Business News Holding

Tag: mobile-voip

  • Cicero delivers Mobile Video over IP


    Cicero Networks has announced the release of CiceroPhone V2oIP (Voice and Video) for Nokia E series and N series handsets.

    In what it claims is the world’s first real-time, two-way IP video application for Nokia phones, the software enables high quality video telephony over Wi-Fi and 3G/4G networks.

    CiceroV2oIP provides video streaming using either the front or back camera on phones and simultaneously displays both the outgoing and incoming video streams to both parties on a call.

    The application also supports a range of half-duplex video applications, including “see-what-I-see” video sharing on any Series 60 Nokia device.

    Ross Brennan, CEO of Cicero Networks, said there was a demand from operators and service providers for services that made the most of both their fixed and mobile assets.

    CiceroPhone is SIP and 3GPP standards compliant, allowing it to be used in conjunction with an operator’s existing IP infrastructure.

    Cicero said that interoperability had already been proven with the IP and IMS communication platforms of the world’s leading network equipment providers.

  • EMCC Creates VoIP Engine For S60 Devices


    Mobile VoIP expert, EMCC Software, has developed a VoIP engine for Nokia’s S60 smartphone platform.

    Built-in VoIP capability has been absent from some of Nokia’s more recent models using S60.

    Garry Partington, CTO of EMCC, said this may present a significant barrier to companies wishing to create VoIP applications or provide VoIP services.

    “Our technical expertise and platform experience has enabled us to overcome a major hurdle that prevented effective deployment of a VoIP solution across the S60 platform which accounts for around 50 per cent of the smartphone market,” he said.

    “We were concerned that the uncertainty caused by the absence of such a solution on certain handsets may be a limiting factor for companies wishing to develop VoIP solutions.”

    EMCC’s cross-platform VoIP engine is capable of being installed on S60, Windows Mobile and other platforms that lack built-in VoIP capability.

    A fully functional engine, it does not rely on any of the in-built handset capabilities and can be deployed “Over the Air” (OTA).

  • Mobile Operator Extends Skype Calls To Landlines and Abroad


    From today, customers of mobile operator 3 in the UK and Ireland will be able to use their mobile phones to call landlines and mobiles abroad at low rates using Skype.

    The move applies to anyone using a Skype-enabled 3 mobile phone – including the 3 Skypephone range, Nokia N95 and Sony Ericsson C902.

    Access to Skype on 3 was already free and allowed Skype-to-Skype calls and Instant Messaging, regardless of the end user’s location.

    The new development now allows callers to get cheap Skype rates from their mobile phones to landlines and mobiles abroad.

    Scott Durchslag, COO of Skype, said the move was an industry first that allowed 3’s clients to use their mobiles to make calls regardless of where in the world they may be and what device they are using.

    Meanwhile, Skype’s desktop client continues its slow progress towards version 4.0 with a new beta release.

    The changes include system-tray alerts and drag-and-drop file transfer, as well as automatic grouping of contacts for those who have too many friends to manage manually.

    The move follows criticism from users after Skype issued the first beta of Skype 4.0 for Windows in June with radical design changes that put off some of the service’s over 300 million users.

  • Security Boost to TiVi Phone Mobile VoIP Software


    Tilts Visiem (TiVi) says it will be offering an “unbreakable” level of caller authentication and voice and video encryption in its mobile VoIP software client "TiVi Phone" after linking up with Philip R Zimmermann’s Zfone Project.

    The newer versions of TiVi Phone have a Phil Zimmermann’s ZRTP software library built in upon a commercial licence agreement between Tilts Visiem and Zfone.

    TiVi said this meant users enjoyed better privacy when using the mobile version of the software.

    The SIP-based application is downloadable from TiVi.com and usable in a 3-day trial mode, however permanent activation of the encryption feature requires purchasing a software key.

    Ivo Kutts, CEO and co-founder of Tilts Visiem, said TiVi Phone bundled with ZRTP was unique for several reasons.

    • it’s inexpensive in comparison to all known alternatives and older technologies
    • it’s easy to install and run by any smartphone owner
    • it’s one of the first encrypting VoIP applications for mobile phones.

    Kutts said that, in addition, ZRTP cryptography offered the ultimate protection against eavesdropping and identity spoofing during a VoIP call.

    "Zfone is the leading light in today’s secure VoIP communications because its algorithms and source code – developed by Phil Zimmermann and his colleagues – are publicly available and open to peer review,” he said. “This contrasts with the unverifiable security claims by Skype."

    Tilts Visiem’s VoIP/messenger products first appeared on the international market in 2003 in the PC version.

    In 2006, the company added mobile VoIP clients for Symbian, Windows Mobile and Pocket PC platforms, already including free, IP-based video calling.

    The TiVi VoIP solutions, intended for next-generation networks, are sold to integrators and competitive carriers in Europe, Asia and North America.

    The ZRTP protocol has some cryptographic features lacking in many other approaches to VoIP encryption.

    Although it uses a public key algorithm, it avoids the complexity of a public key infrastructure (PKI).

    It uses ephemeral Diffie-Hellman, and allows the detection of man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attacks by displaying a short authentication string for the users to verbally compare over the phone.

    The TiVi team had been looking for an industry-leading cryptography solution for several years before it met PGP’s author Zimmermann at San Jose’s VON 2007 event.

    Specialists in proprietary and interoperable VoIP billing solutions and end-user software, they said they were particularly aware of the imminent switchover to internet telephony and the proportionally growing demand for secure VoIP communications.

    This meant that more and more businesses and individuals realise the need to protect their legitimate interests and privacy, since unencrypted voice or video calls transmitted over the public internet can be intercepted by a variety of third parties.

    Phil Zimmerman said that as users transitioned from traditional phones to VoIP, there was a dramatically increased risk of being wiretapped by just about anyone, including criminals who seem to have their way with the rest of the Internet today.

    “TiVi Phone can protect individuals, companies, and government officials from eavesdropping by criminals,” he said.

  • Wireless VoIP May Improve with New Wireless Standard

    802.11r officially published after four years in the works

    The IEEE standards body has officially published the Wi-Fi protocol 802.11r.

    It has been in the works since 2004 and was finally approved by the body earlier this year.

    The new protocol is designed to allow for quick roaming between access points while maintaining security.

    Handoffs between access points that used to take seconds (and result in dropped calls) can now take place in less than fifty milliseconds.

    This improves connections between multiple private networks but is particularly beneficial to Wireless VoIP.

    Many believe that the publication of this standard will increase the widespread use of VoIP-on-the-go.

    Other, however, say that the cost of deploying 802.11 routers will prevent 802.11r from being useful as anything but an enterprise solution.

  • Vyke Launches Consumer Expat Marketing Campaign

    Cricket legend Sourav Ganguly appointed as brand ambassador


    Vyke Communications, the mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider, has announced the launch of its consumer marketing programme targeting the Asian expat communities.

    According to a recent national survey conducted by Vyke, expats spend more money on their mobile phones than they do on their food bills.

    With the desire to keep in touch with family and loved ones back home, texting internationally costs on average 25p per text, whereas, using Vyke’s FreeTxT application, costs are only 3p, or free if the recipient is also a Vyke user.

    The campaign is being supported by Indian cricket legend, Sourav Ganguly.

    The international sports star is frequently away from home on tour and finds technology such as Vyke’s VoIP help him to cost-effectively keep close to his family and friends.

    During a visit to the UK, Ganguly will be carrying out various media activities – web chats, radio and TV interviews discussing different ways of dealing with being away from your family, and demonstrating the benefits of Vyke’s service.

    Jan Berger, CMO, Vyke Communications said: “Our research clearly shows that 40 per cent of people from British ethnic communities keep in touch with their families back home by calls or text – an extremely costly habit to maintain. We are therefore very excited to launch this campaign.”

    As part of the programme, Vyke has launched an exclusive expat survival guide blog, www.vykehome.com, offering first-hand advice on coping with homesickness and adapting to life in the UK.

    Sourav himself will be writing a number of the blogs.

  • 3 UK launches next-generation Skypephone


    Mobile operator 3 UK has unveiled the next-generation Skypephone handset, the 3 Skypephone S2.
    The new device gives users access to Facebook, Google and Windows Live Messenger and enables free Skype calls and instant messaging.

    Available since the beginning of September, the 3 Skypephone S2 has a revolutionary ‘carousel’ interface, with switcher key on the side of the handset to move quickly between applications.

    It has an improved 2.2-in QVGA screen, 3.2-megapixel camera, HSDPA functionality and memory that is expandable to 4 GB.

    The new device can be used as a mobile broadband dongle through its built-in modem drivers.

    It allows users to track up to 30 RSS feeds at once and is offered for GBP 69.99 on Pay As You Go and for free on any Mix & Match contract.