All VoIP Feeds

Skype for Windows gets better call quality

Adam Hartley — 1209555770

Fans of the world’s leading VoIP service Skype will be glad to hear that the latest update, out today, improves audio quality on the service.

Skype 3.8 for Windows improves the "audio engine" which basically means less background hiss as well as fewer delays, call drops and calls annoyingly cutting out mid-conversation.

Skype 3.8 also lets you chop and change between your headset, headphones or microphone without having to manually change the settings first.

So you should never have the embarrassing problem of talking to apparently nobody via a wired headset for five minutes before you realise Skype is set to Bluetooth.

Finally, you will no longer be able to automatically view the user's profile image in incoming authorisation requests from users such as the highly persistent ‘SexyLady003inRussia’ – which, in general, is altogether a good thing.

eBay boycott planned

Patrick Goss — 1208763143

Auction site eBay is hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with disgruntled sellers planning a major boycott on 1 May and hints from chief executive John Donahoe that it may look to sell Skype.

Donahoe’s decision to make eBay more online shop than flea-market brought unpopular changes to the way in which the site works, with one in particular causing huge consternation among the army of online sellers.

Negative comments

Previously, sellers have been able to respond to negative comments about their online shops, but the decision to stop this practice, in tandem with a rise in fees, has left the community apoplectic.

There is now a planned worldwide boycott scheduled to make it clear that people are unhappy with the changes.

Skype performance

But it appears that eBay’s focus is rather more on the performance of Skype – with Donahoe admitting to the Financial Times that he was considering selling the service that was bought for $2.2 billion – a fee that fell significantly when performance targets were not met.

"What we’re testing this year are the synergies," said Donahoe."If the synergies are strong, we'll keep [Skype] in our portfolio. If not, we'll reassess it."

Skype is far from a failure in business terms, with its audience growing and revenues beginning to flow, but the voice over IP (VoIP) service has not been the ‘click to call’ revolution that eBay had hoped for.

Skype arrives on iPhone

1208346623

Leading VoIP application Skype has finally arrived on the iPhone, indirectly via Israeli company, Fring.

Fring is not (yet) approved by Apple, so you will also need an unlocked iPhone to make use of Skype via Fring – a useful service which will also allow you to access MSN, Google Talk and AIM through one handy interface.

Lucky *#@$%&s

"OK. So if you’re one of the first lucky *#@$%&s to get your hands on an iPhone, you just got even luckier. We’ve just made a special pre-release R&D version of Fring for your iPhone - a mobile VoIP app publicly available for the iPhone?…yep that’s a world-first!" reads a post on Fring’s blog.

To find out more you might want to head over to the Fring blog.

Fring adds mobile file transfers to VoIP

Anna Lagerkvist — 1202230396

VoIP firm Fring today added mobile file transfers, better chat functionality and more language options to its popular free to install mobile VoIP application.

The new Fring version (available as of today) lets you swap files instantly from mobile to mobile or mobile to PC or Mac. There’s no cost for transferring music, photo, video or data files, which can be as large as your network operator will allow.

There’s no need for MMS, cable, Bluetooth, or Infrared connections. The cost will be paid through your handset’s mobile internet capability using the already paid for data plan, meaning there’s no extra charges.

Talk, chat, interact

As with previous Fring versions, you can also talk, chat and interact with all your IM contacts – Fring brings together all your contacts from MSN Messenger, Skype, ICQ, AIM, Google Talk et al into one big contact list. Versions for the Apple iPhone and handsets powered by Google's forthcoming Android mobile operating system are also in the pipeline for 2008.

You can see when your contacts are available, and whether they are contactable by telephone regardless of the IM application they use. You'll also get an indication as to what kind of connection they're currently on (Wi-Fi, 3G and so on) so you can decide whether it's worth calling them, or stick to chat. Chats take place in real time, and you can navigate between different chat windows just as you would on a computer.

New language options were also added, making Fring available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian and Chinese. It’s currently available in some 160 countries, and will add more languages over the coming year.

‘Breaking down barriers’

“Fring is breaking down the barriers that have traditionally existed between the fixed and mobile internet environments, making it easier than ever for people to stay connected with all of their online buddies and communities and enjoy a rich and exciting mobile internet experience,” said Avi Shechter, co-founder and CEO of Fring.

“We are witnessing something of a revolution; Fring is changing the way people interact with their mobile and internet worlds on a daily basis. Fring is bringing freedom of choice to people allowing them to declare their mobile independence, and take control of how they make and retain connections with each other.”

Fring is available as a free download application. You’ll need a compatible handset – a Nokia phone running Symbian Series 60, a Sony Ericsson handset using UIQ, or a Windows Mobile 5 or 6 device – and an internet connection; Wi-Fi, 3G, GSM, GPRS or EDGE.

Skype could be used to run malicious code

Dan Grabham — 1200934437

Another day, another security scare. This time, it's the latest build of Skype that's in the firing line after a security researcher found it could be compromised. The flaw in the P2P telephony client means that n'aer-do-well code could be run via Skype.

The app uses Internet Explorer to render features such as the 'add video to web chat' page. Trouble is, it does this in the 'Local Zone' internet security setting, meaning the system isn't adequately locked down. A problem could arise, for example, if a video was infected with malicious code and then viewed through the Skype video search feature.

Cross-Zone Scripting vulnerability

However, although Skype will no doubt patch the code, it will take several cogs to work together for the execution to actually take place. A trusted website straddling security zones would have to be compromised and viewed within the browser.

According to security expert Aviv Raff, this should be known as a Cross-Zone Scripting vulnerability, since the script runs in IE's Local Zone instead of the Internet Zone. He has posted a proof-of-concept YouTube video onto his blog.

Skype v.3.6.0.244 is the version affected, though it's not known if the vulnerability is further-reaching.

Next big thing: Jaxtr's online phone service

Anna Lagerkvist — 1197504000

VoIP firm Jaxtr has announced that its userbase has grown 10-fold to five million members in the 140 days since July.

Jaxtr claims it is the "fastest growing internet communications service in history ahead of Skype, Hotmail, and ICQ", posing the question: which web giant will get its wallet out first to snap up the Jaxtr phone/web link-up offering?

As a Jaxtr member, you can make and receive phone calls in 220 countries using your regular landline or mobile number, thus bypassing international calling charges. Mobile VoIP calls don't even require a computer or an internet connection, says the company.

Follow the link

But how does it actually work? When you sign up for the Jaxtr service, you receive a link that allows your friends and family to call you using their regular landline or mobile phone. When someone wants to call you, they click on the link, enter their number and when you pick up your phone, their phone rings to let them know that the call has been connected.

Callers can save the local number provided by Jaxtr and use it whenever they want to call people overseas without being tied to their computer. There's nothing to download, and you don't even need an internet- or Wi-Fi-enabled phone. If you have voice minutes included with your subscription, you can use these to make international calls from your mobile phone.

You can also link up all your phone numbers (home, work, mobile) if you want, and then choose which one to pick up when you receive a call.

Use your existing phone and number

Rebecca Swensen, a research analyst of VoIP services for IDC, says Jaxtr is one of a new breed of VoIP providers. "The new wave of VoIP services allow users to enjoy the benefits and simplicity of placing phone calls through their existing phones by selecting a name from the contact list and hitting the green 'send' button."

The rapid growth of Jaxtr surely means that it's only a matter of time before it gets snapped up by one of the web giants. We've seen it before: YouTube being snapped up by Google; MySpace being bought by NewsCorp; and VoIP firm Skype being touted by eBay. Jaxtr is not yet in the same league of size as many of these purchases, but it has one thing in common - questions over how it will make money.

Jaxtr doesn't rely on advertising so it will have to make revenue somewhere. But, give Jaxtr its due; the service only launched in March this year. We predict it will have a line of suitors before its first birthday.

How to use Facebook for free calls

Anna Lagerkvist — 1197244800

News about another clever Facebook application has landed on the Tech.co.uk newsdesk. VoIP firm Truphone is to offer an application that lets you make free phone calls from within the social networking website.

Truphone's 'Call Me' application consists of a button that can be inserted in Facebook messages, posted onto someone's wall, or added to a Facebook group. In fact, it can be put anywhere on Facebook where attachments can be added. After that, your friends simply have to press the Call Me button to phone you free of charge.

Call Me

This means you won't have to exit Facebook, or even minimise the browser window to hook up to Skype and call your friends. The Call Me application is available to all Facebook users, and you don't even have to have a Truphone account to use it.

All you'll need is a microphone and speaker linked up to your computer. The calls will be routed to your landline number, although mobile phone numbers may be added in the future.

"We never make a user leave Facebook or have to pick up another device such as a phone. Instead we've embedded a softphone into Facebook," said Dean Elwood, platform director at Truphone.

Ofcom: VoIP services must connect 999 calls

Anna Lagerkvist — 1196899200

VoIP services, including the likes of Skype, Vonage and Jajah, must connect 999/112 calls to emergency services in the future, Ofcom has ruled.

From 8 September 2008, VoIP providers must let users call emergency services. As it stands, you can use VoIP services for most standard calls, but if you're in need of the emergency services you'll have to call from a mobile phone or landline telephone. This is now set to change, and any VoIP provider that lets its users connect to normal landlines will have to connect to the emergency services too.

Critical delays

Ofcom said that the majority of VoIP users in the UK (78 per cent) were unaware or unsure about whether their VoIP service enabled them to call emergency services. This could cause critical delays in contacting the police, fire brigade, ambulance service or coastguard in an emergency.

The problem with using VoIP services is that it is difficult to locate callers geographically, unlike with landline or mobile numbers. Emergency calls cannot easily be routed to a nearby call centre, which is why most services don't currently connect these calls.

"As new voice services develop and become more mainstream, regulation must evolve too. In the future, consumers will be confident that if they can make calls to ordinary national numbers using their VoIP service then they will be able to call 999 or 112 in an emergency," Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said in a statement.

VoIP outgrows WiFi, heads over to 3G

James Rivington — 1195430400

Millions of us will embrace VoIP on our mobile phones in the next few years, but it's not going to be using Wi-Fi. According to one analyst, at least, we're all going to start using our 3G handsets to make Skype calls instead of normal telephone calls.

Dean Bubley at Disruptive Analysis said that by 2012 there will be 250 million of us using 3G VoIP, with a mere 100 million (Apple iPhone users?) still using Wi-Fi.

Mobile revolution

It's the first move in a mobile revolution which many people believe will result in 4G networks which handle only IP data calls instead of standard telephony. It's cheaper for networks that way, but the business model behind it has not yet been worked out. The phone networks still have to make their money, after all.

Some independent VoIP players are already exploiting the fact that today's 3G networks can support VoIP. They're putting dedicated software on smartphones, exploiting open operating systems, flat-rate data plans and built-in VoIP capability. These are linked to competitive 'over the top' phone or IM services via a mobile Internet connection.

3G modems

At the same time, there is an increasing trend of operators such as ' 3' offering 3G modems for PCs, not just for mobile computing, but also to compete with home DSL/cable broadband offerings. 3 also recently launched a dedicated Skypephone.

Laptop users expect to be able to use their normal broadband applications over 3G, including voice-based ones like Skype. Some operators are even offering their own VoIP software for PCs with wireless broadband.

"3G networks are increasingly capable of supporting VoIP, for both traditional mobile operators and independent Internet-based VoIP challengers," said Bubley.

"But while CDMA operators will benefit from VoIP being 'designed-in' to their newest networks, 3GPP and HSPA operators will have to wait for several years - a window of opportunity which will be exploited by the 'over the top' players. Rather than competing head-on, partnership models have the potential to create win-win propositions"

Official: 3 unveils Skype internet phone

tech.co.uk staff — 1193616000

UK Mobile operator 3 has teamed up with Skype to launch a new 3G internet phone that will let you make free internet calls and send free text messages.

Dubbed the '3 Skypephone', the new device is set to launch this morning at an official 3 press conference.

Free internet calls

"This is the first time," says 3, "that an operator has offered a mass market device which is tailor-made for free calling over the internet from a mobile".

Skype-to-Skype calls will be free from a 3 Skypephone as long as you are on a paid-up contract or have PAYG 3 credit topped up monthly. In the UK, the 3 Skypephone will cost £49.99 on a PAYG tariff. It will be free as a contract option.

Other than its Skype capability, the new Skypehone hasn't got a specification that will wow the crowds. It's designed to be cheap, so it's hardly an iPhone rival. The technical highlights are a 2MP camera, Bluetooth connectivity and a MicroSD slot (so you can boost the 16MB of internal memory up to 1GB).

The Skypephone has been co-developed by Skype and 3 in partnership with Qualcomm. The handset uses Qualcomm's BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) platform to enable Skype to integrate with basic handset features such as your address book and instant messaging.

Mass market appeal

"Skype is now truly mobile," said Michael van Swaaij, acting CEO at Skype. "This new handset is incredibly easy to use and lets you make free mobile Skype calls when you are on the move to other Skype users all over the world no matter where they are.

"Skype began by offering free PC to PC calling," Swaaij added, "and now we're doing the same with mobile calls with 3. Thanks to 3, Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena. It takes an innovative operator like 3 to challenge traditional thinking and offer the kind of product other operators are still shying away from".

By "challenging traditional thinking", 3 is suggesting that it's threatening existing GSM calls with its new phone. But this isn't necessarily the case. While the Skypephone enables Skype-to-Skype calling, there seems to be no support for the SkypeOut functonality available to PC Skype users.

In short: Skypephone owners can call other Skype users, not landline or mobile numbers.

The 3 Skypephone will be on sale from 2 November in 3 stores across the UK and from Skype itself. The 3 Skypephone is available for pre-order in the UK from today. We'll have more on this story after the official launch of the phone tonight.