Speaking of VoIP, did you hear…

“Most small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), of 500 employees or less, are just emerging from the turbulent waters of the 2008-2009 recession. Many of them have never been able to afford advanced communication solutions, but over the past year, they put all IT and communications spending on hold. With the first signs of economic recovery, these SMBs will start evaluating growth opportunities and looking for tools, including communications infrastructure and applications that can help them enhance their competitive advantage. Most likely, many SMB executives have heard about Unified Communications by now, but more likely than not, are still confused about what exactly it means and are even at a greater loss when it comes to figuring out whether they need it and how it can help them accomplish their goals.”

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“Apple’s next version of iPhone, likely to be named, “iPhone 4G,” is expected to be introduced in in Korea this June. KT, the exclusive iPhone distributor in Korea and Apple have recently signed a deal to launch the iPhone 4G in the local market at the same time as a worldwide release, as reported today by a local newspaper, ETNews, quoting internal sources of KT and Apple Korea.”

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“It’s been about nine months since Skype announced its intention to release a version of Skype for BlackBerry smartphones. So where is it?

True to its word, the VoIP communications company signed on testers for a closed beta version of Skype Lite last May.”

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“Telework, once seen as a privilege given only to the highest performing employees at the discretion of management, is now widely utilized as a powerful tool to cut costs, increase productivity and retain high caliber talent. For example, an organization can significantly reduce its energy consumption and facility space requirements while providing employees with an incentive to produce greater results. The key to success lies in program design. Little planned, ad hoc telework arrangements generally prove problematic and increase risk to the organization when inequitably distributed amongst employees. Telework arrangements should always be in the best interest of the company before being deployed.”

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“MagicJack is demonstrating a device near the International Consumer Electronics Show this week that it claims will let consumers make VoIP calls using any GSM phone.

The company already sells a MagicJack made for use with conventional, analog desk phones. In the new product, coming in the second quarter of this year, it will replace the phone jack with a miniature GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) base station, or femtocell. Any GSM phone from any carrier will be able to connect with the femtocell to make VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) calls to anyone in the U.S. and Canada, MagicJack founder Dan Borislow said.”

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“Google on Tuesday unveiled the Nexus One, the online giant’s leap into the smartphone market. At a 1 p.m. ET event, the company presented the phone. “Nexus One is where Web meets phone,” said Google’s Mario Queiroz.  The announcement puts Google, which before relied on other companies to make the phones that ran its Android operating system, head-to-head with the darling of the market, Apple’s iPhone.”

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“Here’s an odd one. Chances are if you pack an iPhone you’ve already loaded up Skype, right? I know I have. It works well, and while there are shortcomings, it bridges the gap for me when i’m not in my office. Well, this morning it looks like something strange has happened. The Skype for iPhone app is now available in the US, or any of the other international App Stores. Hmmmmmm, ok WHAT?”

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The SoundPoint IP 320/330 is being discontinued and will no longer be available for purchase after 12/31/2009. Support for the product will be available until 12/31/2014.

The replacement products however are available:

Polycom SoundPoint IP 321:
2200-12360-025

- Entry Level SIP Phone
- 2 line Appearances
- Small Form Factor
- Single 10/100 Ethernet Port
- 2.5mm Headset Jack

Polycom SoundPoint IP 331:
2200-12365-025

- Entry Level SIP Phone
- 2 line Appearances
- Small Form Factor
- Dual 10/100 Ethernet Port
- 2.5mm Headset Jack

Polycom SoundPoint IP 335:
2200-12375-025

- G722 Wideband Codec HD Voice
- Entry Level SIP Phone
- 2 line Appearances
- Small Form Factor
- Dual 10/100 Ethernet Port
- RJ9 Headset Jack
- Graphical Back-Lit Display

Everyone in my office has their credit card out waiting to buy a Google Nexus One.  I am still using my HTC Touch Pro.  My contract comes up in 12 months, I am sure I will have a good time picking from all of the offerings..iPhone, Google Phone, or Windows Mobile.

Boy will the guys in my office be disappointed when they read this.

“The HTC-built and (soon to be) Google-sold device runs Android 2.1 atop a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, a 3.7-inch, 480 x 800 display, has 512MB of ROM, 512MB of RAM, and a 4GB microSD card (expandable to 32GB).”

“Now, of course everyone seems to have one question about the device — is this the be-all-end-all Android phone / iPhone eviscerator? In two words: not really.”

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“I’m always excited to hear about third party applications written to the Office Communications Server developer interfaces, and Cisco’s UC Integration™ for Microsoft Office Communicator (CUCIMOC) is no different:  each and every application testifies to the momentum of our unified communications products with end customers and to the openness and flexibility of our platform.   Our platform interfaces make it easy for developers to integrate communications within applications, and are getting even better.   Have you ever said that about your legacy IP PBX?”

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