Family Learning Center

Posts Tagged ‘Voip Applications’

Nimbuzz Introduces Native IM App For BlackBerry Smartphones

Mobile communication startup Nimbuzz has just made the first native application for BlackBerry smartphones that allows for multi-network chat sessions available in Research In Motion’s App World store (get it here).

The native functionality allows the free app to run in the background without interruption, have alert notifications ‘pushed’ to the BlackBerry device’s home screen and match notifications with the phone’s sound profiles.

The program is first-generation, and Nimbuzz promises more features are forthcoming. For instance, the app can today only be used for instant messaging conversations on BlackBerry smartphones, because the relevant API only very recently gained support for VoIP applications (the startup said to expect integration of Internet calling features in the app shortly).

Nimbuzz for BlackBerry currently supports online chat through Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, Facebook, MySpace and more. Both installation and usage of the communication tool are free of charge.

Nimbuzz, backed by $25 million in venture capital, notably also recently won the ‘Connect On Blackberry’ award at RIM’s BlackBerry Alliance Program’s EMEA Innovation Awards in Rome. To date, over 38 million BlackBerry devices have been sold, and Nimbuzz has been installed on about 12 million of them.

The new native app should work on all BlackBerry smartphones running OS v4.6 or higher, including the Storm, Bold, Tour, Pearl Flip and BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphones.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Read the whole story…

Week in Apple: VoIP on iPhone, Mighty Mouse makeover, jailbreaks

Users can now jailbreak (most) iPhone OS 3.1 devices and 3.1.2 is already out. VMware Fusion is getting a major update, too, and you will soon be able to develop iPhone apps using… Flash? Read on for the eclectic mix of top Apple news from this week:

5 cool things to sync with Dropbox on your Mac: Dropbox is great for syncing essential files over the Internet, but it’s good for more than just your daily images and Word files. Ars highlights five ways you can use Dropbox to sync essential info in your life, from passwords to your to-do list.

AT&T has change of heart about VoIP over 3G for the iPhone: Reversing a long-standing policy that prohibited VoIP applications on the iPhone from using the cellular data network, AT&T has announced today that such apps are no longer restricted to connecting over WiFi networks. The change of heart is a win for both net neutrality and for those hoping to save on expensive international calls or save precious mobile voice minutes.

Read the whole story…

Google refutes USA Today report on blocked Skype application

While Apple was busy batting away the FCC with its litany of reasons why its app approval process is totally hunky-dory, Google was apparently having it’s own VoIP-related firefight. It seems that an article in the USA Today which hit newsstands this morning alleges that the internet giant sought to block (dare we say reject) a full Skype application from making its way into the Android Market. The story claims that the application was neutered to become “a watered-down version of the original that routes calls over traditional phone networks” — which would obviously cast a decidedly malevolent slant to the benevolent company’s policies.

Here are the facts, clear and simple: While the first generation of our Android software did not support full-featured VoIP applications due to technology limitations, we have worked through those limitations in subsequent versions of Android, and developers are now able to build and upload VoIP services.

As we told USA Today earlier in the week Google did not reject an application from Skype or from any other company that provides VoIP services. To suggest otherwise is false. At this point no software developer — including Skype — has implemented a complete VoIP application for Android. But we’re excited to see — and use — these applications when they’re submitted, because they often provide more choice and options for users. We also look forward to the day when consumers can access any application, including VoIP apps, from any device, on any network.

[Via TechCrunch; Image courtesy eBoy]

Read – Google-AT&T-Apple fight over Net calls draws FCC interest
Read – Android and VoIP applications

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Google refutes USA Today report on blocked Skype application originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

Google launches Listen for Android podcasts, and says Android can support Skype

Google continues to expand the ecosystem around its Android operating system for mobile devices, as evidenced by a couple of announcements today.

Google’s research arm has launched Listen, an audio magazine that lets Android phone users subscribe to programs and search terms. That lets users line up podcasts without a lot of hassle.

Google Labs’ Listen lets you keep a couple of hours of audio stored on your cell phone, which is plenty for those who want to listen to podcasts during a commute. You can share the podcasts and search through updates for news.

You can use Listen with phones such as T-Mobile’s G1 and myTouch 3G with Google. You can download the app on those phones via the Android Market.

In another development, in an attempt to correct impression created in a USA Today article, Google clarified its approach to allowing Skype and other voice-over-Internet-protocol applications on Android-based phones. Andy Rubin, vice president of mobile platforms at Google, said in a blog post that the first generation of Android did not support full-featured VoIP applications due to technology limitations.

But he said that subsequent versions of Android now let developers build and upload VoIP services. He noted that individual operators can ask these apps to be filtered out if they “violate their terms of service.” T-Mobile said that it has not made any request to block Skype. And Google says it did not reject an application from Skype or any other VoIP provider yet.

He said Google is “excited to see — and use — these applications when they’re submitted, because they often provide more choice and options for users.”

Read the whole story…

It’s the Feds! FCC quizzes Apple, AT&T and Google about Google Voice apps

Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPhone, App Store

Earlier today, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) sent out letters to Apple, AT&T and Google, readable here [FCC's letter to Apple, to AT&T & to Google] asking each company about its involvement in the Google Voice app rejections. The agency is asking Apple to explain why the Google app was rejected and the third-party apps removed, if any VoIP apps have been approved, and whether there are general rules and regulations covering application approvals (something many developers would also love to know).

It’s worth noting that none of the Google Voice apps are VoIP (voice over IP) applications in the traditional sense, as they rely on the cellular carrier’s voice network to handle calls, so it’s not clear if the FCC understands this or if the agency is heading down a blind alley on this particular topic.

To Google, the letter asks if any other Google apps have been accepted in the store (we know there are a few), whether Apple explains the rejection process or the reasoning behind the treatment of Google Latitude, if there are other ways to use Google Voice on the iPhone (again, a somewhat naive question, as the service works fine via touchtone commands and Mobile Safari), and lastly and most intriguingly, what the app approval process is for Android applications (should be a short answer: “C’mon in, the water’s fine!”).

Finally, the agency is asking AT&T how the carrier was consulted on this decision, if any VoIP applications are running on their network (again, missing the point, since GV ≠ VoIP — more relevant that there are BlackBerry apps for Google Voice that are happily on AT&T handsets), and whether AT&T can provide a list of rejected applications on the store while detailing the role it plays in approving possible 3G-enabled services like Sling.

The FCC has given the three companies until August 21 to respond to their letters; while the overall scope of the questions betrays quite a bit of agency unfamiliarity with the workings of the Google Voice service and the App Store, any movement toward openness and clear answers is positive. Hopefully, these responses will offer some insight into the story of this whole mess that has given everyone such indigestion over the past week.

[via Engadget, links to FCC via BusinessWeek]

TUAWIt’s the Feds! FCC quizzes Apple, AT&T and Google about Google Voice apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read the whole story…