News Archive - February 2012
The battle's on for control of the video dial tone
February 29, 2012
Cisco's attempt to convince a European court to impose tougher conditions on Microsoft's acquisition of Skype signals that technology companies are gearing up to battle for control of what some say is the next big thing: videoconferencing.
RIM shows off crazy collaboration app for PlayBook
February 28, 2012
At Mobile World Congress, RIM shows off a concept app that would give PlayBook tablets quite a colorful role at meetings.
FCC requires VoIP services to report outages, mirroring landline rule
February 15, 2012
The FCC ruled that VoIP providers are subject to the same outage reporting rules as other service providers.
Cisco Appeals EU Approval of Microsoft/Skype Deal
February 15, 2012
In a surprise move, Cisco Systems this morning disclosed in a blog post that the company has filed an appeal of the European Commission’s approval of the Microsoft/Skype deal.
Google gets EU approval to buy Motorola
February 13, 2012
The European Union's regulatory body has unconditionally approved Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility in a deal that could be worth about $12.5 billion.
Introducing AT&T's "Virtual Private Cloud"
February 13, 2012
Business cloud computing users will take note: the power of AT&T's "virtual private cloud" has arrived. AT&T announced AT&T Synaptic Compute as a Service with VMware vCloud Datacenter Service.
Oracle to buy Taleo for $1.9 Billion
February 9, 2012
Oracle said it will buy web-based recruitment software maker Taleo for about $1.9 billion to expand its line of cloud computing products, one of fastest growing areas of the technology market.
Free Dell VoIP Windows Phone app coming for Canadians
February 8, 2012
For those Windows Phone owners who reside in Canada and are frustrated with considerably high mobile phone bills accumulated from voice calls, Dell may have a solution for you soon. Partnering with Fongo to launch Dell Voice, a voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, mobile users will be able to make free calls over WiFi (or the 3G network) anywhere in Canada. A free phone number is included to accept incoming calls, and the service also includes free voicemail, Caller ID and call waiting.
Google Near Launch of Cloud Storage Service
February 8, 2012
Google Inc. is close to launching a cloud-storage service that would rival one of Silicon Valley's hottest start-ups, cloud-storage provider Dropbox Inc. The service will be called Google Drive.
Vonage issues new Android app with VoIP calling 30 percent cheaper than Skype
February 8, 2012
Vonage introduces a new app called Vonage Mobile, allowing users to place VoIP calls between Vonage mobile users for free and calls to mobile and landline phones at a cost lower than what Skype offers.
ShoreTel Acquires Hosted Unified Communications Pioneer M5 Networks
February 1, 2012
ShoreTel announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire M5 Networks, a leader in hosted Unified Communications. As a result of the acquisition, ShoreTel will be positioned to provide customers a choice between on-premise and hosted UC solutions.
Digium to Release Its Own Brand of Asterisk-Friendly VoIP Phones
February 1, 2012
Digium announced a trio of IP phones designed to interface directly with the company’s highly successful Asterisk open-source PBX and its graphical Switchvox PBX front-end.