HTC WP7 Camera Sports A 12MP Camera That Does Raw Captures.

HTC WP7 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Engadget directed me to a tweet and a tweetpic by the  Phone reviewer Eldar Murtazin to witness a new WP7  HTC phone with a fantastic camera specs.
Just like many DSLRs of today the 12MP camera is capable of doing many things similar to those cameras carry, like Raw capture, exposure compensation, and exposure metering,  just by looking at those photos. The Nokia N8 also carries similar capabilities. Eldar has mentioned that he will compare the two.

Twitter (1), (2) via Engadget

Omnio Wowkeys Stand To WoW iPhone iPad users.

Wowkeys http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you are as frustrated by having to dangle your iPhone from your computer to keep it in charge, new product might put you at ease. Omnio Wowkeys allows you to dock your smaller idevice to the keyboard and you will get much more than just charging.
Now you can start syncing with iTunes, typing text directly into your iDevice for that quick text message, or use the keyboard's twelve hotkeys to control music playback functions, turn off the display, or switch between PC and iPhone mode. When in PC / MAC mode you can, with an app like Mobile Mouse Pro, use your mobile's touchscreen as a trackpad for your Mac or PC


CompuExpert via Engadget

TinyCo Invites All Mobile Game Developers To Apply Apply For No So TinyFund.

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
After raising 18 Million in Series A funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz and joined by Ron Conway, Keith Rabois, and a handful of other angels, TinyCo is on the move to help out mobile game developers and conquer some of the gaming market that is growing out of every corner. It should be not much of a task now that Marc Andreessen has joined the TinyCo's board of directors.

So TinyCo is inviting all mobile game developers who need some help to get their game off the ground, to apply for the TinyFund. If the proposal is successful, selected developers could receive; up to $500K per title, as well as marketing, development and business support. These developers will also have access to the growing user base.
If you think you need the help and would qualify, Apply here!


Press Release;

TinyCo Launches $5 Million "TinyFund" to Support Mobile Game Developers
Creating iOS or Android Titles

Leading Mobile Gaming Company to Equip Developers with Capital, Marketing and Business Support

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, May 25, 2011 - TinyCo, a leading developer of iOS and Android games, today announced the launch of the TinyFund -- a $5 million gaming fund -- to provide mobile game developers with capital and resources needed to successfully launch their games. Developers around the world are invited to submit their proposals for consideration, and games of all stages of development -- from early concepts to completed games -- will be considered for support.

Within a year, TinyCo has launched five top grossing iOS games including hits Tiny Chef, Tiny Zoo and Tap Resort, which have all appeared on the Top 10 free games charts in the App Store.  In total, TinyCo's games have over 20 million downloads. The Company recently closed an $18 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

The TinyFund is designed to provide monetary assistance, of up to $500,000 per title, to game developers creating any type of game played on iPhone, iPad or Android including paid and free titles.  In addition, TinyCo will offer marketing, development and business assistance as needed.
"There are some amazing mobile games being developed right now, but due to lack of funds or industry experience, many of these outstanding titles will never be played by the public," said Suli Ali, co-founder and CEO of TinyCo.  "TinyCo is proud to offer the TinyFund to empower top gaming talent with the tools they need to realize their dreams of creating successful games."

"Competition on iOS and Android has quickly heated-up.  Long gone are the days where a great game is all it takes to get downloads.  Now, in order to make a splash, developers not only have to have enough marketing spend, but also the business know-how.  We've been able to accumulate both and want to help other promising developers bring hits to market," continued Ali. 

Games that are supported through the TinyFund will receive access to TinyCo's large and rapidly growing user base.   A specially selected team of TinyCo execs will be reviewing all applications to determine funding and additional support needed to help make the best games possible.

Developers can submit their proposals at www.tinyco.com/tinyfund.  TinyCo plans on announcing recipients of funding in the third quarter.

About TinyCo
TinyCo makes beautiful, fun and engaging games that can be played anywhere on mobile devices.  Our mission is to make millions of people happy five minutes at a time.  TinyCo was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco.  In February 2011, TinyCo closed an $18 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.  For more information, please visit www.tinyco.com.

Skype (Microsoft) Drops Asterisk Support, Ending Skype For Asterisk

Skype ends Asterisk for Skype Agreement http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Within two weeks of acquiring Skype, Microsoft is set out to cut all Open Source ties to Skype, begining with Asterisk, the best open source IPPBX in the world.

According to a letter from Digium to it's customers, Skype will not renew its agreement with Digium that allowed Asterisk to be integrated with the Skype service through Asterisk for Skype, a product by Digium..

"It includes proprietary software from Skype that allows Asterisk to join the Skype network as a native client. Skype has decided not to renew the agreement that permits us to package this proprietary software,” according to the letter.

Skype for Asterisk sales and activations will end on July 26, but Skype has promised to continue supporting and maintaining the software for two more years. Skype may extend this time period “at their discretion.”
But I love what Digium's Danny Windham has to say about the whole issue of Skype;

Is the acquisition good for Skype? Given the valuation, it’s certainly good for the Skype shareholders. But what about the service itself? In a word, no. History suggests that Microsoft’s tendency towards notoriously proprietary tactics will slow the development of Skype as a business tool. Will Microsoft wall-off Skype from competing products, completely? Or, at a bare minimum will Microsoft ensure their products work much better with Skype than those from competitors? Time will tell.

This transaction has attracted speculation from around the globe regarding the future of Skype, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, incumbent phone companies, VoIP, video communications, Apple, the Iphone, Andriod, and I’m sure even pork belly futures. Regardless of your view on how the merger will ultimately shake out, it’s hard to deny at least this one fact: disruptive communications companies and technologies are changing the world at a rapid pace – and in this case, they are generating gigantic value for their shareholders in the process.

Digium Blog

Android At Marker Faire!

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I almost forgot about this post on Android developers blog. Last weekend was the Maker Faire, and Google was very visible.

Of all the nifty things, ADB, Android Developer Blog noted the following information;

Bits and Pieces from Googlers at the Faire

Most of these are 20%-project output of the new open-source project called Easy Peripheral Controller..

Project Tricorder: Using the ADK and Android to build a platform to support making education about data collection and scientific process more interesting.

Disco Droid: Modified a bugdroid with servos and the ADK to show off some Android dance moves.

Music Beta, by Google: Android + ADK + cool box with lights for a Music Beta demo.

Optical Networking: Optical network port connected to the ADK.

Interactive Game: Uses ultrasonic sensors and ADK to control an Android game.

Robot Arm: Phone controlling robot arm for kids to play with.

Bugdroids: Balancing Bugdroids running around streaming music from an Android phone.

The Boards

We gave away an ADK hardware dev kit sample to several hundred people at Google I/O, with the idea of showing manufacturers what kind of thing might be useful. This seems to have worked better than we’d expected; we know of no less than seven makers working on Android Accessory Development Kits. Most of these are still in “Coming Soon” mode, but you’ll probably be able to get your hands on some at the Faire.

1. RT Technology's board is pretty much identical to the kit we handed out at I/O.
2. SparkFun has one in the works, coming soon.
3. Also, SparkFun’s existing IOIO product will be getting ADK-compatible firmware.
4. Arduino themselves also have an ADK bun in the oven.
5. Seeedstudio’s Seeeeduino Main Board.
6. 3D Robotics’ PhoneDrone Board.
7. Microchip’s Accessory Development Starter Kit.

It looks like some serious accessorized fun is in store!

This is going to be fun!

Microsoft Windows Phone 7.1 "Mango" Officially Announced.

Microsoft Phone 7.1 "Mango" http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Microsoft has officially announced about Microsoft Phone "Mango" at the Microsoft’s Windows Phone VIP Reception. President of mobile communications at Microsoft, Andy Lees and senior Windows Phone product manager Derek Snyder has given a quick rundown of features and capabilities of the newest version of the Windows Phone platform, WP7.1 or “Mango.”

Supposedly there are 500 new features, but it looks like the main focus is centered around communication, applications, and the mobile internet. There are enhancements to the current service offerings in People Hub, now it has in addition to Facebook, Hotmail, and Gmail, two new services LinkedIn and Twitter.

One other interesting feature is that Mango will get Groups feature, which allows multiple people to communicate across a multiple platforms, while simultaneously integrating those people’s profiles, pictures, and a group history of all events and communication shared. Mango also employs Windows Live Messenger and Facebook Chat to keep you connected with friends, even those on other platforms.

The call history also get a nudge upwards with voicemail, missed calls, text messages, and any calendar events with regards to that particular contact integrated. Speech-to-text will also offer a completely hands-free experience for texting, which was definitely impressive in the demo according to Mobilecrunch.

Will Apple's Letter To Lodsys Save App Deelopers?

Apple's letter to Lodsys http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
After being elated by Apple's letter to Lodsys yesterday, I feel I am back to square one again. One thing is, this is not something that Apple is fighting the patent (they already licensed it)and telling Lodsys that it does not understand the agreement or there is a misunderstanding.
Even if Apple stand behind the app developers, what if the same app developer makes Android version of it? Will Google depend the developer like Apple? Answers to all these are in the air.
So I went looking for answers and I landed on FOSS Patents blog that does a very good analysis of the situation. After reading the article, the confidence that the developers will prevail, need to be weighted. The developer reactions like TLA Systems' developer James Thomson, one who got a letter from Lodsys who told Macworld;
"“I am extremely relieved that Apple has stood up for its developers against these patently unfair claims by Lodsys, I always believed they would, but it’s a huge weight off my shoulders to see it written in black and white. The last ten days have been some of the most stressful of my professional career, and I’d just like to say thanks to Apple and all our customers and friends who have been highly supportive of us during this time.”"  need to be rethinked. Now what about MacroSolve?.
Yes I think everyone should at least read the article on FOSS Patents.

Apple To Lodsys, "Withdraw Patent Claims Against Our Developers"!

Apple  Lodsys iOS developers http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

Not many times I take my hat off for Apple but today is one of those days. Apple has notified Lodsys via email and a letter to leave Apple's developers alone. That the license Apple obtained, covers all it's developers.
Patent trolls has been out looking for easy pickings like small app developers. I hope other big boys too wake up and come forward, like apple did.

Lodsys’s threatened claims are barred by the doctrines of patent exhaustion and first sale. As the Supreme Court has made clear, “[t]he authorized sale of an article that substantially embodies a patent exhausts the patent holder’s rights and prevents the patent holder from invoking patent law to control postsale use of the article.” Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Elecs., Inc., 553 U.S. 617 (2008).

Therefore, Apple requests that Lodsys immediately withdraw all notice letters sent to Apple App Makers and cease its false assertions that the App Makers’ use of licensed Apple products and services in any way constitute infringement of any Lodsys patent.

 I do not think it will end here but I can bet that iPad2, I have not bought yet, Apple will prevail.
Crunchgear has the complete letter from Apple

iPlayboy Collection For iPad Gets A Companion, Flexible iPad Arm

iPlayboy Flexible iPad Arm  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you were intrigued by the iPlayboy offering by Hugh Hefner and Co, now you can browse through all those magazine pages cartoons and editorials, hands free, thanks to Flexible iPad Arm.  I loved the translation google gave for the above photo;

Be fixed by clamping the bed, iPad still available without having slept at hand. Therefore, graceful moments before bedtime can be comfortable!
(そのため、就寝前の優雅なひとときを、快適に過ごすことができます!!)

It might also help injured and bed ridden people to keep in touch with outside world or even work! :) But how can you justify paying $61 for articulated desk lamp with a clamp to hold something like iPad or similar upto 18mm thick. I guess if you can pay $9 per month for the popular mag 4980 Yen is nothing.


Thanko via Gizmodo

If Lodsys Was Bad, Macrosolve Is Worst! Sues Little App Developers First, Ask Questions Later.

MacroSolve is nastier that Lodsys http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you thought Lodsys was a bad patent troll, it seems MacroSolve is worst, from the way they attack and the patent itself. I like to see how the community respond to this. Microsolve seem to sue first and ask questions later with their broad patent. Every patent I see, makes me wonder what type of morons man stations at USPTO. I hope enough people will work together to get this patent invalidated, electronic forms and data exchange over the internet is as old as the WWW itself. I see every web page as a electronic form; you type an address into your browser and you are provided with data and response.
According to the FOSS Patents of Florian Mueller (and he has a better write up as well);

In terms of lending itself to incredibly broad interpretations and infringement allegations, MacroSolve's patent-in-suit is similarly dangerous as Lodsys's in-app upgrade patent. MacroSolve is suing companies over U.S. Patent No. 7,822,816 on a "system and method for data management", "including the steps of: creating a questionnaire; transmitting the questionnaire to a remote computer; executing the questionnaire in the remote computer to prompt a user for responses to questions of the questionnaire; transmitting the responses to a sever via a network; making the responses available on the Web." In other words, anyone who distributes electronic forms via the Internet or to mobile devices and then collects and evaluates the answers could be accused of infringing the patent.

I really hope people will come together and fight this unbelievable patent. I agree with Florian, hoping that Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM get together and thwart this nonsense.
FOSS Patents

No More Unlimited Data Plans From Verizon! , Tiered Pricing Coming This Summer.

Verizon Data Plans http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I think most knew this was coming even though Verizon kept the unlimited data plans open to lure some AT&T customers over with initial iPhone offering. So the unlimited data plans will be replaced by more tiered pricing, perhaps based on speed (now that they got LTE) and usage. Verizon is also thinking of offering bucket of data family plans for families to share across phones and tablets.
"We had individual minutes for individual users. Then we eventually got to what we call family share where everyone in the family shares the same minutes, I think it's safe to assume that at some point you are going to have mega-plans (for data) and people are going to share that mega-plan based on the number of devices within their family. That's just a logical progression," Chief Financial Officer of Verizon, Fran Shammo, told Reuters  but failed provide a time frame for such mega-plans
What ever the case, Verizon does not look to making a client out of me, I have been looking for 4G, LTE carrier and simply based on pricing, it is not going to be Verizon, $10 a GB is not that attractive. And these indecisive packaging of data plans makes Verizon even less attractive. And if one to read the DSLReports forum comments, there might me a bunch of people leaving Verizon, when it snuffs unlimited data plans.

Reuters via DSLReports

SIPFoundry's sipxecs Projects cleaner, smaller, faster and more flexible.

SIPFoundry's sipxecs builds http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
SIPFoundry's sipxecs source tree is getting a make over making it very easy to develop and build sipexecs project. If you have dived into the code base, you know there are Java and Ruby code, requiring Ant and Rake to build the project among other stuff.
According to a post on the SIPFoundry projects blog, autoconf  and automake going to make lives much easier, making java and ruby projects were an order of magnitude cleaner, smaller, faster and more flexible.
Read the post and keep an eye on the sipxecs main development source tree to find the changes.

SIPFoundry Blog

Fire, Explosion At Foxconn Kills Two And Injures 16, May Delay iPad2 Shipments.

Foxconn fire http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Chinese news media have reported a big explosion at Foxconn's Chengdu factory, in the building A05, where they make iPad2. Apple and Foxconn have always been related to killing people, (iPhone kills) in the name of  iDevices Just like those suicides and the bad factory conditions, perhaps people will take this too in stride and worry about the iPad2 they are waiting for. It is reported 2 people dead and 16 being injured so far with more people trapped inside the building. Police have said it is not a human error.. So we can bring out the cliche "iPad2 Kills".
The details of the accident / incident is not clear but there are scores of fire trucks at the scene and the place is chaos.
What ever the case, I think the iPad2 supply (1 to 2 weeks waiting time) will be the focus of the incident rather than the loss of human life.
Well I am waiting for Asus Transformer.
Micgadget Via Gizmodo

Modu Patent Portfolio In Googles Hands Foe $4.9 Million.

Modu Patent Portfolio  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Google have received permission to purchase the patent portfolio of now defunct, Modu, a modular Cellular phone company.The Israeli company came forward in 2008 with miniscule phone that could fit into different sleeves and perform different tasks.
But there were no carriers to support the phone like other industry leading cell phone. Modu produced a bunch of small cell phones and even prepared for an IPO. Instead, Modu was forced to close the doors. May be we will see some modular Android phone or the likes of it.
Via BGR

iPlayboy Brings Every Playboy Magazine Ever Published On your iPad For $9 A Month.

Playboy Magazine On your iPad http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you are one of those intrigued by those cartoons, stories and other stuff  on the playboy magazine, now you can pick all the issues, on your iPad, for a monthly subscription fee of $9, or $4.50 for three days.
If you thought Apple has gone bonkers, hold your horses, It is not an iPad App like iPhone playboy App,  it is a web based service and could be watched on any web accessible device.

From the inaugural issue with Marilyn Monroe to the current issue with rock heiress Lizzy Jagger on the cover, iPlayboy features every pictorial, interview, Centerfold, investigative reporting piece, story, advertisement and image that ever appeared in the magazine, more than 130,000 pages in total.  Readers can search for a groundbreaking interview they read years ago, find classic fiction, or read about the most-recent celebrity cover model, all in one place.  The site will be updated with each monthly issue so that it includes current content as well as archival features and pictorials.

In addition to providing users with access to all issues from December 1953 to present, the site will also feature exclusive videos and curated content recommendations submitted by members of the Playboy Commission, a high-profile panel of celebrated individuals from art, design, fashion, media and technology.  Commission members will provide their own content suggestions from the Playboy archives for users to explore and enjoy each month, beginning in June

Playboy Press release via  Techcrunch

snom COO Mike Storella And TMCnet CEO Rich Tehrani Talks About UC, snom One Plus

snom COO Mike Storella And TMCnet CEO Rich Tehrani http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Watch two of the digital voice industry heads talk shop.

Verizon Wireless Brings 4G LTE To Nine More Cities.

Verizon Wireless 4G LTE http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Verizon Wireless is bringing their 4G LTE wireless network to nine additional metropolitan areas today, as well as expanding the 4G LTE network in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans and Philadelphia. The wireless leader announced today the 4G LTE network is now available in Mobile and Montgomery Ala.; Greater Fairfield and New Haven, Conn.; Gainesville, Pensacola and Tallahassee, Fla.; Fayetteville-Lumberton, N.C.; and Bryan-College Station and Temple-Killeen, Texas.
 “We’re now offering consumers and businesses in 55 metropolitan areas the most advanced 4G wireless network on the planet, while continuing to offer the nation’s most reliable 3G network coast to coast. We plan to bring 4G LTE mobile broadband to our entire 3G coverage area by the end of 2013.” said David Small, chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless.
With the faster network coming up, users have several devices to access the blazingly fast speeds of the 4G LTE network. These include the newly-launched DROID Charge by Samsung and ThunderBolt™ by HTC smartphones, MiFi® 4510L 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot and Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot. Laptop users can enjoy speeds up to 10 times faster than the company’s 3G network with three USB modems from Novatel, Pantech and LG. In real-world, fully-loaded network environments, 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink.
When customers travel outside of a 4G coverage area, the devices automatically connect to Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, enabling customers to stay connected from coast to coast.


Via Engadget

Motuto, Live Tutoring Launched, Available On iPad And iPhone.

Motuto, Live Tutoring Launched On iDevices Soon On Android http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you thought those iPads and XOOMs did nothing to boost knowledge of your kids or any youngsters,  think again, Motuto, a live tutoring app has come to iPad and iPhone. I personally do not see this app being much useful on an iPhone as it is more suited to a tablet with a larger screen.

Motuto operates in a unique pattern as well. Students install the free app from the iTunes store, students are able to select from a range of subjects to get tutored on. The subject matter covers much of K-12 math and sciences. For all these subjects, Motuto has tutors on standby.  If a student requests, he or she is connected to the next available tutor. In case there there is a wait, the student is alerted via a message when the tutor becomes available. Either case when the tutor becomes available, a 20 minute tutoring session starts ticking. Tutor and student communicate via text chat, and they are also able to take and send snaps of relevant material pertaining to the study to the tutor. There is a real-time, two-way whiteboard runs alongside for demonstrations and sketches etc. All the session material are stored on the device for later studying, e-mailing, printing and sharing.

So the next is the price for the session, it is free for the first session and $5 for a 20 minute session there after. Well two questions come to my mind, can a real tutoring be done in 20 Min and is it worth $5 per 20 Min. Perhaps it would have been better to advertise $15 per hour in 20 min increments with each increment being $5.
For now, you can find the free app at iTunes and more information about the tutoring site here. They say an Android version will soon follow.

Samsung Galaxy S series Get Cyanogen ROM Support

Cyanogen On Samsung Galaxy S series http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Captivate and Samsung Vibrant have all graduated to have Cyanogen (MOD) support. The Samsung i9000, T-Mobile Vibrant, and AT&T Captivate were under development for a while and Cyanogen (mod) just announced that it has been completed.So if you visit Cyanogen you will find the official nightly ROMs available for your device, allowing you to join and enjoy Cyanogenmod 7 and Android 2.3.4 like the vast array of Cyanogen users do.

If you do not know what Cyanogen Mod is, you need to wake up and study a bit. For now, CyanogenMod  is a customized ROM or firmware distribution for several Android devices. After visiting Cyanogen site, you can check out supported devices and how to install Cyanogen Mod on those devices. Cyanogen is based on Google's Android Open Source Project, and of course designed to increase performance and reliability over vendor and carrier ROMs released by  Google, T-Mobile, HTC, etc. CyanogenMod also has variety features & enhancements that are not found in the official versions of Android ROMs.
Follow the link below to learn about and down load the Samsung i9000, T-Mobile Vibrant, and AT&T Captivate ROMs.
Via Cyanogen Blog

Did Google And Amazon Help Apple To Get On Music Cloud Sooner?

Apple  Music Cloud http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
After signing up with Warner Music earlier and now that Apple got EMI music (via CNET) on it's side, looks like the cloud streaming business is totally on it's side. You might wonder what about the other two big players in the music field? Sony and Universal?? yes they too seem to be on the way to sign on with Apple according to the same source.
Even though Apple has not announced about it's cloud streaming service, it has been at it for a while, discussing deals with the likes of Warner, EMI, Sony and Universal. According to CNET, all might be in Apple's bag, whether they want or not. Perhaps, the services from Google and Amazon may have accelerated these music labels jumping in with Apple that they do not like very much.
The license free or license less service from Google and Amazon has been announced without support from Music labels, in fact that have been crying foul all along. Now that Apple has Music labels on it's side will be able to offer much more services and enhancements than Google and Amazon could. So we might hear a different tune from Apple at this year's WWDC in June.
read more at CNET

Ericsson Sails Clear Into ClearWire Management!

Ericsson will manage Clearwire for next seven years. http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Clearwire just announced that they are handing over day to day management tasks of the ClearWire into the hands of Ericsson, a managed service company. With the management handover, approximately 700 Clearwire employees are expected to begin performing their network functions as Ericsson employees in locations around the United States.
Ericsson already manages the Sprint Network and perhaps this unified management, eventually make Sprint Clearwire unification easier.
Following is the statement by ClearWire;

We just announced today that Ericsson, the industry leader in managed services, will manage the day-to-day operations of the Clearwire 4G network. The seven-year, managed services partnership will allow Ericsson to implement their proven global best practices in network management while allowing Clearwire to focus on increasing operational efficiencies and reducing operating costs.

So what does this mean for the folks that built the nation’s first 4G network? We’re happy to report that approximately 700 Clearwire employees are expected to begin performing their network functions as Ericsson employees in locations around the United States before the middle of this year. This also means that network performance isn’t going to suffer because the work we’re seamlessly transitioning to Ericsson will still be performed by the same skilled and talented network employees who perform the work today.

What about our customers, you say? As we just mentioned network performance won’t be an issue so they’ll still have the same great 4G experience. But also, customers will see no change in their interactions with Clearwire because we will remain the priority point of contact. (The same is true for our wholesale partners and vendors.)

As for the significance of this anouncement? We want to direct your attention to a third-party perspective that we found to be quite profound.

“This managed services partnership is the next logical step for both Clearwire and Ericsson, one that will have significant near -term and long-term benefits for Clearwire’s employees, customers, retail distributors and investors,” observed Berge Ayvazian, Senior Consultant with Heavy Reading. “It also represents Ericsson’s second managed services contract in the U.S., building on the Network Advantage agreement that has already delivered major operational and economic benefits for Sprint.”

In short, while we have entered into an agreement with a company whose core competency is network excellence, Clearwire will continue to own our 4G network and remain responsible for network design, network strategy, vendor selection and long-term investment decisions. Our network is still ours – Ericsson is just managing it – allowing us to streamline the business and deliver a high-quality mobile broadband experience to our customers.

Clearwire via DslReports

Novus Resellers Gets A Limited Time Konftel For Polycom Conference Phones In A Competitive Replacement Program

Konftel For Polycom Conference Phones http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Novus, a boutique telecommunications and IP distributor serving value-added resellers throughout North America, is offering it's resellers limited time Trade-In program for Select Polycom Conference Units Credit Toward Konftel Units that Offer Superior Microphones, Excellent Sound Quality offered in an Elegantly packaged Design.

FAIRFIELD, CT, May 17, 2011—In an effort to aggressively introduce Europe’s leading conference phone to United States resellers, Novus, a boutique telecommunications and IP distributor serving value-added resellers throughout North America, is offering a competitive replacement program of Polycom conference phones with Konftel conference units. This limited-time promotion is available through May 31, 2011, and it is backed by a Try and Buy program that allows resellers to try the Konftel units at no charge if they return them within 30 days.

“Polycom has tremendous brand recognition in the U.S., but Konftel has remarkable technology and offers a memorable user experience,” said Novus Managing Partner Chris Meehan. “This is an exciting opportunity for resellers to carry a differentiated product with cutting-edge technology and better margins. Konftel’s forward-thinking design creates a great opportunity to call on existing enterprise customers with an attractive product that costs less than comparable Polycom conference units with a better warranty— 2-years—and it enhances the user experience by delivering noticeably superior call quality.”

Konftel has been the dominant supplier of conference phones in Europe since 1988. All Konftel conference phones feature high-quality audio technology known as OmniSound®, providing high-quality sound to all parties. Users can talk and move freely in the meeting room, and remote participants on the call will never notice a change in the audio quality. No irritating sound clipping, crackles, damping, or echoes. OmniSound, with its full duplex communications and 360 degree sound pick-up, offers users the benefit of enjoying an excellent sound, every time—in every situation. The microphone provides omnidirectional sound pick-up and the three built-in surround speakers fill the room with crystal-clear sound.

To take advantage of this competitive replacement program, resellers can call Novus at (866) 331-1112 and provide the model numbers and quantities of the Polycom conference units they would like to trade in for Konftel units. All qualifying Polycom units must be in good working condition, contain all power supplies and cords and be cosmetically acceptable with unscratched housings. Novus will provide pricing and shipping information, and Novus’ expert staff will help resellers select the ideal Konftel units for their needs.

“Our products support connection to a wide range of devices, which is important to have in times when telecom is merging into IT. Konftel opens up a variety of applications for having audio conferencing. Whether you communicate via your mobile, over the Internet, or through a regular phone line, good sound quality is the most important for efficient communication, and Konftel has a solution for every situation”, said Clarence Jacobson, VP at Konftel.

Resellers can also contact Novus at (866) 331-1112 to order a Konftel unit through the Try and Buy program a free 30-day trial. “Konftel conference phones are the coolest looking and best sounding units available, enabling resellers an opportunity to differentiate themselves in the market,” said Meehan. “Everybody carries Polycom today, limiting the resellers’ abilities to differentiate their offerings. In addition, not enough companies deploy true conference phones in conference rooms, so there’s a real opportunity for resellers to engage enterprise customers with an attractive and cost-effective family of conferencing units that offer superior sound at a time when companies are cutting back on travel budgets and utilizing conference calling to a far greater extent.”

Meehan added, “The technology is so good that Avaya just recently acquired Konftel, so it is a perfect time for U.S. resellers to capitalize on superior technology already well-established in European markets to reenergize existing accounts and attract new ones. Avaya's intention was to gain access to the world-leading audio technology OmniSound and Konftel's product portfolio for Avaya's solutions. The Konftel brand remains, and the company will continue to develop, support, and sell conference phones under the Konftel flag.”

Novus sells and supports Allworx, Epygi, ESTOS, Ferrari Electronics, Primus Cable, SmartVue, Phybridge, VXi, Konftel, NEC, and snom technology products. Novus also supports legacy products of Nortel, Mitel, Avaya, and Vodavi. For more information, visit www.novusllc.com or call (866) 331-1112.

The Secrets of SIP Trunking : A Seminar At IAUG

The Secrets of SIP Trunking http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
This Seminar aims to show people how SIP trunking is displacing traditional technologies on its way to becoming the leading service for Voice provisioning. The focus is in how SIP trunks works along with ensuring they are Secure, Reliable and able to deliver well into the future and offer new features as they become available. The Seminar also fully intends to shake things up and tell people what to watch out for when entering the SIP trunk market and why things will not always go as planned. With a whole list of Gotchas to run through, delegates will learn that SIP trunking is most certainly the future but the road to this end will not be a smooth one.By meeting the Seminar objectives of Informing, guiding and making people think; delegates will walk away with an understanding of SIP Trunking along with a lot of food for thought on a technology that's new and exciting but can also be fraught with interoperability issues that can quite often makes grown men cry.

Session Number: 10024
Track: Professional Development
Room: Neopolitan 4
Session Type: General Sessions
Presenter: (The SIP School)
Time: May 25, 2011 (08:30 AM - 09:30 AM)

REGISTRATION SITE IS HERE 

Professional Roadmap: Managerial
Experience Level: Basic/Introductory Overview
Category: General Overview
Objective #1:: Generate an understanding that SIP Trunking is the Future and to prepare for it.
Objective #2:: Understand how to approach Service providers in order to understand what they do offer and should offer an enterprise. i.e. How not to get caught out with a 'poor' provider.
Objective #3:: Understand some of the technical challenges of getting SIP Trunking right 'before' you even talk to a provider.

BT Engage Meeting Mobile For Android, Video Conferencing Controller For BT Conferencing.

BT Engage Meeting Mobile For Android, .http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
BT Engage Meeting Mobile For Android, which is also available for iPhone and iPad allows mobile hosts to, initiate a video conference call, add users, control the meeting like ending or extending using an Android device. This app can also remotely monitor equipment to check on system performance and check and attend to trouble tickets.
According to vision2mobile, the app is compatible with Video Conferencing devices from Cisco, LifeSize, Polycom and TANDBERG. It also works together with BT Conferencing's BT Engage Meeting Manager, a Web-based tool that features an intuitive conference wizard, meeting templates, custom directories, B2B scheduling, iCal integration and a suite of online reporting tools.
The BT Engage Meeting Mobile For Android could be downloaded from Android Market and corresponding Apps for iDevices could be found on iTunes.
BT Engage Meeting Mobile For Android via Vision2mobile

IOIO=Android Based Cellular Printer Makes Graffiti Out Of Your SMS, Twitter And Other Messages.

IOIO=Android Based Cellular Printer  http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/

If you did not have enough with sharing your thoughts and feelings on the likes of Twitter or via SMS, now you can let the general public also know by printing / painting them on walls, with the help of IOIO=Android Based Cellular Printer. Hope the graffiti police won't get you.

The device, like those pin printers we used to see in labs, is a manually held device using seven markers to print digital messages on any flat surface like a wall. Seven individually controlled servo motors move the markers up and down, drawing dots and dashes all the while compensating for speed you are moving the printer over a surface..
I an sure if I want that but there might be people who would like it like Liat Segal, the inventor. I certainly would like to have an IOIO board;

The IOIO (pronounced "yo-yo") is a board specially designed to work with your Android device (OS versions 1.5 and greater). The board provides extensive and robust connectivity to an Android device via a USB connection. The IOIO is fully controllable from within an Android application, using a simple and intuitive Java API - no embedded programming or external programmer will ever be needed, even for firmware upgrades!

Liat Segal, the inventor
IOIO

Double The Does, Motorola Droid X2 Is Coming To Verizon

Motorola Droid X2 http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Putting an end to months of speculations and rumors, Motorola and Verizon Wireless has announced that Motorola Droid X2 will be available beginning May 19th.
Droid X2 comes with a dual-core 1 GHz CPU, a 4.3-inch scratch-resistant, anti-reflective qHD display and an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and HD video recording ability as well as HDMI connection to display those videos on a large screens.
The Droid X2 comes with Android 2.2 but soon will have upgraded to Android 2.3 putting it in par with other newer phones.
The mobile hot spot feature will allow users to share the 3G connection with up to five users.

Following is the press release by Motorola;

DROID X2 by Motorola Coming to Verizon Wireless with Double the Power, Double the Does

Fast and Powerful DROID X² by Motorola to be Available Online Beginning May 19

May 18, 2011

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.– Verizon Wireless and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI), today announced the second-generation Android™-powered DROID X2 by Motorola, designed for the consumer who does everything on their smartphone.

Fly through the Web with the DROID X2, which boasts Verizon Wireless’ first dual-core 1GHz processor for fast webpage loading and Adobe^® Flash^® Player, allowing customers to experience rich content online. The 4.3-inch scratch-resistant and anti-reflective qHD display delivers a sharp, clear view ideal for watching movies, typing emails and playing your favorite games. Never miss a moment using the 8-megapixel camera with continuous autofocus and stunning HD video capture. Use the new Gallery app to view, tag and post photos on sites like Flickr^® and Facebook^®, all from one place.

Additional features:

• Powered by Android 2.2, to be updated to Android 2.3
• Mirror Mode allows you to view and share your photos, videos and downloaded movies on a larger TV via HDMI output
• Enterprise-ready with security and IT-grade policies, allowing you to use your DROID X2 for work and play
• Support for Google™ Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Talk™, Google Search™, and Google Maps™, as well as access to more than 200,000 apps available to download from Android Market™
• Mobile Hotspot capability, allowing you to share your 3G connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices
• Virtual QWERTY keyboard featuring SWYPE technology for quick and easy typing of messages and emails

Pricing and availability:

• The DROID X2 will be available online at www.verizonwireless.com on May 19 and in Verizon Wireless Communication Stores on May 26for $199.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
• DROID X2 customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a smartphone data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access and an unlimited smartphone data plan is $29.99 for monthly access.

Twitter Releases A HTML5 Based Twitter For Mobile Browsers,

Twitter For Mobile Browsers, http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
While it is only available for some Android and iDevice users, Twitter has released a HTML5 based client for Mobile browsers, another Mobile Twitter. Those who have tested, like Om Malik, swear by it as being wonderful.
According to Om Malik, it is fast, it is similar to the desktop version of the Twitter client and allows on to indulge in daily doze of twittering.

Twitter had this to say about the app;

"The app is fast – you can quickly scroll through your timeline, move between tabs and compose Tweets. It’s rich – it takes advantage of capabilities that high-end device browsers offer, such as touch gestures and a large screen. And it’s simple – it’s easy-to-use and has the features you’d expect from a Twitter application, including your timeline, @mentions, messages that you can read in conversation view, search, trending topics, lists, and more."

Twitter via GigaOM

RIM Recalls About 1000 Blackberry Playbooks

Playbook recall http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
According to an statement posted on Crackberry, RIM is recalling about 1000 Blackberry Playbooks. The reason seem to be a bad build of the tablet OS which seem to render the tablet unusable.

RIM determined that approximately one thousand BlackBerry PlayBook tablets (16 GB) were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up.
The majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven't reached customers. RIM is working to replace the affected devices.
In the small number of cases where a customer received a PlayBook that is unable to properly load software upon initial set-up, they can contact RIM for assistance. 

Crackberry also has a list serial numbers that are affected. Follow the link to see if yours is recalled. It seems that these faulty tablets were shipped to Staples Inc stores.
Crackberry

Sprint, Verizon At Top While Customer satisfaction with AT&T, T-Mobile drops.

SPRINT has happiest customers http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Sprint which used to be the last in customer satisfaction among the Big 4 national wireless carriers, has come a long way to join long-time leader Verizon Wireless, in equal ranks, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey.
ACSI also shows declines in customer satisfaction at AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA. Perhaps the effects of AT&T has agreed to buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in a deal that could close next year.

Customer satisfaction with wireless telephone service drops 1.4% to an ACSI score of 71, but remains much stronger than it was prior to 2010. Customer satisfaction with the cell phone devices themselves also dips slightly, down 1.3% to 75, with Motorola (+1% to 77) outpacing last-place Nokia (-4% to 73), whose U.S. market share has contracted.

The aggregate of smaller wireless providers, such as TracFone and U.S. Cellular, continues to lead the category, up 1% to an ACSI score of 77. Among the big providers, Verizon Wireless dips 1% for a second straight year, falling to 72 to tie Sprint Nextel, which continues its upward trend, rising 3% following consecutive double-digit gains. In just three years, Sprint has emerged from 15 points below even the second worst in the category to claim a share of the industry lead.

In the wake of their proposed merger, AT&T and T-Mobile show a large deterioration in customer satisfaction and in customer service. T-Mobile falls 4% to an ACSI score of 70, matching a 5-year low, while AT&T descends by 4% to 66, its worst score since 2006—the year before the launch of the iPhone.

“It is common to find a reduction in customer satisfaction after mergers, but it is rare for customer satisfaction to drop ahead of a merger,” said Fornell. “Assuming the deal is approved, it remains to be seen if a much larger AT&T can regain the strength of its customer relationships.”
In addition to Wireless Telephone Services, the ACSI survey also covers Fixed-Line Telephone Service,Subscription TV Service, Computer Software and Information and Entertainment Media. Complete press release below.
ACSI Survey

ACSI: Customer Satisfaction Turns Positive Despite Drop for Information Services

Few Information Providers Improve Their Customer Relationships; Large Drops for AT&T, T-Mobile, Nokia, and DISH Network
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (May 17, 2011)—After two quarters of negative change, customer satisfaction as measured by the ACSI turns positive this quarter, but only because gains in the utilities and health care sectors, released in April, more than offset a drop for the information sector. For the first quarter of 2011, the Index rises 0.4% to 75.6 on the ACSI’s 0-100 scale.
“For an economic recovery to take hold and generate long-term profit potential, which would be necessary in order to make a significant dent in unemployment, repeat business is going to be critical. And, for that to occur, customer satisfaction is important,” said Claes Fornell, founder of the ACSI and author of The Satisfied Customer: Winners and Losers in the Battle for Buyer Preference. “However, in view of the lack of overall strength in aggregate customer satisfaction, it is difficult to envision much of an increase in consumer spending in the near future, except from inflation in gasoline, commodity, and food prices.”
Even though customer satisfaction in the aggregate rises, the news for the information sector is mixed. The sector as a whole drops 0.7% to 72.3, second lowest in ACSI next to government services, and many more companies decline than improve. For this release, ACSI covers customer satisfaction with information services, including cell phones, computer software, fixed-line and wireless telephone service, motion pictures, newspapers, subscription TV service, and TV news.
Wireless Telephone Service
Customer satisfaction with wireless telephone service drops 1.4% to an ACSI score of 71, but remains much stronger than it was prior to 2010. Customer satisfaction with the cell phone devices themselves also dips slightly, down 1.3% to 75, with Motorola (+1% to 77) outpacing last-place Nokia (-4% to 73), whose U.S. market share has contracted.
The aggregate of smaller wireless providers, such as TracFone and U.S. Cellular, continues to lead the category, up 1% to an ACSI score of 77. Among the big providers, Verizon Wireless dips 1% for a second straight year, falling to 72 to tie Sprint Nextel, which continues its upward trend, rising 3% following consecutive double-digit gains. In just three years, Sprint has emerged from 15 points below even the second worst in the category to claim a share of the industry lead.
In the wake of their proposed merger, AT&T and T-Mobile show a large deterioration in customer satisfaction and in customer service. T-Mobile falls 4% to an ACSI score of 70, matching a 5-year low, while AT&T descends by 4% to 66, its worst score since 2006—the year before the launch of the iPhone.
“It is common to find a reduction in customer satisfaction after mergers, but it is rare for customer satisfaction to drop ahead of a merger,” said Fornell. “Assuming the deal is approved, it remains to be seen if a much larger AT&T can regain the strength of its customer relationships.”
Fixed-Line Telephone Service
As telecommunications companies devote fewer resources to the shrinking fixed-line telephone business, customer satisfaction falls by 2.7% to an ACSI score of 73. The aggregate of smaller local and long distance providers such as Vonage and Frontier also falls 3% to a score of 76, but remains ahead of the top two larger companies: Qwest at 73 (+1%) and Cox Communications at 72 (-3%).
Other major fixed-line providers either decline or are statistically unchanged. AT&T drops 5% to 71, erasing the gain it earned one year ago and tying Verizon (down 3%). CenturyLink is unchanged at 70. Comcast advances for a second straight year, up 1% to 69, but remaining at the bottom of the industry.
Subscription TV Service
Customer satisfaction with subscription TV service is unchanged at an ACSI score of 66, a year after surging 4.8% to an all-time high. Quality, especially from fiber-optic and satellite, has improved in recent years, but higher fees are significantly dampening customer satisfaction, more so than in other industries.
“Bundling of services such as phone and Internet access may have been both a blessing and a curse for the industry,” said Fornell. “A couple of years ago, a variety of bundling promotions boosted what people saw as value for money; but now, as many of these promotions have ended, subscribers with bundled services are becoming less satisfied and more concerned about price.”
Verizon’s fiber-optic service, FiOS, holds the top ACSI spot for a second straight year even though its ACSI score drops slightly by 1% to 72. DIRECTV is next at 69 (+1%), recapturing the satellite lead from DISH Network, which falls 6% to 67. AT&T’s U-verse, Verizon’s fiber-optic competitor, drops 6% to 68. Customer complaints about picture quality, particularly for HD channels, have increased, as AT&T grapples with bandwidth challenges across several of its telecommunications services.
Cox Communications remains the highest-scoring cable provider (unchanged at 67), well above the other three cable companies. Comcast (-3%), Time Warner (-3%), and Charter Communications (-2%) are all tied at the bottom of the industry with ACSI scores of 59.
Computer Software
Customer satisfaction with software surpasses all other information-related categories, rising 2.6% to an all-time high ACSI score of 78. Smaller software companies like Adobe, Intuit, and Symantec lead, up 3% to 79, with Microsoft close behind after a 3% improvement to 78. This year marks a third straight year of ACSI gains for Microsoft. Nevertheless, recent sales of Windows software have declined as a result of a similar drop-off in PC shipments. Customers are more satisfied with Microsoft software, but, for now, the company is selling less of it.
Information and Entertainment Media
Reader satisfaction with the waning newspaper industry is unchanged at a very weak score of 65—the lowest of all ACSI categories. Both TV news and motion pictures do better, but they are moving in opposite directions. Network and cable TV news programs improve 4% to 77, while motion pictures retreat 4% to 73.
About ACSI
The American Customer Satisfaction Index is a national economic indicator of customer evaluations of the quality of products and services available to household consumers in the United States. ACSI releases results for various sectors of the economy on a monthly basis to provide up-to-the-moment coverage over the entire calendar year. The national index is updated each quarter and factors in scores from more than 225 companies in 47 industries and from government agencies over the previous four quarters. The Index was founded at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and is produced by ACSI LLC.

Android Tablets Will Overtake Apple iPads, Like Android Phones Did With iPhones : Nvidia

Android Tablets Challenge Apple's dominance in tablet market http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
Nvidia co-founder Jen-Hsun Huang at Reuters Summit has told that Android tablets powered by Nvidia processors will surpass Apple's market-leading iPad's leading position that it enjoys today. Just like the Android phones won the smartphone market share over from iPhone.
Nvidia's Huang told at the Reuters technology conference that Apple's lead in tablet computers will soon diminish with better, faster Android tablets, most of which are powered by Nvidia Tegra 2 processors.

"The Android phone took only two and a half years to achieve the momentum that we're talking about. I would expect the same thing on Honeycomb tablets,"

Apple currently enjoys the marked lead in tablets with iPads. The original iPad was a huge success and the next iteration, iPad2 has only helped the cause.
But leading manufacture's creations like Motorola XOOM, Acer's Iconia, Asus Eee Pad Transformer, Samsung's Galaxy Tab and even Barnes & Noble's Nook Color are marching forward.
It is products like Asus Eee Pad Transformer that will be the challenger for iPad dominance. With prominant capabilities and proper pricing, they become attractive to customers. Asus Eee Pad Transformer was sold out everywhere and I am waiting for the next shipment as I have passed over Motorola XOOM as my personal Android Tablet.

The upcoming Nvidia's next generation processor – codenamed Kal-El might give the Android tablets it's push against the Apple. Kal-El will boast quad-core processing and higher-resolution graphics as competitors Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Texas Instruments (TXN.N) also gear up to launch new tablet chips.  According to Huang, the processor had already earned a place in the plans of ten major next-gen devices.

"It's got to be at least ten. We have five major phone companies and we have five major PC (manufacturers),"

Huang also mentioned that Android OS is evolving;

"As a result of so many different parties working together, the first versions tend to be a bit clumsy to roll out. However, as is the nature of these organic industries with very, very large players, you have continuous improvement at a very rapid pace, Everyone recognized the shortcomings of Honeycomb 3.0, jumped in working on Honeycomb 3.1, and if you haven't had a chance to play with it -- it's just delightful,"

Via Reuters

Is your GMail Down? For Me It Is!

UPDATE: Server is back up and I am getting my email.

GMail Down http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
I know this should be a tweet but since my posts get tweeted anyways, I decided to post here.
I use GMail in a big way and just now I have been trying to reach my GMail server for a while and the server could not be found> All other Google services seem to be fine.

Chrome OS 12, Chrome 12, Goes Beta

We all were introduced to new Chromebook and those new note/net books were running Chrome OS R12, or Chrome 12. We were also told that the release will be built and shipped with the new Chrombooks, when shipped.

The new beta channel update, (R12 release 0.12.433.38) brings us, Chrome 12 Beta, new trackpad, new flash player and several stability and functional improvements over the previous release. Well time to update the CR-48 now.
Following security features / fixes are also added;

• Disallow root escalation by creating /var/lib/chromeos-aliases.conf and inserting commands. [Credit to Chrome OS Team (Sean Paul)]
• Disallow modification of about:flags in Guest mode [Credit to Chrome OS Security Team (Jim Hebert)]
• Multiple package updates (openssl, dbugs, pango, sudo, strongswan, acl, libxml2, dhcpd) [Credit to Chrome OS Security Team]

The Chrome OS R12 carries in addition to the browser according to the Chrome 12 blogpost ,

• File browser
• Shiny new look
• Improvements to GSM support
• Verizon activation improvements
• New Flash player
• Feedback link is now under the wrench menu (“Report an issue”)
• 3G connection to the carrier fixes
• Wi-Fi connectivity/Out of the Box fixes
• New trackpad and sensitivity setting adjusted
• Auto update engine and debugging improvements
• Power optimizations
• GTalk video/chat optimizations
• Improved on screen indicators: brightness, network status, update icon

Enjoy your Chrome and you can learn more about Chrome 12 at Chrome Blog.
Google Chrome Releases: Chrome OS Beta Channel Update

http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/