VoIP Central

The entire telecom world depends on Internet phone service. A fast and reliable Internet phone service helps us stay connected with our friends and family. Communicating globally used to be a difficult affair a decade back. Technological advancements made it possible to make International calls at affordable rates. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology has revolutionized long distance communication.
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a digital technology that allows users to make PC-to-PC calls, as well as PC-to-Mobile calls. International calls have always been expensive. Even the most cost-effective mobile phone plans charge 13-15 cents per minute for international calls. VoIP is a cost-effective solution to conventional phone calling. This technology even facilitates video conferencing functionality. What would you do if you receive a rather huge phone bill in the middle of a month, and you do not have cash to pay the bill? Probably, you would apply for emergency cash loans. Even better, you can switch over to VoIP technology. How to use VoIP?

The first thing you would have to do is install VoIP software on your computer. You can also download the same on your mobile phone. The quality of VoIP services has improved significantly in recent times. Broadband usage has grown rapidly in the last few years. This has led to increased penetration of VoIP services in rural areas too. There are hundreds of VoIP providers competing with each other to provide affordable, quality VoIP services.

Which is the most popular VoIP service that is available for free? Skype has become synonymous with VoIP and vice versa. Skype allows users to make Skype-to-Skype calls, as well as Skype-to-Phone calls. Users have to buy Skype minutes to make Skype-to-Phone calls. VoIP services are available in three different models- ATA (Analog Telephone Adaptor), IP Phones, and PC-to-PC.

What are the benefits of using Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP? Unlike your regular phone, VoIP offers you cool features like call holding, call forwarding, multiple voicemail, and do not disturb (DND). Moreover, VoIP providers provide amazing call quality to users.

Cloud computing is a phenomenon that, although not a new concept by any means, is steadily taking the computing world by storm. One of the most popular uses of this method of computing is running your email via a cloud.

Cloud hosting is simply a phrase applied to the method of storing one’s information or data on a server instead of on your own computer. This has loads of benefits, the simplest of which being that you do not have to use your own resources (your own hard drive space and so forth) to store your files and data.

Running your email “on the cloud” is not actually a new concept, since many of us use cloud hosting services even if we hadn’t heard of the term “cloud” before. Services such as Gmail and Skype are excellent examples of this. The difference in using an exchange hosting service is that instead of having to use a “funnyname34@gmail.com” email, you will be able to use an email that is related to your own domain name.

Have you shelled out for an iPhone and are finding it not to be worth the hype? It’s time to get online and check out the wide range of apps, ringtones and a whole lot of other crazy stuff you can download to optimize and personalize your phone.

Hello Cow. This iPhone app is perfect for parents taking their young kids on road trips, or just to keep them entertained for long enough for you to get some (relatively) quiet time. The user pushes the on-screen cow to make it go “moo” in various different ways.

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. This beautifully crafted adventure game truly represents the potential of iPhone gaming. The graphics, gameplay, sound and longevity are some of the reasons that this has been rated as the iPhone Game of the Year.(1) Over rooms, spinning webs and catching enough food to sustain yourself from one level to the next. Highly recommended.

In this day and age, it seems like every activity a person could conceivably perform has been outsourced to some form of technology. I know I probably sound like a fuddy duddy when I say this, but my natural tendency any time I’m faced with a new technology is to ask, “Why exactly do I need this?” I mean, seriously, will one more gizmo make our lives any better, or actually save us time that we won’t just plug into one more repetitive, life energy sucking activity? In my case, it just might – but in your case, you’ll just go find some other way to drain your time.

Take this predictive dialer software they’ve got coming out now. Yes, please take it and go a long way with it, because it bears very little usefulness, unless you just can’t be bothered to dial a phone number. How it basically works is that you begin typing in your intended number, and the computer assumes it knows who you want to dial, before you’ve gotten more than a couple of numbers in. I see this having a few problems, aside from fostering even more laziness than we currently have in our society.

The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona could see a joint conference being hosted by Skype and Verizon Wireless collectively. Such speculations would mean a gear up for Skype over 3G on Verizon’s network. By using special Skype phones, users of the U.K.-based network carrier 3 are a fortunate few who are already using Skype calling on their cell phone network, but if the rumor is true, then things may soon be changing for good for all you fellows using Verizon, but would it involve the use of special phones as well or would the iPhone and the like, with some software/firmware, be good enough to handle the calls. This is something we’ll have to wait and watch for, until the speculations are official.

Via: TMCnet Bloggers

In an attempt to further develop its VoIP calling service, Skype has released beta versions of its VoIP calling service for Windows desktops and Symbian S60 handsets. The beta release of version 4.2 includes a range of improvements, including a browser plug-in for Chrome. The usual features include free Skype-to-Skype calls, instant messaging, file sending capabilities and low-cost non-Skype phone calls. The new version also brings with it the Skype Access that facilitates finding and signing up for Wi-Fi hotspots. Another version of the software is meant for the Symbian S60 devices. The limited beta release for Symbian Series 60 handsets is compatible with 17 Nokia handsets for now.

In order to perk up the Google Voice, the company has acquired Gizmo5, a Voice over the Internet Protocol network and software provider.

While there isn’t any official price listed as of now, but word on the Internet claim that it could have been for $30 million.

Seems Google is all set to spread out its voice operations in one way or another. This combined with the AdMob deal, the mobile advertising giant for $750 million in stock, makes one think if Google could build an ad-supported calling network, or any other combination of voice and advertisement, what do you say?

In order to get into the ‘multicultural’ land of Linux distributions, Skype has decided to work on an open source UI layer for its Linux VoIP client. Now the Linux developers would be in a position to influence the development of the Skype client for Linux, which would directly result in specific versions for the different distributions.

Availability

Skype 2.1 beta for Linux is available for free download now, here, for Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10+, Debian Lenny, Fedora 9 and 10+, OpenSUSE 11+, and as a Dynamic Static download.

Apple has approved VoIP application from Rebtel, a Stockholm-based company. At present, Rebtel is available to download from the iTunes store, as well as other VoIP applications like Skype. The service also works over AT&T’s 3G network, making it less necessary to have a Wi-Fi connection.

Although, Rebtel joins a growing rank of Internet telephony applications including Skype, Truphone, Nimbuzz, Fring and Vonage yet it is excited after getting green light from Apple and is looking forward to executing on some of the ideas they have planned for future updates.

Via: Gigaom

India would not allow any access to VoIP calls as the Intelligence Bureau (IB) wants to block all Internet Telephony Services.

IB asserted that the country is lacking the capability of tracking the telephony calls — both domestic & international — and had asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to find an “early solution to this issue in the interest of national security”.

According to TRAI, over 130 million minutes of internet telephony conversation happened in the Q1 of 2009 and there are 34 ISPs who provide net telephony service in India (legally).