying the ice block around the block!
WePay competes with Paypal on the group payments, allowing accounts to accept money from many people. I wonder what will happen when ice melts!
Techcrunch

Galaxy Tab Emulator For Android Developers!

#GalaxyTab Enulator For #Android Developers! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you are an Android developer and wanted to develop apps for Samsung Galaxy Tab, you do not have to wait for the $400-500-600 (Yes it seems Samsung and carriers want to push us towards Apple iPad).
Samsung just released an add on for the Android developer environment with customized emulator. If you have the Android Development Environment, you can add the Samsung Galaxy Tab add on via the AVD Manager on the Eclipse IDE.
You will need to add add on site "http://innovator.samsungmobile.com/android/repository/srepository.xml" letting you to download and install the development package and the emulator for the Galaxy Tab.
You can learn more at SamsungMobile.

Nokia Siemens "Phantom DSL" reaches 825 Mbps Over Copper Lines.

#Nokia Siemens Networks "#PhantomDSL" reaches 825 Mbps Over Copper Lines.http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Yes it is 825Mbps over copper, even thought it was for a mere distance of 400 M (about 1312 feet) still it would be good news for the telephony carriers. At least they will be to over come the limits listed by cable companies like Comcast. During the same test Nokia, achieved 750 Mbps over a distance of 500 Meters (about 1650 feet), which is about how far away I am from the AT&T DSLAM switch.
There are few other players playing with the Phantom DSL, Bell Labs and Assia Inc, and bay area startup planing to take DSL to Gigabit speeds.

Nokia Siemens Press Release;

Nokia Siemens Networks has successfully tested a technology that could drastically increase the data carrying capacity of standard copper wires. The company achieved data transmission speeds of 825 megabits per second (Mbps) over 400 meters of bonded copper lines and 750 Mbps over 500 meters. At these speeds, network operators could optimize existing, widely deployed copper infrastructure to provide bandwidth-intensive services for years to come.
Nokia Siemens Networks used circuits that involve the creation of a virtual - or ’phantom’ - channel to supplement the two physical wires that are the standard configuration for copper transmission lines. The approach, known as Phantom DSL is also being showcased during Broadband World Forum 2010 in Paris,
October 26 - 28.
“Laying down new optical fiber to the home remains costly, though it is capable of delivering very high speeds and is a definite solution for long-term bandwidth requirements,” said Eduard Scheiterer, head of broadband access business line, Nokia Siemens Networks. “However, the innovative use of technologies such as phantom circuits helps operators provide an efficient last mile connectivity with existing copper wires.”
Phantom DSL promises a bandwidth increase of 50-75% over existing bonded copper lines. This prolongs the life of copper networks, delaying the need for fiber rollout and protecting operator’s existing capital investments. The promised high speeds will enable a whole new range of end-user services and open up new revenue opportunities for operators. The technology could be used to test initial demand for very high bandwidth services.
Nokia Siemens Networks’ Phantom DSL will become an integral part of the company’s DSLAM* products hiX 562x/3x.

Nokia
Assia

Diordna Writes About Android Apps!

#Diordna Writes About #Android Apps! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
With Android Market surpassing the 100,000 apps mark, a lot of people are excited and the blogsphere is awash with information. I think Android Market will give a good run for the iPhone App Store but that will take much more than a bunch of developers and Google it self. So dior's attempt to publish, "Android App of the Day" will make it easier to  let the Android world know about various Apps.
I think the developers are still a bit shy  with multitude of devices but as time goes, I am sure there will be ways to illuminate the already exciting common ground.
I am sure Dior will do his bit to bring Android Applications to the fore.

Sex Offenders Locator App In Time For Haloween!

Sex Offender Locator App In Time For #Halloween! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
A consumer background checking company, BeenVerified.com has released a mobile app that locate registered sex offenders in their areas. Perhaps it is a better way to steer your kids away from those bad people or put $1.99 in the pockets of BeenVerified or achieve both. Either way 5% of the proceeds will go to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) whom the company has partnered to promote the app.
The app could be downloaded from iPhone [iTunes link] and  Android Market,

The company uses publicly available data and enhances those with Geo location and augmented reality capabilities of the mobile devices and the networks.
The current app only can search for sex offenders in the immediate vicinity but the company says that the next version of the app will allow to search by an address.
Either way, I am sure this app will help to keep at least some children safe.
Beenverified via Mashable

Android Market In Full Swing, Tops 100,000 Apps And Nears 2,000,000,000 Downloads!

Android Market In Full Swing, Perhaps Improving App Quality Will Bring Apps Above Clutter http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

I getting Android news from all ends today. NYT has wrtten and article about how the Android App Market is stepping up to the plate. Looks like the there are about 109364 apps in the Android Market according to Androlib. Also according to Androlib, 86.7% are Applications while the other 13.3% accounts for games.

 It could be that Android users do more work that iPhone users and play less. But on the other hand it is a good indication for Android developers of the vast playing field that they have. The pointer to the article on Android at the end carries a good article on App quality and how it could turn into better and popular app;

A better app can go a very long way: a higher quality app will translate to higher user ratings, generally better rankings, more downloads, and higher retention (longer install periods). High-quality apps also have a much higher likelihood of getting some unanticipated positive publicity such as being featured in Android Market or social media buzz.

It might be different from developing apps for monolithic platform like iPhone but I do not see that much of a issue as stated by the NYT article. Yes there are many devices, but when we developed our first app, we did not even have a single device, we relied on the Android emulators.
With Android devices selling like 200,000 a day, there going to be a huge app hungry users, be your app free or for pay, one will certainly be able to reap in benefits with a well designed quality Android App.

Android Developers Blog: Improving App Quality
Stats from Androlib

Perhaps You Too Want To Ride Jolicloud Now!

Ride The #Jolicloud! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Tariq KRIM (@tariqkrim)  said over a tweet "The Jolicloud universe exposed, what a nice setting on my desk for my Birthday!" and I went to look, I might want one too!, if that is a netbook!
Jolicloud is a OS replacement for Netbooks based on Linux and it is on Jolicloud 1.1, now. Unlike other Netbook OS variants, Jolicloud allows you to keep your windows version if you want to!

Jolicloud

onsip Finds The Perfect IP Phone, Polycom!

#onsip Finds The Perfect IP Phone, #Polycom! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Via a bunch of links, I ended up reading a fine article on  how to choose quality IP Phone for your business. Usually I take these recommendations with a little bit of salt but I did continue to read the article, whole of four sections;

1. How to Choose a Quality IP Phone for Your Business
2. First advantage of Polycom IP phones: design
3. Second Advantage of Polycom IP Phones: Interface
4. Third Advantage of Polycom IP Phones: Hardware
5.  Fourth advantage of Polycom IP phones: software
6. Fifth Advantage of Polycom IP Phones: Usability

Yes you are right, the author likes Polycom phones and she is Charlotte Oliver,a Systems Engineer at Junction Networks. Junction Networks has a line of products beginning with "onsip" and my iPhone run onsip. (Ok I need to write more about that!)
Why I liked the article and why I think you too should read it, is because she explains every step with valid points even if you prefer to have other brands, you will learn about phone. I think she knows the phones very well;

So, what is the perfect IP phone? It is a phone with a modern look, an intuitive interface, quality hardware, and an easy configuration and update process. Manufacturing the perfect IP phone at a competitive price may be a tall order. But, so far, we think Polycom does a better job than most at this. We will be interested to see who meets them at the finish line.

EWeek Via  Graves

You can find onsip, at Junction Networks

Skype No Go With New MacBook Air!

Skype No Go With New Mac Book Air! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
It seems the new Mac Book Air (2010) is not happy with Skype 2.8 and Skype Developer site has the issues assigned.
Even without that, VoIP Watch is reporting that even though Skype is third party software as far as Apple is concerned, Apple support has spent quite a long time gathering information on the fact. Andy Abramson has both the Macbook Air, the old which has no trouble with Skype and the new which refuses to speak Skype.
I am sure it will be solved soon.
VoIP Watch

Acer Liquid Metal (Android 2.2) Coming To AT&T?

Acer Liquid Metal  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like Acer Liquid Metal, an aluminum handset with 800MHz Qualcomm processor and 3.6 inch 800X480 screen has just cleared FCC test benches.
The phone is sporting Android 2.2 (Froyo), GPS, Bluetooth, and WiFi (802.11 a/g/n) and connecting with GSM/EDGE 850/1900 and WCDMA Band II and V. The last connectivity info makes it an ideal candidate for the AT&T network!
If you are in test results etc, head over to FCC

Skype Demands Nimbuzz To Remove Support For All Skype!

Skype Demands Nimbuzz To Shutdown Skupe Communications. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
There seem to be a some kind of row between Nimbuzz, the mobile service provider and the Skype, the VoIP behemoth.
Nimbuzz seem to be saying that Skype is shedding all third party connections ahead of the impending IPO but Skype is saying it is not true. The decision to stop the service is because Nimbuzz failed to continue communications with Skype regarding Nimbuzz’ compliance with Skype API Terms of Use and End User Licence Agreement.
Skype did play the same game or gave the same or similar reasons when Skype blocked fring, another player in the mobile VoIP field. Coincidentally both companies, Nimbuzz and fring, recently offered their own versions of paid calling services, Nimbuzzout and fringout. Techcrunch thinks that to be the real reason than load of bull Skype is dealing.
Nimbuzz has offered following to make lives easier for it's users;

• We’re offering you a 15% bonus credit to use on NimbuzzOut. That’s 15% extra on top of the credits you want to purchase. To access the 15% bonus credit, go to http://www.nimbuzzout.com and once logged-in, use this code NIMBUZZ15 (valid until end of November 2010).
• NimbuzzOut now lets you call mobile phones and landlines in 45 countries for only 2 cents per minute!
• NimbuzzOut is supported on more than 115 Symbian devices, all iPhone / iPod Touch, and all of the Android handsets.

We will be watching but at the same time, follow the link if you want to uninstall Skype
Nimbuzz

Shoretel Acquires Agito Networks, The Mobile PBX Company..

Shoretel Acquires Agito Networks.http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
VoIP Watch is telling us that Agito Networks, an untimely pioneer of in the concept of the mobile PBX, has been sold to ShoreTel for $11.4 million dollars.
Agito’s software turns smartphone into an extension of a corporate phone system. And this should be a good move by Shoretel because companies are increasingly equipping their workers with smartphones, yet the corporate PBXs and smartphones remain different entities. With Agito on their phones, these users are able to use corporate directory, corporate voice mail, conference calling and the ability to transfer calls withing the enterprise.
Agito is compatible with most smartphones across the table except Android phones.
VoIP Watch

Gingerbread Man Brings Android 3.0 (Or Android 2.3?) Either Way It Will Be Sweet!

Gingerbread Man Brings Android 3.0 Or Android 2.3 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Cupcake, donut, eclair, froyo and now the Gingerbread man. Yes you are at the sweetshop of Google, which I think much better than the sweatshops of apple :). Oh wait, does Foxconn make droids?
Google has put up a large ginger bread man in the lawn where the other sweet stuffs were. Even though I drive around this area, I am yet to see the Gingerbread Man, may be next time I will take my camera with me.
But this time, we have a question! Is Gingerbread man tied to Android 3.0 or Android 2.3 as you can see from below, there seem to be a Android 2.3 surfaced while discussing fixing some WAP issues.

In any case enjoy the Gingerbread man with the customary video, with holidays coming near and all.
Google, Youtube via engadget

LG Optimus 7, WIndows Phone 7 Hands On.

#LG #Optimus7, #WIndows Phone 7 Hands On. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Engadget has got their hands on a LG's Optimus 7, a very capable Windows Phone 7 based phone. The 1GHz Snapdragon powered,  5 megapixel camera that can shoot 720P videos equipped is said to be the WP7 Ambassador for LG. So I earnestly sat down to read the fine article that covered internals, camera functions, WP7 operations, hardware, software and the 3.8" display. At the end, their conclusion, is not far from mine, despite the fact, I have not even touched the LG's Optimus 7.

Engadget, after a very lengthy walk through that involves many photos, videos and of course material to fill a few pages, had this to say;

We feel somewhat odd giving such a high grade to a device that really brings nothing new to the table in terms of hardware. LG might be making gorgeous retina displays for a certain other phone maker, but that IPS goodness is nowhere to be seen here. The camera is also only mediocre, while the internal spec can be had on literally any other Windows Phone 7 device. What's really got us hooked, however, is the inescapable feeling of a quality piece of mobile kit. From the very first time we picked it up, the Optimus 7 has been delighting us with its look and feel and that emotional connection just refuses to go away. It's a minimalist interpretation of what the best possible Windows Phone should be like, and its small design flourishes are augmented with an almost perfect record of intelligent design decisions. Throw in the actually valuable Play To media streamer and the fun Panorama Shot from LG's own software labs, and you get a very competent contender. It's hard to quite crown it the finest WP7 launch device -- after all, Samsung's Omnia 7 has a bigger and significantly better display -- but the LG Optimus 7 might just be the one we most enjoyed using.

Asterisk 1.8.0 Released

#Asterisk18 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The Asterisk Development Team has released the latest and the greatest (so far) version of Asterisk
1.8.0. This release could be downloaded from Asterisk.org.


Asterisk 1.8 is the much anticipated version in the major release series of Asterisk. It will be a Long Term Support (LTS) release, similar to Asterisk 1.4. The Asterisk versions page has more information about support time lines for Asterisk releases,
The release of Asterisk 1.8.0 development has been supported by over 500 reporters, more than 300 testers and greater than 200 developers.
You can find a summary of the work involved with the 1.8.0 release in the Asterisk 1.8.0 sumary.

Some of the features that comes with the new Asterisk includes:

• Secure RTP
• IPv6 Support in the SIP channel driver
• Connected Party Identification Support
• Calendaring Integration
• A new call logging system, Channel Event Logging (CEL)
• Distributed Device State using Jabber/XMPP PubSub
• Call Completion Supplementary Services support
• Advice of Charge support
• Much, much more!

A full list of new features can be found in the CHANGES file.
For a full list of changes in the current release candidate, please see the ChangeLog:

Apple Wants To Sell You A Netbook For $999, Called Macbook Air.

#Apple #MacbookAir. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Say what you want but I think I will pass up the 11.6" Macbook Air. I have seen HP Netbooks doing just fine with Mac OS X. But there might be people who would love to get hold of such a Macbook, either because of they have too much money or they like Steve Jobs too much. As with everything Apple, it is a nice computer and everything is nice about it, except the price!
The 1.4 GHz 11-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of $999 (US) with a 128GB model for $1,199 (US). The 1.86 GHz 13-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US) with a 256GB model for $1,599 (US). Configure-to-order options and accessories include faster processors, 4GB of memory, MacBook Air SuperDrive® and a USB Ethernet Adapter. It is available for purchase at Apple stores and authorized resellers.
www.apple.com/macbookair.

Here is the press release;

Apple Reinvents Notebooks With New MacBook Air

CUPERTINO, California-October 20, 2010-Apple® today unveiled an all new MacBook Air®, the first of a next generation of notebooks which will replace mechanical hard disks and optical drives with Internet services and solid state flash storage. These next generation notebooks are:

faster-solid state flash storage is up to twice as fast as hard drive storage

more reliable-hard drive crashes are eliminated

lighter and smaller-solid state flash storage is up to 90 percent smaller and lighter than hard drives

Available in 11-inch and 13-inch models and weighing as little as 2.3 pounds, the new MacBook Air is Apple's lightest and most portable notebook ever. MacBook Air uses the same solid state storage technology as iPad™ to deliver instant-on responsiveness, up to seven hours of battery life and up to 30 days of standby time.* Starting at $999, the affordable MacBook Air defines the next generation of MacBooks.

"MacBook Air is the first of a new generation of notebooks that leaves behind mechanical rotating storage in favor of solid state flash storage," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We've taken what we have learned with the iPad-solid state storage, instant-on, amazing battery standby time, miniaturization and lightweight construction, to create the new MacBook Air. With its amazing responsiveness and mobility, it will change the way we think about notebooks."

With its precision aluminum unibody enclosure, the new MacBook Air measures an incredibly thin 0.11-inches at its thinnest point and 0.68-inches at its thickest, and weighs just 2.3 pounds for the 11-inch model and 2.9 pounds for the 13-inch. Like iPad, MacBook Air was designed from the ground up to use flash storage exclusively. Apple's custom-designed flash storage is 90 percent smaller and lighter than a conventional notebook hard drive, contributing to MacBook Air's mobile, featherweight design. MacBook Air's flash storage also provides faster data access and is more reliable than notebook hard drives due to its solid state design.

MacBook Air features a full-sized keyboard for typing comfort and productivity, as well as the highly acclaimed glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad found on Apple's MacBook® Pro, so you can scroll through web sites, flip through photos, and resize or rotate images all from the trackpad. The built-in FaceTime® camera, mic and stereo speakers are perfect for video calls with iPhone® 4, iPod touch®** and other Macs.

Flash storage combined with power-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processors and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics delivers an ideal balance of mobility, battery life and performance. MacBook Air features an 11.6-inch or 13.3-inch high-resolution LED-backlit display and Mini DisplayPort to connect your 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, projector or HD TV. Ultra-fast 802.11n Wi-Fi networking allows you to download music and movies from iTunes®, back up data to Time Capsule® and store or share files with MobileMe℠ and iDisk®. MacBook Air includes Bluetooth 2.1+EDR for wireless peripherals and two USB ports making it easy to sync and charge an iPad, iPhone or iPod® while using another device. The 13-inch MacBook Air also includes an SD card slot.

Apple makes the industry's greenest notebooks and the MacBook Air is the latest Mac® notebook to achieve EPEAT Gold status and meet Energy Star 5.0 requirements.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.

Apple uses advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology to create a MacBook Air battery that delivers up to seven hours of wireless productivity on a single charge and up to 1,000 recharges.**** The built-in battery design results in less waste, and depleted MacBook Air batteries can be replaced for $129, which includes installation and disposal of your old battery in an environmentally responsible manner.

Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple's innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Snow Leopard builds on more than a decade of innovation and includes multiple features for portable computing such as Multi-Touch navigation, advanced wireless networking, easy file sharing, automated data backup and intelligent power management. The new iLife '11 features iPhoto® with stunning full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand® with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.

Pricing & Availability
The 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air are immediately available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 1.4 GHz 11-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of $999 (US) with a 128GB model for $1,199 (US). The 1.86 GHz 13-inch MacBook Air with 2GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starts at a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US) with a 256GB model for $1,599 (US). Configure-to-order options and accessories include faster processors, 4GB of memory, MacBook Air SuperDrive® and a USB Ethernet Adapter.

Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbookair.

Android 3.0 Powered Tablet PCs In December. May Eat Up iPad Market Share.

#Android3.0 Powered Tablet PCs In December. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Digitimes is telling us that Android 3.0 Powered engineer samples of Android Tablet PCs will show up in December. Acer, Asustek Computer and Micro-Star International are all expected to launch their Android based tablet PCs in January, 2011 at CES 2011 and Samsung will show their Android 3.0 powered Galaxy Tab. Also expected are Android Tablets from HTC and Motorola.
Just like over taking the iPhone market share, it looks like Android tablets will overtake iPad market share with Android 3.0.
Let us see how Apple shares do in next year, say around this time!
 Digitimes

T-Mobile Can't Handle IM Apps? A Tale By T-Mobile Director Grant Castle!

#T-Mobile Can't  Handle IM Apps?  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
It Looks like T-Mobile does not like Net neutrality and why? because an IM app brought down their network, almost, in somewhere, in some town!
But thanks to savvy engineers, they were able to reach out to the developer and change the code, get people to update the app, and avert the collapse of T-Mobile! Wow. That is another company I am not going back to! You scared me off, Grant.
FCC (Grant Castle's declaration) via engadget

Lady Gaga Pops Android Au, Take That Apple!

Lady Gaga Pops Android AU

#LadyGaga Pops #Android Au, Take That Apple!http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
In introducing Android Au, Lady Gaga is doing her best, with an Android (finally) in this fine advertisement, follow the link for the video. We will get the phone details later, which will be marketed by KDDI
Android AU and Lady Gaga Video 

Andy Rubin To Stever Jobs, Come Down To Earth, and Make!

#Arubin ( @arubin ) To #SteverJobs, Come Down To Earth, and Make! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Man I love these little escapades. I think Mr. Jobs got his mojo up, way up, about Android Market Share and all those made to fit in your hand Android Tablets, and he got an axe to grind (may be he is really mad about those Androids pissing on Apple. Perhaps he is a but upped also by the Apples cash reserve, which is somewhere in 20 Billion mark. If that is the case I would hate to listen to him when he hit 100 Billion mark!
But Steve Jobs has been shouting “Open versus closed is a smokescreen,” but I wonder if he forgot about the OS, that powers iOS and other MACs. He went on to say “Google likes to characterize Android as open and iOS as closed. We think this is disingenuous.”
Well I love the answer given by Andy Rubin of Android fame, has shown how to answer best,  and I guess, how to keep composure by giving the answer in his Tweet, shown above and below;.

the definition of open: “mkdir android ; cd android ; repo init -u git://android.git.kernel.org/platform/manifest.git ; repo sync ; make”

Way to go Andy, and Android! @Arubin is at about 7000 follower mark now and I would like to see what it would be later in the day! Yes all of us are following Andy!
Refined? because, the first thing I thought was;

Techcrunch

Android Mascot Androiski Might Make Steve Jobs Mad

#Android Mascot #Androski Might Make Steve Jobs Mad http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If taking over Smartphone market share from Apple is not enough, Now there is an Android Mascot from Korea pouring liquid on Apple. It might make Jobs really mad!
Not only looking good, the mascot can hold a phone up on a table, like a dock, see the video below. Of the two adult androski provided in the package, one is dressed up in full ski regalia. You can get it many sources in South Korea!
Links after the jump

Androski website via Engadget

MacOSX Greenpois0n Ready For Download

#Greenpois0n (@p0sixninja)For MacOSX http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
 Chronic Dev Team has released the MacOSX Greenpois0n, @p0sixninja just announced. In fact he said;

MacOSX Greenpois0n is now live at www.greenpois0n.com get it while it's hot!!!

Yes so grab the Linux Greenpois0n and / or Windows Greenpois0n also if you have not done so already! Happy pois0ning.

How Steve Jobs Does Things! John Sculley on Steve Jobs

Our family has one of these in the attic!

#JohnSculley on #SteveJobs http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Cult of the Mac has published an interview with John Sculley regarding, Steve Jobs, whom he ousted and almost took Apple down. Later Apple Board decided to bring back Steve Jobs and you know the story, afterwords. 

It’s also one of the frankest CEO interviews you’ll ever read. Sculley talks openly about Jobs and Apple, admits it was a mistake to hire him to run the company and that he knows little about computers. It’s rare for anyone, never mind a big-time CEO, to make such frank assessment of their career in public.

You can read the entire transcript of the interview here or  Download the audio version here, perhaps listen on your iPhone!

Rise Of The Android : Android Dominating The Smartphone Market Share.

Future SmartPhone Market Share

#Android World Domination The Smartphone Market Share http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
GigaOm has produced some nice graphs on the march of Android towards the world domination in the smartphone arena. Just this morning I was focusing on Mobile phone market share and this is welcoming information.
Android phones are very data friendly and the current market share must make Google happy and generate Apple envy.

Rise Of The Android

It seems, it is advertisement friendly as well, that cuts the bill, for the forward march.

Android VS. Apple App Stores

You can find the complete info-graphics by GigaOM here.

Curating Your Social World With Nsyght

#Nsyght #SocialGraph Realtime streams http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Techcrunch is pushing Nsyght up as a very promising ones social world curator. So I checked out after reading what seems like a sales leaflet.
Yes it is a pretty useful tool, Nsyght allows you to bring together Twitter, Facebook, digg, Vimeo, Stumbleupon, Flickr, Delicious information, and yes it is fast, like TC mentioned. Add this to include Twitter saved searches and Twitter lists! I think, your social graph or social search is complete, more or less. I am going to check Curated.by, once I get an invite!
You can read TC pitch and the Nsyght.

Nokia N8 Reviewed

#NokiaN8 #Nokia #N8 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
The Nokia flag ship sporting 12MP camera capable of making 720P movies, (The Nokia N8 filmed the worlds smallest stop motion character) and show casing Symbian ^3 OS.
The hardware and the performance is very impressive and brings back the memories of sleek phones of pre iPhone days. I think this phone will help Nokia to keep the lead in mobile phone market share much longer.
engadget

Samsung Transform Gives You Sprint ID And Emoticon Button.

#Samsung #Transform  reviewed http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Engadget seem not too happy with the Samsung Transform, the Android 2.1 based Sprint Phone. An upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo) later.
The Samsung Transform carried the Samsung Epic 4G styling plus a front facing camera, a LED flash and some tweaks. But the performance and the newly introduced Sprint Annoyances makes sure that it stays below the line of high end phones.

The engadget review carries one through the pros and cons of hardware, software, things like Sprint ID which seem to be the deal breaker;

Sprint ID installs a custom button on the home screen (you can see it immediately above) which lets you swap between sponsored packs of applications, settings, wallpapers and widgets. While this was pitched to us as a reasonably compelling idea that would help newcomers to find some of the best Android has to offer, and let power users like us switch between multiple profiles on the go, that's not how it worked out in our tests. First off, the more Sprint ID packs we installed, the slower our phone got, because the system doesn't actually shut down apps from profiles not in use -- it just hides them from view while they continue to run in the background. Second, Sprint ID doesn't necessarily install and set up everything it suggests to the user, as certain packs will just dump a bunch of shortcuts on the screen, which lead you right back to the Android Market to install the app for yourself. Also, and this may be obvious, but don't expect companies to sponsor packages that give you paid apps for free -- the Games by EA pack, for instance, includes demo versions of Tetris and Scrabble, but it's primarily designed to advertise product for you to purchase later on.

But looks like there is a way  one can speed up the phone, if you own one or got it because of the QWERTY keyboard with emoticon button, follow the link below to find how.
Engadget

Skype 5.0 For WIndows, With Facebook Integration Out!

#Skype 5.0, with #facebook integration released. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Skype just announced that the Skype for windows 5.0 with a host of new features. Facebook integration, Group Video Calling (Free trial), Skype Home with Tabs, enhanced contact management, and an interface refresh.

• The integration of the Facebook News Feed and Phonebook in Skype makes it easier to stay connected with the people and communities you care about.
• A revitalized look and feel makes voice and video calling, instant messaging, screen sharing, file sharing and more, intuitive and easy to navigate.
• Skype users can bring even more of their family and friends together with the new group video calling feature available in open beta.

Have fun download Skype 5.0 for windows from here.

How To Install And Get The Best Of AGItate.

Installing #AGItate http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
A few days ago, we wrote about AGItate, "AGItate, Asterisk AGI On Tropo" on taking Asterisk to the cloud. Even though it was not very difficult to understand, I wished for more information on AGItate, Tropo, and Asterisk Interface Gateway (AGI) and my wish was answered today. Actually it was answered a few days ago but only now I found it.

Adhearsion team has posted a screencast series on AGItate;

• Howto Install and Use Tropo AGItate
• Asterisk & Tropo and a Single Adhearsion Dialplan

Get your Asterisk server on the cloud!

Sometimes You Need To Have Fun! But Is This The way?

#Breakingnews #Fun with #Police http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
This cracked me up!

ZTE Launches "ZTE Light", An Android Based 7" Tablet With 3G

#ZTE Launches "#ZTE-Light" http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Joining the multitude of electronic manufacturers trying to benefit from the consumer market of tablet PCs awakened by Apple iPad, ZTE is introducing an Android Tablet..
The ZTE Light has dual band UMTS 2100 MHZ/900 MHZ for voice calling and internet access on HSUPA network with a download speed of up to 7.2 Mbps and an upload speed of up to5.76Mbps, in addition to WiFi. The tablet features 512 Mb RAM and 512 Mb ROM and based on Android 2.1 Operating system. Usual GPS navigation, a 3MP camera, Bluetooth, SD slot with up to 32GB support are included and all runs on a battery that lasts as long as 10 hours.
Press Release

CTL 2goPad SL10 Slate Arrives WIth Windows 7 and Priced At $499!

CTL #2goPad SL10http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
CTL2goPad SL10 has come with windows 7 loaded and actually it seems looking much better than the CTL 2goPad SL10 Video we saw last month.
The specs are not a joke either, it comes with a 10" multi-touch capacitive screen, a Atom N450 running at 1.66Ghz processor, 2GB of RAM, an 250GB hard drive, and a front facing VGA camera all for $499 MSRP of $599.
Not only consumers but it seems big boys, Intel and Microsoft too are happy about the tablet.

"We are pleased to be working with CTL™ on their new device. Since it runs Windows® 7, 2goPad™ users will have access to their everyday business applications and be able to enjoy all their personal content as well that a Windows environment offers." says Eddie O'Brien, Vice President of Microsoft® US OEM.

The manufacturer of  Atom N450 and I guess the accompanying chipset, Intel;

 "Intel looks forward to the innovative 2goPad™ SL10 from CTL™,This device showcases the comprehensive capabilities and technologies available for Intel® Atom™ processor-based tablet form factors. An Intel® Channel Partner Premier member, CTL™ is a proven leader in mobile computing technology and the 2goPad™ SL10 is an excellent complement to their full line of laptop computers." said Eric Thompson, director of North America Channel for Intel®.

The 2goPad SL10 comes bundled with a VGA adapter and a case, a value of $68. You can pickup one at www.ctlcorp.com/shop

gspot = Happy, But iSpot is OK!, Apple Censors Sexting With The New Patent.

#gspot = Happy, But #iSpot is OK! #sexting http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Looks like the end of "SEXTING" on iOS devices as we know it! Apple just received a patent from USPTO,for controlling unauthorized text, from being sent or received.

If the control contains unauthorized text, the control application may alert the user, the administrator or other designated individuals of the presence of such text. The control application may require the user to replace the unauthorized text or may automatically delete the text or the entire communication.

 Looks like now you will need some brains to do any SEXTING on iOS devices. My iPhone, like techcrunch's change the word gspot to happy, so is the hspot, but ispot is ispot! But Apple allows you to have an App called Gspot (G-Spot)
What a way to suck money off worried parents who think that their children would be sending or receiving  inappropriate, unauthorized TEXTs. People will send them anyway, at the end Jobs will have the entire dictionary as the banned text! Then you just talk, inappropriately, unauthorized of course!
Techcrunch

How To Jailbreak iPad iOS 3.2.2 Using Greenpois0n!

How To #Jailbreak-iPad #iOS 3.2.2 Using #Greenpois0n! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
As soon as the greenpois0n was released, the latest iOS jailbreak, various people all over the planet set about jailbreaking their iOS devices using greenpois0n, which uses Geohot bootrom USB exploit. We too took one of our colleague's iPad to do some research on it with greenpois0n. So as usual we first did a search on "jailbreaking iPad with greenpois0n" and of course there were lot of results but we settled on Mob2All solution.
  Why? because it gave all the details, even the tiny ones on the way to free your iPad from;
Bringing the iPad to recovery mode;

and so on to installing CYDIA;

and finally to having a free iPad like this;

mob2all

greenpois0n Released By Chronic Dev Team, Uses Goehot Exploit

#greenpois0n Released By #Chronic-Dev-Team, Uses #Goehot Exploit http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Chronic Dev Team has released the initial version of greenpois0n for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 3rd and 4th generations, and of course iPad!. They also mention of an upcoming version, supporting Apple TV and iPod Touch 2nd gen.
On iPhone 4, greenpois0n works with firmware 4.1. Even with lower firmware, they say you can use TinyUmbrella to preserve the baseband.
Chronic Dev team is using the controversial  bootrom USB exploit by Geohot rather than the SHAtter Exploit.
You can download the greenpois0n from, where else, http://www.greenpois0n.com/ 
 and follow the info at Chronic Dev Team Blog.

HTC HD7, Simply Good!

#HTC #HD7, Simply Good! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
We have written spoken about HD7, from HTC for months now and here is the Official introduction of tht HTC HD7, The windows Phone 7  ENtertainment Guru, as HTC calls it.

VoIP Attacks On The Rise! Secure Your VoIP Servers

#PORT5060 #VoIP.Attacks On The Rise! http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
ZDNet has an aritcle on rising attacks on VoIP systems. Most of the VoIP attackers seem to employ the method of spamming UDP port 5060. SANs Institute have reported recent spikes in SIP Attacks,) Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) scanning).

We wrote about SIPVcious before, use it to see how strong your systems are.

Even with best security practices, if your clients are using easy to guess passwords, could allow hackers to compromise your system and send your call costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, say during a weekend.
There are many simple little things you could do to limit the damage from these attacks, like changing the SIP ports from the default ones.
Also do not be complaisant just because your server is behind a firewall. Write up some rules for you firewall or like us use some tools like fail2ban to block port scanners. Utilize Blacklist from VoIP Blacklist Project to secure your systems. FreeSWITCH has the script in their source tree.
What ever you do, work a bit hard and keep those hard earned savings in your pocket. We will be posting an article on Asterisk-fail2ban, as soon as Diordna returns from his travels.
ZDNet via  FreeSWITCH