Skype has stripped the beta label from its Skype for Mac app, and in the process made group video calling a premium – i.e. paid – feature. $4.99 gets you a day’s use of group video, or there’s a monthly subscription for $8.99. Meanwhile, Skype has also slimmed down the UI and stuffed more of IM conversations into the screen at any one time.
There’s also the return of full-screen video calls, and an easily revealed chat pane for when you’re in the midst of them. The new UI changes are welcome, certainly, but group video calls going premium will be a disappointment to many. You can download Skype for Mac here.
Google has briefly trialled number porting for its Google Voice service, offering some users of the VoIP system the chance to bring over their existing mobile number rather than use the Google-supplied number. Priced at $20, Google has confirmed that it plans “to offer this feature to all users in the near future.”
“We’re continually testing new features to enhance the user experience. For a limited amount of time, we’re making the Google Voice number porting process available to users. We don’t have any additional details to share at this time, but plan to offer this feature to all users in the near future.” Google statement
The porting process – which has now reportedly been pulled from users’ options pages – basically involves validating your number with Google and then agreeing to the terms & conditions. Those include the expected warnings about potential early-termination fees from your existing carrier, which may be imposed if you try to bring your number over to Google Voice before your existing agreement is complete.
Google Voice allows users to route incoming calls to multiple phones simultaneously, so that you can have, say, your landline and your cellphone ring at the same time and simply answer on whichever is nearest. With the appropriate apps for Android and iOS, you can also send and receive SMS messages.
SEOUL, Korea (AVING) — netTALK.COM, a publicly traded Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) company engaged in the sales of developed products and connectivity network phone service for the use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), has announced its netTALK DUO is now available on Walmart.com.
“We are thrilled to be working with such a leading global online retailer to deliver an affordable, convenient and portable solution to our customers looking to cut landlines and save money,” said Anastasios “Takis” Kyriakides, Chairman of netTALK.
This revolutionary VoIP device and digital phone service allows customers to quickly make free nationwide calls to any landline or mobile phone in the U.S. and Canada from anywhere in the world, as well…
Skype‘s official statistics have confirmed that it set a new record for simultaneous users of its VoIP service, with over 27 million online in the past seven days. In fact, both the 26m and 27m records were broken in short succession in the past few days; Skype is yet to comment officially on the numbers – they’re perhaps waiting for the 30m mark, which would be rounder and more press release friendly – but the breakthrough comes in the wake of video-capable iOS apps and new group calling functionality.
Whether those two factors have seen more users flock to the service remains to be seen, but it certainly looks as though Skype’s downtime over the holiday period has been forgotten or at least forgiven. A bug in a version of Skype for Windows was blamed for causing a chain reaction of supernode crashes, that pulled the VoIP service offline for an extended period.
LAS VEGAS, USA (AVING Special Report on ‘CES 2011′) — SBNTehc(www.sbn-tech,com) introduced All-in-one embedded Video Phone ‘MPAD’ at the International Consumer Electronics Show(CES) held at Las Vegas, USA for 4 days from January 6.
10.1-inch pad type ‘MPAD’ offers video phone functionality basically. Also it supports multimedia player and web browser functionality together with Android platform.
LAS VEGAS, USA (AVING Special Report on ‘CES 2011′) — ‘Tablet Home’, a home hub device with media convergence and strengthened home network was made public. ENSPERT’s foreign market penetration kicks into high gear in parallel with domestic launching. ENSPERT pushes forward export with large Japanese and U.S. companies.
ENSPERT specialized in media convergence (CEO, CS Lee, www.enspert.com) surprisingly made public “IDENTITY Herb, Model: S200U”, the Android-based ‘Tablet Home’ device (SoIP: Service Over IP) at CES, the biggest international exhibition for home appliances.
“IDENTITY Herb” of ENSPERT is a smart home device with strengthened function for home networking function and media convergence based on monitoring and controlli…
Skype has announced that it is buying Qik, in a deal rumored earlier on today. The deal, the company claims, will allow them to integrate Qik’s recording, sharing and storing capabilities to Skype’s existing video systems.
Meanwhile, it will also allow Skype to use Qik’s Smart Streaming technology, and the 60-strong employee team responsible for it and the Qik service, to further optimize video transmission over wireless networks. Earlier this week, Skype and NVIDIA demonstrated a new HD video calling system for Android, which could benefit from reductions in bandwidth use.
Terms of the deal have not been announced, but the earlier rumors suggested it would be worth in the region of $100m. Skype expects the deal to close later this month.
What’s better than a Cruiser? Why, a Cruiser2! A year after unveiling the original, Jabra is using CES to launch its first revision of the aforementioned in-car speakerphone. This guy packs Bluetooth 2.1, dual microphones, an internal speaker and a built-in FM transmitter that beams tunes and talk to your car stereo. You’ll also be greeted with voice guidance in nine different languages, and the internal battery will last through a solid 14 hours of yapping (or 13 days in standby). Moving on, the Chill corded headset and USB-powered Speak410 PC speakerphone are also debuting here in Vegas, with prices on those set at $29.99 and who-knows, respectively. Get the whole skinny just after the break.
NVIDIA has developed an Android Skype HD video calling reference platform, using the VoIP company’s SkypeKit SDK. The implementation, demonstrated at NVIDIA’s CES 2011 press conference today on an Android tablet, relies on Tegra 2′s native high-definition video processing capabilities, and promises cross-platform HD video calls.
“We are excited that NVIDIA has leveraged SkypeKit to build a reference implementation of HD video calling on Android Tablets. In the near future, consumers will be able to make video calls from their Tegra-powered Tablets to anyone else using Skype, whether it’s on a PC, Mac, TVs, or phones.” Manrique Brenes, Director of Business Development at Skype
So far, Skype supports audio-only on Android devices, with video calls – not in HD – only available in the recently released iOS version of the company’s app. The NVIDIA reference implementation will mean that PC and Mac users of Skype with HD webcams will be able to hold full resolution video conversations with Tegra 2 based tablets and superphones.
There’s no word from Skype as to when – or even if – they will be releasing the SkypeKit-based HD video call app, though we’re guessing they’ll be offering the technology to device manufacturers using the Tegra 2 chipset in their phones and tablets. That will hopefully include the LG Optimus 2X, which has a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calls, in addition to its 8-megapixel rear camera.
Rumors that the Chinese government was looking to block Skype appear to have been unfounded, with the VoIP service still available in China despite an ongoing moves to shut down “illegal” internet telephone providers. The move was portrayed as an attempt to protect state-sanctioned carriers China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile, who have each seen profits eaten into as cheap or free VoIP carriers take their business. However, Skype’s partner in China, TOM Group, insists that it is operating within the country’s laws and regulations.
“The operation of Skype in China is compliant with local laws and regulations. Currently, it is business as usual while service provision stays normal.” TOM Group spokesperson
The Chinese government has failed to identify which VoIP carriers it has been targeting in this latest crack-down, though there are suggestions that it is prioritizing small, domestic companies rather than larger, international operations like Skype.
