News Archive - November 2009

H.325/AMS Experts Progress Standard through Electronic Meetings
November 29, 2009

At the most recent meeting of ITU-T SG16, the H.325 experts decided to initiate a series of electronic meetings in order to help progress the work. For those interested in participating in the creation of this exciting new multimedia system, see the meeting notice posted on the h325-design mailing list.
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Clearwire raises another $920 million
November 25, 2009

Wireless broadband provider Clearwire said late Tuesday that it is has racked up another $920 million in debt to help it finance the deployment of its nationwide 4G wireless network.
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Ericsson wins Nortel's North American GSM unit
November 25, 2009

Ericsson announced that it has won a bid to buy Nortel Networks' North American GSM business for $70 million in cash.
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Interoperability: The Next Great Frontier for Telepresence
November 24, 2009

Video conference users have for the most part been free of the hassles of trying to figure out how to interoperate products from different vendors, thanks to early and widespread adoption of H.323 signaling protocols and H.261 and H.264 video encapsulation, both sets of protocols well defined by the ITU. Telepresence is a whole different story, however.
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Oman cuffs 212 for selling VoIP calls
November 20, 2009

This year, police in the Arab nation of Oman have raided 121 internet cafes throughout the country and arrested 212 people for providing VoIP services, a crime punishable by a fine of US$130, two years in jail, or both.
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After long wait, Trillian finally comes to iPhone
November 19, 2009

It took a few months, but finally, Trillian IM is available to iPhone and iPod Touch users through Apple's App Store. The application costs $4.99.
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The Google Phone Is Very Real and It's Coming Soon
November 17, 2009

The debate over Droid v. iPhone rages on, but lots more Android surprises are on the way. Get ready for the Google Phone. It's no longer a myth, it's real. Google is building their own branded phone that they'll sell directly and through retailers, with shipments expected in early 2010.
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Ten Ways The Cloud Will Reshape Voice
November 16, 2009

There is considerable discussion about the oncoming impacts of cloud computing and how it will reshape (or eliminate) the enterprise data center. But until recently, there has been relatively little discussion about how cloud technologies will impact telecommunications, or specifically enterprise voice.
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Cisco boosts bid for Tandberg to $3.41 billion
November 16, 2009

Cisco Systems has bumped up its buyout offer to $3.41 billion for videoconferencing company Tandberg, up from the first offer of $3 billion. The initial offer had been rejected by a sizable number of shareholders.
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Windows Mobile loses nearly a third of market share
November 14, 2009

Windows Mobile lost 28% of its smartphone market share between last year's third quarter and this year's third quarter.
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Dell unveils Android-based Mini 3 smartphone
November 13, 2009

Dell said that it's ready to enter the smartphone business with the Android-based Mini 3.
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Google buys Gizmo5 for Google Voice
November 12, 2009

Google confirmed its intention to acquire Gizmo5, a VoIP software company that makes a SIP client.
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Orange sells 30,000 iPhones in U.K. on first day
November 11, 2009

Orange signed up 30,000 people with a new iPhone contract on its first day selling Apple's smartphone.
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Apple overtakes Nokia in phone profits
November 11, 2009

In the race for mobile phone profits, Apple has overtaken Nokia. Apple earned $1.6 billion in the third quarter from the iPhone, outpacing Nokia's $1.1 billion cell phone profit to grab the top spot among all mobile phone vendor.
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Logitech buys video-conferencing firm LifeSize
November 10, 2009

Logitech said it will acquire LifeSize Communications for $405 million in cash. The move puts Logitech into the videoconferencing market.
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eBay's Skype sale gets go-ahead with settlement
November 6, 2009

Online auction giant eBay announced Friday that its sale of a controlling interest in its Skype unit will proceed, following the settlement of litigation over the proposed transaction. As a part of the deal, Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, the original founders of Skype, will be given a 14% stake in the company.
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The ITU Approves H.323 Version 7
November 6, 2009

The ITU approved a new revised version of Recommendation ITU-T H.323. H.323 is the most widely-deployed IP-based multimedia communication system in the world, used in videoconferencing, telepresence systems, and by service providers for international VoIP calls.
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Android's Steep Climb
November 5, 2009

New smartphone research from Canalys.com Ltd. says that Android has captured 3.5 percent of the global smartphone operating system market. Not bad for an OS that was nowhere in the race the year before.
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AMS experts progress work on requirements, architecture, and information flows
November 5, 2009

The ITU just completed its most recent meeting of Study Group 16, which is the group working on, among other things, the new Advanced Multimedia System (AMS). During the meeting, progress on several key work items including requirements, architecture, and information flows for AMS.
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Global Telecom Companies Announce A Standards Based Solution For Voice And SMS Services Over LTE
November 4, 2009

AT&T*, Orange, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Verizon, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Sony Ericsson have defined the preferred way to ensure the smooth introduction and delivery of voice and SMS services on Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks worldwide. — One that brings absolutely no extra value to users, we might add.
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AT&T vs. Verizon: There's a lawyer for that
November 3, 2009

AT&T files a lawsuit against Verizon after Verizon launched an attack against AT&T showing Verizon's 3G coverage map as compared to AT&T's 3G coverage map. The AT&T map appeared to be significantly sparser than Verizon's map. To keep viewers amused, Verizon used the slogan "there's a map for that" (a play on Apple's "there's an app for that") as the commercials ask questions that highlight how AT&T users cannot use their 3G services in a number of areas around the United States.
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China Unicom: 5,000 iPhones sold in first weekend
November 3, 2009

The exclusive carrier for the device in China, China Unicom, said that it signed up 5,000 iPhone subscribers in the first four days it was available. While that's certainly not a blockbuster opening weekend, the carrier says it's pleased nonetheless.
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Rumor: Skype to become open source
November 2, 2009

Rumor going around the Internet, based on comments made by people at Skype, is that the software might become open source.
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Google opens up Wave federation
November 2, 2009

Google took an important step in the development of Google Wave, opening its servers up to outsiders who want their own waves to communicate with the outside world.
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