voip

Tango video calling app gets optional incoming call toggle

April 26, 2012 | By Surur

The Tango video calling app recently got an update to version 1.7, and as if to flaunt the fact that it supports incoming calls when not running in the background in Skype’s face, the app has added a toggle to allow users to disable this feature.

The apps is important to demonstrate that not receiving VOIP calls in the background is not a platform limitation but due to Skype’s archaic code, and provides a handy, free and cross-platform alternative to Skype if this functionality is needed.

The Tango app can be downloaded from Marketplace here.

Via WindowsPhoneDaily.com

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Official Skype 1.0 for Windows Phone changelog (video)

April 23, 2012 | By Surur

Skype has posted the change log of the official final version of their app for Windows Phone 7.

New features include video calling in portrait mode and friend management capabilities including invite, accept invitations, block, and unblock contacts.

Skype for Windows Phone is also available in 18 languages: English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, and Traditional Chinese.

Microsoft promised many releases to come for Windows Phone with even more capabilities in the future “to enable experiences unmatched by any other app in the market.” Hopefully this means incoming calls will be on the way eventually.

The app has been tested and certified for the following Windows Phone to help ensure the best performance but will of course work on older devices:

• Nokia Lumia 710
• Nokia Lumia 800
• Nokia Lumia 900
• HTC Titan
• HTC Radar
• Samsung Focus S
• Samsung Focus Flash

Find Skype in Marketplace here.

Via Windowsphoneapps.es

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Viber coming to Windows Phone “very soon”

April 16, 2012 | By Surur

Viber is a cross platform mobile app that lets you make free phone calls (VOIP) and send text messages to anyone who also has the application installed, using your current list of contacts, much like Whatsapp.

We last posted on this software in February, when the company told us they would release a Windows Phone app as soon as their Blackberry app is out of the way.

There is still no sign of their Blackberry app yet (maybe the dying platform was placed on the back burner) but now reader Gurmit has forwarded an email to us from Viber support, suggesting the wait is nearly over.

It reads:

Thank you for contacting us.
You will be pleased to know that Viber for WP7 is coming very soon. Please stay tuned within the following week.
We will be announcing its publication, system req. and more, at that time.
Stay tuned for release updates, visit us on Facebook and Twitter:
http://facebook.com/viber
http://twitter.com/viberApp

Viber is already popular on the iOS & Android platforms and its great news to hear Windows Phone will soon also be able to take advantage of another messaging network.

Thanks Gurmit for the tip.

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textPlus chose Windows Phone over Blackberry: “ It’s pretty clear that Windows Phone … should eventually displace BlackBerry”

March 12, 2012 | By Surur

GigaOM reports TextPlus, who just launched a beta of their cross-platform text messaging app for Windows Phone, decided very consciously to develop for Windows Phone ahead of Blackberry.

“The second we saw the OS and (Nokia) Lumia devices, we knew we wanted to support it,” said Scott Lahman, CEO and founder of TextPlus. “It’s a beautiful OS with a fresh take on what a phone OS can look like and that’s motivation for us to innovate. The OS brings elements that would be buried vertically to the top and you can see all your conversations, communities and contacts lists very easily. And you can pin specific conversations to the home screen. It’s elegant, easy to use, and it puts all of the elements at your fingertips.”

Lahman said TextPlus looked at launching a BlackBerry app a couple years ago, but couldn’t get it up to the quality level it wanted. And then when RIM announced a shift to a new operating system, Lahman said the company put further development on hold until it can get a better sense of what BlackBerry 10 looks like.

That Blackberry app may never end up being developed however. Lahman said it’s pretty clear that Windows Phone will be third place competitor in the market and should eventually displace BlackBerry.

“We didn’t need to be convinced by the numbers but by the user experience,” he said. “I would bet on Nokia and Microsoft to bring some powerful momentum here. These are some hungry organizations.”

TextPlus has 27 million registered users and is now doing 110 million messages a day and has recorded 27 billion messages sent to date. It also expects to roll out its TextPlus Free Calls VoIP companion app for Windows Phone in the first half of this year.

OctroTalk now supports Google Talk VOIP calls

January 15, 2012 | By Surur

OctroTalk, a pretty good Google Voice chat client for Windows Phone, has now been upgraded to support VOIP calls to GoogleTalk/Gmail users.

octrotalkqr Unfortunately due to the limitations in Windows Phone 7.5 the calls are still via the main speaker, there is a a 1-2 second delay in playing remote voice and incoming calls do not ring when the app is in the background.

The app now also supports uploading vCard images by tapping your vCard photo on the buddy list, and received numerous bug fixes.

OctoTalk is free and can be found in Marketplace here.

Via mimovilwindows.com

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Microsoft says Skype for Windows Phone coming soon

January 14, 2012 | By Surur

In a Microsoft interview with their Skype division, Skype’s VP of products, Rick Osterloh has renewed their promise to bring Skype to Windows Phone soon. (after 1:10 mark)

He notes after the 2:30 point that he is working with deeper integration with Microsoft products, including Windows Phone, but it is expected that the first version of the app would not benefit from this feature.

The product seems to have been delayed bizarrely by the Microsoft purchase a few months ago, but hopefully when it comes it will be good.

Via theverge.com

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MS Skype pushing for VOIP access in UK, Ofcom supporting

November 28, 2011 | By Surur

After UK telecom regulator Ofcom expressed support for Skype’s VOIP service, saying restrictions on Skype’s services stifle innovation and it may take action if the blocking persists, Microsoft said it will step up negotiations with UK mobile phone companies to open up their service.

Skype complained to Ofcom last year, saying its services are regularly impeded by mobile operators.

“You would expect us to be more impatient than Ofcom,” Jean-Jacques Sahel, head of European regulatory affairs at Skype, said in a telephone interview. “In Europe, there’s still a huge amount of restrictions.”

VOIP software are regularly blocked either via policy or via actual blocking of common ports, with users either not having access at all or having to pay for a much higher tier of data access to be allowed to use the feature.

Examples include T-Mobile UK and Vodafone, with both O2 and 3 UK allowing free access.

“To have that extra hint from Ofcom is helpful and should allow us to continue the dialog,” Sahel said. “We need the few that lag behind to catch up.”

Microsoft, which completed the takeover of Skype for $8.5 billion last month, plans to incorporate the service in its Windows Phone products.

WNM Live Brings Free VOIP Voice Calls to Windows Phone 7

October 28, 2011 | By Brian Hamachek

The location-based social network, WNM Live™, beats both Tango and Microsoft’s own Skype in being the first to add free VOIP calls to the Windows Phone 7 platform.

WNM Live from SynergeTech Solutions™ was updated today for the Windows Phone 7 platform. The location-based social network’s latest update adds a number of new features that further enables WNM Live’s users to meet and connect with other people nearby. Most significant of the new features is the ability to place and receive voice calls over a data connection (VOIP). This is the first application for the Windows Phone 7 platform to enable such functionality.

Many of the new features included in the update for the Windows Phone 7 application have also been added to the service’s Facebook application, as well as the WNMLive.com website. For instance, users from any of the platforms will be able to call one another using the new voice calling functionality – mobile devices, PC, and Mac users are all included.

WNM Live’s features now include:

• Search profiles of other users based on criteria such as distance, interests, gender, or age
• Find users looking for friendship, chat, networking, or romance
• Send free text and picture messages with other users
• Create a profile for yourself, complete with photos
• Read, contribute, or comment on a public local stream of group conversations
• Send and receive free voice phone calls (VOIP) with users of any platform
• Earn points, rank of the leaderboard, and exchange virtual gifts with other users

WNM Live is the only app for Windows Phone 7 that allows users to meet new people and interact based on their location. The free application shows you other users near you that share your common interests. When a user finds someone they are interested in, they can send free text and picture messages and now can also make free voice calls over a data connection. All of this can be done while remaining as anonymous as the user chooses.

The Windows Phone 7 application has been the recipient of numerous awards, including 2nd place in Microsoft’s 1st annual Windows Phone 7 App Challenge that took place in Los Angeles, CA during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in June of 2011. WNM Live is free and has over 350,000 users. The update can be downloaded from the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace or from the WNM Live website.

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MobileVOIP comes to Windows Phone 7–make free calls over WIFI or 3G

October 20, 2011 | By Surur

MobileVOIP is the first real VOIP app for Windows Phone 7, beating Skype to Marketplace.

The app works over 3G or WIFI and allows 100% free phone calls to some destinations using VOIP gateways, such as 2voip and Actionvoip. For those areas where calls are not hundred percent free very cheap calls can still be made.

The app unfortunately continues to have the issues common to VOIP apps on Windows Mobile – the sound is only piped through the speaker, so headphones are still suggested.

mobilevoip The app features:

Make VoIP calls from your Windows Phone
Make FREE calls to a selection of destinations
Make cheap calls to any international destination
Integrates your phone’s contact list
Connect via Wifi, 3G edge or UMTS
Works around the globe; anywhere, anytime

The app is free and can be found in Marketplace here.

Via Moviltoday.com

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Analysts: Skype could generate $2 billion a year in 2016

June 15, 2011 | By Surur

Skype already provides dedicated devices which makes it easy to substitute traditional voice lines with VOIP.

Fixed line VOIP is set to grow from a $17.3 billion business in 2010 to $40 billion in 5 years time says research firm Point Topic, with VOIP set to replace traditional fixed telephone lines.

"The growth of VoIP has been bumpy but shows signs of acceleration," said John Bosnell, Senior Analyst at Point Topic. "VoIP has all the hallmarks of a classic substitution commodity."

Skype, which Microsoft is buying for $8.5 billion, is often used for such VOIP calls, and provides a number of appliance-like devices which makes such substitution easier.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said in March that consumer and business use of VoIP rose 21 percent in the year to June 2010. Usage via traditional lines fell 8 percent.

"We expect there to be over three quarters of a billion fixed line broadband subscribers by the end of 2015, in theory all of them are targets for VoIP," Bosnell said.

He warned however that users may be replacing fixed lines with mobile phones, limited to growth of the business. Skype of course is very well placed to provide mobile VOIP also, and is likely to see deep integration in Windows Phone eventually.

"If Skype continues to grow as it has been and manages to keep its ARPU (average revenue per user) at the current level then it will be generating in the region of $2 billion a year by the start of 2016," Bosnell said.

If Microsoft executes well their Skype purchase may be seen as one of their best deals yet.

Via Portfolio.com

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Send Web SMS using Beta SMS 2.0 for Windows Phone 7

May 9, 2011 | By Martani

historynew Beta SMS 2.0 is now available on the Windows Phone 7 Market place with a lot of enhancements and new features.

Beta SMS lets you send very cheap and even free short text messages internationally by using your favourite web SMS or VoIP provider.

Beta SMS offers a very intuitive way to send SMS directly from your Windows Phone, without having to log into your provider’s website each time you want to send an SMS.

New Features

- SMS History
- Contacts support
- Balance check on all the supported services
- Managing and sending SMS from multiple providers at the same time
- Switch between multiple account in one tap

Beta SMS is available for $1.29 and can be downloaded from here.

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Tango video calling service promise Windows Phone 7 support

May 6, 2011 | By Surur

image_rotate Tango is a new VOIP service explicitly designed for video phone calling, and they are thinking big. The company already has 13 million users in 190 countries, and see themselves grabbing a big chunk of an estimated $60 billion pie.

“Smartphones, advanced cell networks, Skype, App stores – this is the best time to have built a new communications platform,” said co-founder Eric Setton. “We’ll be on PCs, tablets, you name it.”

The service already supports Android and the iPhone, but aim to be everywhere. It already supports 70 different models of phones, with new software released every 2 weeks.

“It’s a race right now,” says Setton, “but anybody who tries to start now has to be on the 70 phones we’re doing, plus whatever comes next…then there is the PC, eventually the TV. We want to be on all of them.”

The next version of Windows Phone will certainly support VOIP, with Skype for Windows Phone already announced at MIX 11. The only question really is if Microsoft or the OEMs will release any devices with front-facing cameras, a feature that is not a requirement of the updates Chassis 1 design unfortunately.

Read more about the service at Forbes here.

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Fring also bids au voir to Windows Mobile

March 24, 2011 | By Surur

In a short but succinct blog post, Fring hang up on the call on the Windows Mobile operating system.

They wrote:

As of today, fring for WM, UIQ & J2ME is no longer available for new users. We will continue supporting existing users on these platforms for the foreseeable future.
A big thank you for our users and hope to see you soon on our fully supported platforms including iPhone, Android and Nokia/Symbian.

The fring Team

Fring has always been the Skype alternative offered after Skype itself dropped support for Windows Mobile, so this move is particularly poignant.

Unlike the recent departure of Opera Mobile, fring made no mention of future support of Windows Phone 7, and of course the OS is also otherwise devoid of a proper VOIP solution. Like many other features, it likely awaits both Microsoft delivering OS updates and the actual client itself.

For those we want to save a copy for posterity it can be downloaded here.

Via Mobiputing.com

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