Skype CEO Outlines Platform Ambitions, Hiring Plans

By Om Malik | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | 3:59 PM PT | 7 comments |

s010_ga_c03.jpgWith the spin-out from eBay complete, and its legal troubles with founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis settled, Skype is looking to the future, where it wants to become a ubiquitous real-time communications platform. And that means thinking about the next generation Skype architecture and also hiring a lot of smart people, said CEO Josh Silverman in a conversation earlier today. Continue »

Fring Now Works on Android, Does Skype VoIP Calls

By Sebastian Rupley | Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | 9:16 AM PT | 2 comments |

Fring, the mobile messaging and social communication tool that works on many smartphone platforms, is now available on the Android platform. Users of Android phones can get the client software from the Android Market or from Fring’s WAP site.

Fring for Android works over 3G, GPRS or Wi-Fi connections. According to the company’s blog announcement:
Continue »

With Video Conferencing Deals, Polycom in Sharp Focus

By Om Malik | Wednesday, November 11, 2009 | 10:00 PM PT | 1 comment |

robert_c_hagerty.jpgFirst Cisco Systems decided to buy Norwegian video conferencing equipment maker Tandberg for about $3 billion. This week, Logitech, a Swiss computer peripherals maker, acquired LifeSize, an Austin, Texas-based private company, for about $405 million in cash. The two deals have brought the fast-growing but often-overlooked video conferencing market into sharp focus. And that is good news for Polycom, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based conferencing equipment maker, CEO Bob Hagerty boasts. Here is why: Continue »

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman Defends Skype Buy

By Om Malik | Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 5:14 PM PT | 7 comments |

Meg Whitman, former chief executive officer of eBay,  defended her decision to buy Skype in a radio interview with KTKZ’s Capitol Hour featuring Eric Hogue. Whitman is running for the office of the Governor of California on a Republican ticket, and is currently leading in the Republican primaries. Here is what she had to say on the show.

Continue »

Broadcom Goes Open Source to Push HD Voice

By Colin Gibbs | Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 5:00 PM PT | 3 comments |

Broadcom is hoping to lower the price of high-definition VoIP services by taking its BroadVoice codecs open source. But even if this move lowers the price for HD voice, will consumers pay even a marginal premium for a better quality call?

The Irvine, Calif.-based company’s BroadVoice family of voice codecs comprises two variants: BroadVoice32 for wideband speech sampled at 16 kHz, and BroadVoice16 for narrowband telephone-bandwidth speech sampled at 8 kHz. Both will be made available as C source code in an effort to lower the price for broadband operators looking to upgrade the audio quality of subscribers’ calls. Continue »

How Skype Can Quickly and Easily Become a Social Network (and Clean Facebook’s Clock)

By Brian McConnell | Monday, November 9, 2009 | 3:09 PM PT | 28 comments |

skype_logoAs a longtime Skype user who never felt that the service fit with eBay, I was thrilled to hear that it’s being spun off. And now I have some thoughts on how it can quickly and easily become an equally successful social network. Continue »

Google May Have Bought Gizmo5

By Om Malik | Monday, November 9, 2009 | 10:27 AM PT | 19 comments |

ceomichaelrobertson002jpg

Gizmo5 founder Michael Robertson

Google is rumored to have bought Gizmo5, provider of a SIP-based service, for an undisclosed amount of money, according to a report on TechCrunch. If true, the deal would add another arrow to Google’s quiver as it takes on incumbents Microsoft and Cisco Systems in the hotly contested collaboration market. While it does have Google Voice, the search engine giant lacks a truly enterprise-quality VoIP offering. Continue »

Skype Names SIP Guru as Chief Tech Strategist

By Om Malik | Monday, November 9, 2009 | 8:55 AM PT | 4 comments |

Skype has hired well-known VoIP expert Jonathan Rosenberg as its chief technology strategist, the company announced today. Rosenberg was highlighted as one of the Cisco executives Index Ventures’ Michael Volpi would bring over to Skype in order to help the company figure out a way around the JoltId stranglehold. As you might know, Skype and Joltid, the company that owns the technology used by Skype (and controlled by founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis), settled with the company last week. Continue »

Apple Still Not Allowing VoIP Calls Over 3G

By Om Malik | Sunday, November 8, 2009 | 6:09 PM PT | 38 comments |

iphone3gvoip.jpgEarlier today in response to my post about Nimbuzz, a good pal emailed to find out why the service didn’t work over the iPhone’s 3G connection. After all, a few weeks ago AT&T announced support for VoIP over 3G with much fanfare, a move that was widely applauded, including kudos from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

A month has passed since the decision was announced, and there is still no support for VoIP over 3G. “Apple actually did not approve the 3G calling — so they completely broke their promise of allowing VoIP calls on 3G,” a Nimbuzz spokesperson said.

Even Skype doesn’t work over 3G (see attached screenshot). Truphone is not working either, much like Fring. I am not sure if these services work over 3G data connections in Europe and other parts of the world, but it looks like Apple is the one putting in the roadblock here.

Nimbuzz Takes on Skype, Launches New Calling Service

By Om Malik | Sunday, November 8, 2009 | 6:59 AM PT | 9 comments |

nimbuzzout.pngNimbuzz, a Netherlands-based VoIP and messaging startup, is introducing a premium calling service called NimbuzzOut. This service is available via an upgrade of its mobile client, which is currently available from the iPhone’s iTunes Apps Store, the Ovi Store and GetJar. So far, Nimbuzz has offered a meta-client that works on PCs, Macs, Symbian, Android and the iPhone and allows you to sign into any IM service including Skype. Continue »

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