One of a kind phone from Accton, the VM1188T is a VoWifi phone. It is designed for users who need mobility of WIFI and the cost saving of VoIP. The VM1188T is intended to help users make SIP calls without the hassle of turning on your computer.

Based on a standard modulation of WIFI, it is compatible with almost all standard 802.11b/g access points. Users can use the phone to call both PSTN and SIP networks, as long as a trunking gateway is available at the CO side.

There is no need for users to remember any SSID or security key of each AP, since the VoWifi phone will store all the configurations and connect to the access points automatically on boot up. Pairing up with the cradle access point CAP2316A, it is guaranteed to be interference free.

A few features that the VoWifi phone offers include:

• Open Standard SIP v2 Support
• Enhanced Power Saving Design for Extended Standby and Talk Time
• Industry-standard 802.11b/g Network Compatibility
• Roaming between APs

SightSpeed, Inc. is the leading provider of free and premium Internet video and voice communications services (VVoIP and VoIP). The SightSpeed community and software enable consumers and small businesses to make the best quality video and voice calls and to send video mail over the Internet. SightSpeed’s award winning service turns a PC or Mac into an easy-to-use video phone to communicate with friends, family and colleagues around the world.

SightSpeed is easy to install, simple to use, and was designed from the ground up to deliver superior voice and video quality on everyday computers and consumer broadband connections. Unlike the instant messaging or VoIP providers that treat video as an afterthought to their other features, SightSpeed was founded around the vision of bringing easy to use, great quality video solutions to consumers. SightSpeed has continued to differentiate its services by adding rich and innovative voice and video features including outbound and inbound telephony calling, integrated video mail, multi-party video conferencing, and a unique “click to call me” web address for every SightSpeed user.

SightSpeed’s standard service plan is free, and premium service plans are available for the power user or for commercial use.

Gizmo Project uses your internet connection (broadband or dial-up) to make calls to other computers. With the click of a mouse, you’re connected to friends, family, and colleagues anywhere on earth. It’s just that simple. You talk clearly. For as long as you want. For free.

And with inexpensive add-ons like Call In and Call Out, you can talk to any telephone–mobile or landline–on the planet. Any phone? YES, ANY phone. Download Gizmo Project, and suddenly it all clicks–some calls are better online. Any call to a Gizmo Project user is free. No matter when, no matter where, no matter how long. Free.

There’s no monthly service charge. Nor is there a set up cost. Gizmo Project is free. The only calls you could ever have to pay for are calls to offline phones, i.e. mobile phones and landlines. But with Gizmo Project Call Out credits these calls are cheap and easy to administer. Learn more about Call Out HERE.

Gabcast.com is a podcasting platform that offers an easy way to create and distribute audio content. Most people will use a phone to make their recordings but we also provide worldwide access to the service through VoIP.

Once you have made a recording and have published it, a newsfeed is immediately and automatically updated to alert subscribers to your channel.

What Can You Do With GabCast?

• You can embed a flash audio player into your personal or corporate website/blog and communicate with your friends/family/colleagues/customers
• You can voice your political opinions or use it as part of a political campaign
• You can record Greetings
• You can be a Citizen Reporter
• You can conduct Interviews
• You can use it as an Educational Tool
• You can use it for Get-togethers
• You can Speak Your Mind
• You can use it to describe an item for sale on Ebay (Show Me!)

The Yahoo! IM team just released the 3.0 version of Yahoo! IM for Mac. Yahoo! Messenger for Mac was last updated in September, 2003.

Its feature set is interesting, but it appears to lack two of the PC version’s most compelling qualities: VOIP and the growing library of plugins built on the recently released software development kit. It’s hard imagine using any single IM client on my Mac when Adium is available to connect with all major IM systems at once.

Here’s what it does have:

• A new interface built in Cocoa, very OS X looking.
• Avatars and animated emoticons, which I’m sure will appeal to a wide audience.
• Webcam support, compatible across PCs and Macs - though I personally IM when I don’t want to communicate intimately.
• Custom stealth settings, eg. everybody but my ex-girlfriend can see that I’m available if I don’t want to talk to her.
• Visual notifications using the Growl system.
• IM alerts for Yahoo! Calendar, Mail and Personals. Good idea on their part, but IM alerts for any RSS feed would be even better.

Coming soon: chat with Windows Live (MSN) users. It will be a beautiful day if even the smallest amount of forward progress towards IM compatibility appears. Hopefully the VOIP and plug-ins available to PC users are included in the future features of Yahoo! Messenger Mac.

Globe Dialer - You can try a sample call for free if you want to test your phone.

How it Works

Globe Dialer is an exciting new service that will save you lots of money when you make international calls directly from your mobile phone. And it’s so much easier than using a calling card.

Here’s how Globe Dialer works:

Globe Dialer is a software application that functions as a secondary phonebook for all of your international contacts. When you call a number from the Globe Dialer phonebook, the call will automatically be routed through our system.

You will still be using domestic minutes with your existing carrier, but the international component of the call will go through your Globe Dialer account – and be charged at calling card rates.

By Ed Sutherland
Online auction powerhouse eBay plans to integrate Skype, its $2.6 billion Voice over IP investment, into more than a dozen categories of listings.

From cars to cameras, a “Skype Me” button will allow buyers and sellers to stay in contact.

Last year, eBay bought Skype, insisting the purchase would enhance the online marketplace. Since then, the online auction house has looked for ways to integrate the Internet phone company amid skeptical Wall Street analysts.

“Skype represents a tremendous opportunity for our sellers to connect even more closely with their buyers,” Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America, said in a statement.

In the pilot program set to begin June 19, sellers can add a Skype Me button to listings. The button then appears in the “Ask a seller a question” section when buyers view the item.

Selecting the button will allow interested persons to contact the seller by voice, as well as text.

The service will be free once users download the Skype software and purchase headsets.

Read the rest of this entry »

In spite of its IPO flop, setbacks from the FCC, and increasing competition from cable outfits, the Internet phone upstart insists it’s thriving

How bad are things going to get for Internet phone upstart Vonage (VG)? At first, after its disastrous May 24 initial public offering (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/24/06, “Vonage’s Lackluster IPO”), investment analysts merely questioned whether the IPO had been overpriced. But now analysts are increasingly concerned about the company’s outlook. Some are even beginning to question Vonage’s long-term viability.

This week brought more bad news. On June 19, giant Verizon Communications (VZ) sued Vonage, alleging that the upstart was infringing on its patents. Then on June 21, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that Vonage and other Internet phone companies must contribute to the federal Universal Service Fund, just as regular phone companies do. Until now, Net phone providers have been exempt from the fees, which help provide phone service to rural and poor communities.

CONTINUED LOSSES. Additional expenses, whether government fees or legal charges, are the last thing Vonage needs. The company is struggling mightily to reach profitability. It lost $261 million last year, on sales of $269 million. While the company has plenty of cash now, including $531 million raised in the IPO and another $175 million, analysts are concerned that it may not be able to stem the red ink. Pyramid Research analyst Nick Holland estimates that Vonage losses will increase this year to $330 million. That’s why he issued a report this week suggesting that Vonage may be “toast.”

Vonage spokeswoman Brooke Schulz said the cash burn shouldn’t be considered in a vacuum. “You need to look at customer churn, acquisition costs, and operating losses together to build the business model. My conclusion is we have a healthy business here…We’re not toast,” she said. The real question is whether the company can acquire its customers in an efficient manner and thereby narrow its losses, she says.

Some analysts are concerned about Vonage’s ability to meet that challenge. Holland notes that marketing expenses for 2005 were a whopping 90% of revenues. That means that for every dollar in revenue, 90 cents went out the door to cover advertising and other promotional costs. In addition, the company has to spend money on basic necessities such as employee compensation, computer equipment, and real estate costs. It’s unclear what it will take to improve that expense ratio.

NEW FCC FEES. The FCC’s ruling on the Universal Service Fund certainly won’t help. Vonage’s required contribution to the the fund, according to Schulz, will be either 6.8% of all revenues or somewhat less if the company separates phone revenue from other revenue that is exempt from the government charges. She also noted that the government recently exempted Vonage and other Internet phone companies from an excise tax, which will offset much of the USF cost. Vonage put out a public statement on June 21, saying the net affect of the FCC decision would be a “slightly higher customer bill.”

The long-term pressure from rivals may be more severe. Big telecom and cable TV companies such as Verizon, AT&T (T), Cablevision (CVC), and Comcast (CMCSA) are rolling out packages that include Internet phone service, wireless phone service, high-speed Internet access and TV (see BusinessWeek.com, 5/5/06, “). It will be tough for Vonage to compete as a stand-alone service that doesn’t own its own networks. And it faces competition from services like the Skype unit of eBay (EBAY), which allow members to make free PC to PC calls to other members.

The rising pressure from cable companies offering Internet phone service persuaded Pali Research analyst Rich Greenfield to put a “sell” rating on Vonage on June 20. It was an abrupt turn for Greenfield. He put a sell on the company prior to the IPO, but raised his rating to neutral on June 2. Comments by Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge subsequently convinced him that Cablevision could beat Vonage in a price war, raising concerns about Vonage’s revenue outlook.

UPSTARTS CAN GO DOWN. There’s no question Internet phone service is a disruptive technology that poses a huge challenge to established phone companies. But there’s no law that says upstart phone companies, even ones that got to market early, are safe from the disruptive power of that technology.

Internet phone service will probably force big players like Verizon to lower the price of voice calls to something approaching zero. But the big players are investing in new lines of business such as superfast Internet access and TV carried over fiber-optic lines (see BusinessWeek.com 5/11/06, “Verizon Mulls Cash for its Lines”). Companies such as Vonage may be thrown out of the game whose rules they changed.