VoIP Cell Phone
- Using VoIP with
Cell Phone
Before many of us came to rely on cell phones to make long distance phone calls, our only option was to commit to a long distance phone company. Long distance carriers charged what were at times exorbitant by-the-minute fees to make calls to friends and loved ones often living only a few hours away. When cell phones came into prominence, they brought with them service plans that gave us such luxuries as free night and weekend calling anywhere domestically. Alas, even cell phones had their drawbacks, in that their reception was often broken up, and calls could be dropped unceremoniously. When along came VOIP, a new choice in long distance phone calling was on the horizon. VOIP has many different options, and now it seems that we have the choice of combining VOIP technology with cell phones.
- VoIP
is headed for Cell Phone
SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - For millions of users, voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, is lowering phone bills for calls they make from their PC or land-line phone. But soon VOIP could cut cell-phone bills, too - most of all for international users. It's a hard concept to get your head around: Many customers already pay a flat monthly fee for a bucket of calling minutes within U.S. But for business travelers, international students and immigrants, calling abroad can add up quickly. However, if they're already paying for a data plan, routing international calls over their phone's data connection -using VOIP- instead of a carrier's voice network, they can save considerable money.
- VoIP
on Cell Phone
As low-priced Internet phone services for mobile devices emerge, users should first check the fine print in their cell phone contracts to see if they can take advantage of such offerings. There's a chance they can't. T-Mobile International, which has mobile phone operations in Europe and the United States, is among the first companies to ban the use of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, or Internet-based telephone service) over its networks. Its Web 'n' Walk professional service expressly prohibits such usage, and the company reserves the right to terminate contracts. Like many other mobile phone companies, T-Mobile wants to protect its cash-cow telephone service from new providers of VoIP-over-mobile services, such as Mino Wireless USA. Last week, the Sunnyvale, California, company launched one of the world's first commercial VoIP-over-mobile services, offering fees as low as US$0.02 per minute for international calls.
- Motorola phones to call on VoIP
The world's No. 3 handset maker plans to add Internet phone software from Internet telephony provider Skype to a select number of Motorola phones that link to the Internet using short-range, high-speed Wi-Fi networks. With the phones, it'll be possible for Skype customers to call each other-at no additional cost, in most instances. Because the phones would steer calls away from cell phone networks, combination cell and voice over Internet Protocol phones could have a profound impact on the wireless industry. VoIP calls, connecting via a Wi-Fi network to a home broadband connection, can be made for free or at prices sometimes half of that for a cell phone call.
- VoIP Phone maker plans cell
While inside a building, the phones use an office's voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) network. Once outside, though, they switch over to a cell phone network, Mitel Chief Operating Officer Paul Butcher said this week. A U.S. carrier is interested in the device when it's ready for mass consumption, Butcher said. He added that the new phones will work first with an upgrade of Mitel's 5230 IP Appliance. The company wouldn't give an estimate of when the device will be ready. Mitel's effort is an example of the convergence of cell phones and VoIP, a cheaper form of telephone calling that uses the Internet. Most cell phone handset makers plan to make similar hybrid phones, but Mitel is among the first strictly IP phone makers to commit to such a device.
- Cell-Phones Taps VoIP
Cell-phone users can make calls over the Internet using a technology developed by i2 Telecom International. The company said the service works with all popular cell-phone services. You just make a call from your cell phone to your i2 Telecom box at home, said the firm's Rick Scherle in an interview Wednesday. And we hook you onto the Internet. Scherle, who is i2 Telecom's senior vice president of marketing, said the service will be available when shipments of the company's new InternetTalker MG-3 begin next month. The patent-pending technology behind the feature is embedded in the InternetTalker, which connects to existing broadband phone lines and Web connections at users' homes or offices. When a user dials into his home number, the InternetTalker recognizes the cell phone caller ID and immediately links the caller to the VoIP network. The InternetTalker can recognize up to three cell-ID numbers.
- Cell Phones getting VoIP capabilities
The new hardware is a response to growing demand. Mobile networks, aware that they can?t beat Internet call operators like Skype for cheap indoor phone calls, are itching to join them. BT Group PLC already has. In September, the British telecom began shipping Motorola handsets to the first customers of its BT Fusion service - the first in the world to allow users to switch in mid-call between cellular and Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, delivered via a Bluetooth wireless connection at home. The new Nokia 6136 and Motorola A910 handsets introduced at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona can connect to the Internet via WiFi, rather than Bluetooth, to make cut-price calls from the home, office or public hotspot. A handful of similar phones have been announced by smaller manufacturers in recent months.
- TruPhone Bring VoIP TO Nokia Cell Phones
A United Kingdom-based company announced Tuesday that it has developed a software solution that enables Nokia Series 60 cell phones to provide VoIP service using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology. SCN Ltd. launched its TruPhone Beta version for use with Bluetooth-enabled cell phones. Wi-Fi will come later, the firm said. You won't need a special phone or any special equipment," said Gavin Miller, SCN's press officer. "All you need is the software. Miller said the application is currently being tested by cell-phone service providers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). The firm cited Nokia's 6630, which it is using to test the service on Bluetooth. SCN's business plan calls for it to primarily market the service to wireless providers, although the service could also be offered directly to consumers by the company. Ideally, TruPhone would be licensed to service providers, Miller indicated.
- Cell Phones May Hold Key to VoIP
Market research firm In-Stat says it expects dual-mode cellular handsets to drive the mass consumer market to the eventual adoption of Voice over IP (VoIP) providers. In fact, the firm predicts 66 million users will sport Wi-Fi handsets by 2009 and 73 percent of consumer VoIP subscribers will use the devices. Currently, two percent of consumers subscribing to VoIP use dual-mode smart phones. The key to capturing the market for these next-generation personalized services is control of the end-point device, Keith Nissen, an In-Stat senior analyst, said. While mass production of dual-mode sets is not scheduled until 2007, the In-Stat market survey showed that over 80 percent of businesses have an interest in the technology.