News Archive - June 2009

According to an Alcatel-Lucent survey, 74% of the respondents said they considered their landline telephone essential and would not reduce spending on it versus the 32% that said the same for a paid VoIP service. — Question is: did they consider all VoIP options equally? For example, "Digital Phone" service from a cable company is VoIP, but often viewed by customers as a "landline".

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Comcast is getting into the wireless broadband business by bundling Clearwire's 4G wireless service with its existing broadband products.

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Apple and other big phone makers have struck a deal with the European Commission to start selling phones with universal cell phone chargers starting next year. Under the agreement, manufacturers would start using micro-USB connections for phone chargers used for smartphones. Apple joins other big cell phone makers including LG, Motorola, Nokia, Research In Motion, Samsung and Sony Ericsson in agreeing to the new standard. Chipset makers, such as NEC, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments have also agreed to the deal.

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Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecommunications equipment manufacturer operating under bankruptcy court protection, is in advanced negotiations with potential buyers for its main business operations and is likely to announce further asset sales in "weeks or months, rather than months or years," Mike Zafirovski, chief executive, said.

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Google last month reserved 1 million phone numbers with Level 3, signaling that it may finally be ready to roll out its long-anticipated Google Voice service. Google Voice is a service that provides a number of features, including the ability to ring multiple phones through a single number.

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LifeSize rolled out high-definition video conferencing software designed to extend corporate telepresence systems. LifeSize Desktop is designed to work with all webcams and a worker's PC, delivering HD video at 720p in full 16:9 format with multiple applications running.

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Mirial launched a new release of its Mirial Softphone, an advanced software client for audio/video conferencing and remote collaboration, which is now available for Apple Mac OSX operating system.

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The door has now opened for telepresence solutions: a conferencing environment that seeks to mimic the in-person experience as much as possible. Several technologies make telepresence possible. High-definition video cameras and large, flat-panel monitors clearly display participants in life size.

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Google introduces a new kind of messaging system that has the potential to replace email as we know it, but also to significantly change the way we all communicate and interact with each other. It's called Wave, it is built on XMPP, and it is definitely something to see.

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