Windows Phone 8 SIP VoIP Client: Linphone #wp8 #SIP #vodia #snomone

Looks like a standards based SIP VoIP client is available for Windows Phone 8 and includes most needed features:

• Audio incoming calls in background mode using push notifications
• Audio outgoing calls
• SIP transports: UDP, TCP, TLS
• Call history and statistics
• Pause, resume, mute, speaker
• Exclusive BC's VoIP tunnel extension available
• Echo cancellation
• Chat (text and images)
• Phone contacts integration

Here is my quick first impression video review:

Notes

• Push notifications only work with specific service

It’s free, so if you have a Windows Phone 8, go grab it.

LinPhone for Windows Phone 8 on Store:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-gb/store/app/linphone/99661466-8c5c-489b-a567-569c1f480d29

Linephone.Org:
http://www.linphone.org/eng/linphone/news/linphone-for-windows-phone-8.html

First Picture of #Polycom CX5500 “Roundtable”IP #Lync Video & #SIP Audio Conference Station With It’s “CPU”

 

We have written about the CX5100 (USB)/CX5500 (IP) “Roundtable” devices before, but Graham Walsh posts the first picture of the Polycom CX5500 (SIP and Lync) IP video conference device with what appears to be the CPU beside it.

The CX5500 Unified  Conference Station, unlike the original “Roundtable” and it’s little sibling, the CX5100, is a standalone IP device that does not require a PC.

It appears that the CX5500 “CPU” has matching look: black with chrome, silver and red trim. (In a sense the CX5500 appears to be a CX5100 with touchscreen control and a “small PC” added)

Some of the known Polycom CX5500 Unified Conference Station’s features:

• 1080p 30fps HD 360 degree Video
• (5100 USB Only or 5500 as complete conference phone)
• SIP HD Audio conference explained Click Here
• New CX5500 Will Have a Touch Screen Interface (Click here)
• Can optionally be Integrated with Lync Room System
• Custom built for Lync 2013
• Device physical design revamp from original “Roundtable”
• “An all-new user interface”
• New The CX5500 can be a “fully featured SIP conference phone”
  • So if you are not using Lync you can still use the CX5500 for audio conference (Click here)

Source:
https://twitter.com/Graham_Walsh/status/378104371692990464

Ubiquitous VoIP UC over Mobile Data Plans: A Myth? Very Few Enterprise Vendors Seem Willing to Commit

I’ve been trying to find a major UC Vendor that supports UC media (voice/video) over mobile data plans (2G/3G/4G, etc). While there is a lot of marketing that makes it appear that UC Voice/Video/Collaboration on VoIP is a smooth ubiquitous experience, when you read the technical details, the solution is really designed to work on “WIFI” or “your corporate” network. In some cases, it is noted, you need to switch to your mobile voice network when you leave corporate WIFI.

As an example of this reluctance read these excerpts found in Jabber for Android release notes:

• “Voice quality over public Wi-Fi and mobile data network connections cannot be guaranteed.”
• “When using Cisco Jabber to participate in Cisco WebEx conferences, you may experience audio issues. For example, you cannot hear participants, participants cannot hear you, you hear choppy or synthetic audio, or participants hear your audio as choppy or synthetic. To resolve these issues, tap Hold and then tap Resume.”
• “Voice quality over mobile data network varies depending on the quality of your mobile data network connection and cannot be guaranteed. Examples of voice quality issues you may experience when using a mobile data network include the following:
  • If you are driving and listening to a voicemail message, you may have problems hearing the entire message and the audio may sound choppy or synthetic.
  • If you are driving and replying to a voicemail message, the recipient may have problems hearing the entire message and your message may sound choppy or synthetic.
  • If you try to access your voicemail and you enter your PIN, the time delay associated with remote access may cause prompts to play out of sync, or you may hear a message that you did not enter the PIN on time.”

Below is my informal (I did not contact each vendor/don’t claim to be expert in their mobility products) compilation of vendors that at first blush appear to do UC over VoIP everywhere, but when you start reading the technical brochures in it appears they are committing only to WIFI and Outside Voice/ Call Back/ Mobile Voice Network when not in WIFI range.

Note: I should note that vendor reluctance to commit to VoIP over mobile data networks is not a reflection against UC vendors, but a sign that mobile data networks in some (many?) areas are not primetime ready to handle real time communication data.

Note: If you find any mistakes in my informal research or have a vendor that does commit to VoIP over mobile data plan, let me know, along with URL source, and I’ll update this blog. Also if there is another vendor to add, drop me a comment.

Cisco Mobile iPhone Jabber 8.1: Wi-Fi

"Place, receive, and manage calls over a Wi-Fi network using your Apple iPhone..."
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps7290/ps11156/data_sheet_c78-658146.html
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11596/index.html

Cisco Android Jabber: Corporate Wi-Fi

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11678/index.html
In the video on this page it notes something like: you will need to switch to mobile voice network when leaving corp. wifi

Avaya One-X: Wi-Fi

"Wireless enabled enterprise campus 802.11 b/g/n"
Source click here

Shoretel Mobility: Wi-Fi/Mobile Data Networks

Shoretel Mobility can work over WIFI or Mobile Data Networks. In their technical notes (sources below) they note that when on WIFI you should use the below vendors, and i quote the list:

• Cisco (including integration with Wireless LAN Controllers and Mobility Services Engine)
• Aruba (including integrationwith Wireless LANControllers/Switches)
• Meru
• Motorola
• HP
• Trapeze
• Aerohive

When on 3G or less I wonder what the plan is to keep from an “experimental” end user experience?

Source: Click Here
Source: http://www.shoretel.com/solutions/enterprise_mobility

AltiGen Mobility for Microsoft Lync: WIFI/Mobile Data Networks/Outside Voice

Altigen supports Outside Voice for situations where VoIP over mobile data networks does not work.

Aastra Mobile Client Plus for iPhone: WIFI

It appears Aastra Mobile Plus for iPhone is designed to work in WIFI:

“The AMC+ dual mode function will setup the call over internet when you are in range of Wi-Fi access and in that way drastically reduce the mobile calling cost…”

Source: click here

AT&T VoIP App: Wi-Fi

"customers will benefit from the same rates using the app over Wi-Fi"
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/converg/2011/110711convergence2.html

Counterpath: Wi-Fi/3G (w/ Disclaimer)

“Bria iPhone Edition is a SIP-based phone for Apple iPhone and iPod touch that uses a Wi-Fi or 3G connection to make and receive calls.”

Do note the Counterpath disclaimer related to mobile operators terms of service:

“*IMPORTANT: VOIP OVER 3G NOTICE*
Some mobile network operators may prohibit or restrict the use of VoIP functionality over their network and may also impose additional fees, or other charges in connection with VoIP. You agree to learn and abide by your cellular carrier's network restrictions. CounterPath Corporation will not be held liable for any charges, fees or liability imposed by your carrier for use of VoIP over 3G.”

Source: click here
Source: http://www.counterpath.com/bria-iphone-edition.html

Damaka: Wi-Fi/3G

“…Moreover, damaka’s technology works across networks (WiFi, 3G, 4G). “
Source: http://damaka.com/damaka/

Some More articles that might be of interest:

Cisco says Call Back is not UC
why Outside Voice makes sense
Cisco Jabber Android Release Notes

The First Windows Phone SIP Client Hits Marketplace: MobileVoip App IS Tied To Service, But Voip is on Wp7

It appears that the first Voip over GSM/Wifi has made its way onto Windows Phone. I haven’t tested the product and it IS only available to use with select service providers. Also it is specifically notated as BETA. But what is interesting is that a SIP softphone app is now on Windows Phone, so we know its possible. And I expect other vendors are some where nearby hatching plans to release their own SIP/VoIP client. (perhaps even an open SIP client?) Here is what MobileVoip says about app:

MobileVoip offers free 3G or WiFi calls for Windows Phone 7, Android, Symbian and iPhone users!

If I am incorrect that this is the first VoIP over 3G/Wifi, please let me know via a comment or @matthewlandis on twitter.

Sources:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/4b71bdeb-8df6-444f-a611-33b58e205efd
http://www.mobilevoip.com/help/

Quality Level: Hobbyist.

Panasonic Enter The World of OpenSource and Hosted IP Phone Systems!

snom m9 Softphone for Windows - Quick Video Review #3cx #lync #snom

snom just can't get done "giving" in 2010! They've just released a free, Windows SIP softphone that makes a perfect companion for the snom ONE phonesystem (windows/mac/linux/sheevaplug). Using the snom ONE free (10 extensions)  with the new snom softhone makes it possible to deploy a nearly free PBX solution. While free pbx solution is not new, a free one that is enterprise grade sure is!

Whats There?
Well getting to the snom m9 softphone. It provides all the basic SIP phone capabilities one would expect: make and take calls, place calls on hold, DND and transfer calls. It uses the snom m9 management interface--which is a little interesting because of all the DECT features that show up that really do not apply to a softphone.

Whats Missing?
First, while this phone looks like an snom m9, it is not based on the snom m9 firmware and don't expect anything but simple SIP calls: no RSS feeds, XML apps, Lync compatibility, etc. And while the snom softphone has basic capabilities it does not have a lot of features that we all have come to expect will be on a softphone:

-Message Waiting Indicator
-Multi-Call handling
-Client based simple Conference 2 calls
-Click to dial, TEL: url dialing
-No busy lamp field or presence of other calls
-No definable function keys
-No video
-No SMS/IM'ing

It really is an initial release and shows somewhat. But it is a start to addressing the need for snom ONE to have a companion softphone. And to give snom a fair shake, this was brought to market very quickly!

Cisco SPA301 SIP Phone Video Review - The Cheapest SIP Phone In the World? PART 1

I'm on a quest to find the world's lowest priced enterprise grade SIP hardware phone! This search is leading to places...I mean...SIP phones, I don't normally glance at twice. But since we all have a project sometime or another were price is king, the "Cheapest SIP Phone in the World" blog/vlog series was born.

The first phone I decided to take a look at was the Cisco SPA301. In a world were mobile phone screens and deksphone screens seem to grow increasingly large with each iteration, it's amazing that a SIP deskphone/wallphone can survive at all with out ANY screen! ;-) That's right. That SPA301 has no screen. Scandalous I know. But how about a MSRP of $79? The cheapskate in all of us takes notice.

Only in this class of SIP phones is "Narrowest SIP phone I know off" a Con! ;-) Enjoy!


Pros:

-Cisco name
-Low cost
-Nice web interface
-Good handset feel
-Ringer on/off button
-Wall or desk mount
-Narrowest SIP phone I know off

Cons:
-no screen
-no POE
-no switch
-no transfer button
-Volume cycles instead of low / high rocker
-no speaker phone
-One led: Solid=MWI; Blinking=Ringing
-any settings related to sip registration requires a reboot;

-would be nice if there would be a key combination that announces IP address for initial setup

Oddities:
-Why is the LAN port is marked WAN?

Tips
-Press # after dialing a number will force SPA301 dial immediately.




Notes:
set volume of ringer using volume button.
Transfer and conference depend on your PBX features or star codes.
On snom ONE PBX the spa301 flash button puts calls on hold.

BREAKING NEWS: snom Releases Free Windows SIP Softphone

snom has just released a free, Windows, SIP softphone in an effort to provide a complete phone system solution. They now provide a completely free phone system along with SIP softphones. As always, I have commentary & opinions about this new solution but I'll hold that for another post. But you can go download and check out this new softphone right now.

How to use it:
http://wiki.snomone.com/index.php?title=The_snom_m9_softphone

Where to download it:
http://forum.pbxnsip.com/index.php?/topic/4140-snom-m9-soft-phone/page__pid__18038#entry18038

Mobile Phone As a SIP Softphone--Does Anyone Even Use It?

Counterpath has released an "enterprise grade" SIP softphone for both iPhone and Android. 3CX has released a free SIP softphone for Android and now also for iPhone. The latest version of Android 2.3 apparently now has a SIP softphone (and videophone?) built into Android. (possibly making all the other products moot?) And Windows Phone 7 has a pretty nice Google Voice client and now there are even rumors that a coming update will add Voip calling to Windows Phone 7!

With all this buzz the big question is: Do people actually use their phones as a VOIP client? I decided to find out and did a survey of the geekiest of geeks and this is my finding: 23% of PBX admins actually use a SIP client day to day! Roughly (note that blogger.com's survey doesn't calculate accurately ;-) 75% either never use it or did it in a testing environment!

Soo maybe we don't even need a voip client for mobile devices...

Someone Is Attempting to Hack Into Your Windows (or Linux) Phone System Right Now

NOTE: The attacks mentioned below are equally targeted at Linux, Mac and Windows. SIP attack vulnerabilities are the same for all of them.

Your Windows PBX is just waiting to be hacked! I'm not kidding. I happen to be on a security kick right now. The other day I was monitoring the incoming SIP traffic on a network. Guess how long it went until some unknown IP address was trying to login to the PBX? Less than 10 minutes! In another case a small business using a voip phonesystem got a call from their phone company asking if they really wanted to be making calls to Nigeria?!!

Windows based phone system vendors are also becoming aware that security is not just "feature" to tick off and list along with hundreds of others but a core pillar of a robust communication solution.

3CX issued a big security fix for v9 of the 3CX phone system at the beginning of September to address some urgent vulnerabilities. According to 3CX "it is very important that you install this update asap". This is veiled language to mean if someone fires up SipVicious and points it at your unpatched 3CX PBX it can bring it to a crawl and render it unusable. Get patched.

pbxnsip has been paying quite a bit of attention to security for some time. Or as they put it "Security was not an afterthought and focused on since day 1." You can read more on pbxnsip security features here. Automatically blocking malicious IP addresses attempting to hack SIP passwords has been in place since v4.0. Thorough security breach notification system is in place via email notices, snmp or syslog. Since pbxnsip is a great fit for the SMB as well as large hosted implementations it is not surprising the focus on security is high.

This email always gives me a warm sense of security. ;-)

 I did a quick search of the Windows-based Yeastar BizPBX Administrator manual and the word security came up 3 times and never in relation to SIP attacks. A quick search of the 3CX phone system admin manual turns up 2 references to security. (I was a little surprised by that) Another Windows PBX from PCBest had no references to security in their manual. Contrast this to pbxnsip/snomONE's admin manual with no less than 25 references to security.

What can you do?

-Absolutely use secure SIP passwords

-Turn on PBX features to fend off SIP hacker attacks with (such as auto block IP address)

-Delete unused test extension accounts that aren't secured

-Have secure web users portal logins

-Limit registrations per extension to one
-Use secure SIP trunk passwords as well.
-Become familiar with a tool like sipvicious (links below)
-STAY ON MAINTENANCE for your PBX & keep it updated so you don't get taken down.

With phone system and communication solutions becoming easier and easier to implement and administrate the possbility that some business owner will install a phone system and have it in a very vulnerable state is highly possible. After a $500 SIP trunk bill for calls to Timbuktu or a phone system that is brought to crawl on your busiest day of the year because of DOS --security gets front top attention!
Is there anymore security measures you would add to this list? If so please comment below!

http://blog.sipvicious.org/

http://code.google.com/p/sipvicious/

(aka Freindly Scanner)

Some Windows Phone System Releases & Announcements This Week of June 19, 2010

3CX announce RC2 of version 9 of their Windows based phone system. They keep adding features at an absolutely dizzing pace. You can read more:
http://www.3cx.com/blog/news/3cx-phone-system-9-rc2/

Just in case you missed it, 3CX also aquired an Android based SIP client. The resident Android fan boy here at Landis Computer (not me ;-) did a quick test of the client but said that while it really looks nice he wasn't able to get it to register so he used another Android SIP client. We plan to do a video review of the 3CX Android client as soon as a little time affords. Read More Here.

Blink, the "best SIP client in the world", announced a new Mac release. Read more here: http://icanblink.com/changelog.phtml

 Blink for Windows and Linux has been postponed, according to http://www.icanblink.com/ website. From my experience AG Projects puts out very quality software. I'm looking forward to Blink for Windows and I expect it to be similar quality once it gets here.

Why Aren't More People Federating?

Tommy Clark asks: Why Wouldn't We Connect 360 Million People To Our Communication Solution?
Right now having the option to see presence, do video calls or desktop sharing with 360M might seem futuristic. But some day BDM's will be smacking themselves on the forehead and say "what were we thinking?"

I also wonder if some standard mechanism to make it easier to federate and add users from other phone systems using SIP needs to be devised?

Read Tommy's Article Here:
http://www.cinline.se/2010/06/why-not-connect-360-000-000-people-with-your-business/

Blink: A SIP Client for the Masses? (That Takes Out Communicator and Skype With One Swipe?)

A little while ago I was looking for a SIP client that included desktop sharing ability along with voice. After using Microsoft Communicator's increadibly smooth-to-use desktop sharing feature for a couple weeks I was hooked on 1-click desktop sharing integrated into the client. Since we sell and implement a SIP based phone system (pbxnsip) I thought it would be great to have a Windows-base SIP client with features like Communicator. You know--there are not too many SIP clients that do desktop sharing? Well, in my search I stumbled across the Mac-based Blink. The website advertised "Windows version coming soon!" So I couldn't ignore! But I must admit I got sidetracked from the desktop sharing feature after looking at this impressive SIP client!  

What is so Impressive About Blink? 

The level of attention to detail is hard to miss: The GUI is crisp, clean, and works very naturally and intuitively. (The UI is very similar to Office Communicator but, If I remember correctly, Ag Projects CEO said he hasn't even seen Communicator!) Even the audio sounds and feedback is just elegant. Secondly you can just start using Blink and do quite complex things without a help file: such as start a multi-party voice conference using drag and drop! This ability to "surface" functionality is something that I think is so important-- and Blink seems to get that. Blink also has a bunch of distinctive features: HD Audio, multi-party audio conference (which lets you easily do things like mute a conference caller with a single click and more), handle multiple audio conferences at the same time, multi-party Instant Message, Desktop Sharing and more. Finally, Blink is a based on the very solid SIP Simple SDK so it is very stable and new features can easily be implemented. And remember all this comes for FREE. 

An Interview with Blink CEO, Adrian Georgescu  

I actually got a MacBook just to test Blink! (well actually, it was the last straw...I already had decided it was time to test a Mac!) After testing Blink I was as impressed with the actual product as I was with the website feature list and screen shots and had some more questions about the product. Adrian Georgescu the CEO of AG Projects, which is the maker of Blink, generously setup a demo and time to talk. 

Matt: What is the goal for Blink? 

Adrian: Ease of use is #1 goal. When my father can use it we achieved a major milestone...We are after a 1 click install experience. We aim to have a product that is easy to setup and use by regular consumers without knowledge in the underlying technology. The same software is however flexible enough to provide a powerful communication tool for the more advanced users. 

Matt: Blink Looks Like Office Communicator. Is that who you are after? 

Adrian: Actually I have never seen Communicator. No. We see Blink as a SIP based Skype alternative. Blink can be used as a SIP endpoint for any SIP based solution. Secondly, we have the whole back end SIP infrastructure to provide a fully blown service that scales to serve millions of users. We are able to provide a complete turn-key solution to operators who wish to provide a SIP service.

Matt: With all the buzz around social networking do you plan to add that into Blink? 

Adrian: Do what you do good. We don't see this as a differentiating feature, we wish to stick to our core competence and build the best SIP client in the world rather than an average, do it all general-purpose client. Others, can certainly contribute if they want and extend it. The Open Source code is available at http://icanblink.com/download.phtml.

Matt: Do you plan a mobile edition? 

Adrian: At this moment we study what option offers a future-proof path. Nothing decided yet, mobile world is right now going through major changes and APIs are changing very often. 

Matt: I understand Blink was started in Dec 1, 2009. Do you feel Blink is stable? 

Adrian:  We believe is very stable. There is a very strong foundation under Blink. It is based on a proven SDK. We have been in the SIP business since 2002 and we have been successful in writing code that resists time...no wasted code so far.

Matt: I'm interested in the Windows version of Blink. Will features like desktop sharing be taken out of Windows edition of Blink? 

Adrian: No worries. Desktop sharing in Blink is using VNC and it will be working in Windows too.

Matt: Video is currently not in Blink. Why not and will that be a big undertaking? 

Adrian: There is a very strong foundation under Blink...new features do not require a new foundation. Blink supports SIP in general-not just voice/voip. The ability to add media types is easy-- would estimate is little effort to add video. Our efforts now are directed to porting Blink to Windows and Linux, video will be added after this milestone is reached. It is also the right moment because of the VP8 royalty free codec provided by Google. This matches better the Blink DNA...

Matt: Any final comments? 

Adrian: We are making an easy to use client for the masses that will be a future proof product based on SIP. We will be presenting the product in the coming months. We expect it to increase uptake on Windows version. If you own a Mac I would suggest you head right over to http://icanblink.com and test drive Blink. If not, keep an eye on Blink's website.

ps-- Keep your eye on this SIP client because it is going places. The Windows edition is just around the corner. Also, did I hear somewhere that Blink is shooting for world domination? ;-) 

Survey Results: Are Mobile Phone SIP Clients Ready for Primetime?

The results are in for the survey: Are Mobile Phone SIP Clients Ready for Primetime? It appears that overwelmingly respondents don't think that we should be trying to do voice over mobile device right now if we want a good connection.

This corresponds with my personal experience trying to make voice over 3G work. My experience is delays in the audio that are high enough to make conversation difficult at best. At other times the audio was dropped entirely. (ATT) We are located in a rural area so I'm sure in NYC this would be better. Input from others is that when you switch cell phone towers calls are dropped.

I don't think Ageet and other mobile SIP vendors want you to hear this. And I presume that 3G will continue to improve.

Having said all that a majority of respondents DO think a mobile client that provides presence and IM would be a workable solution. What vendors make such a client? Microsoft Mobile Office Communicator, Fring, and pbxnsip PAC solutions do this.

Once again everyone, Thanks for you input!

Free Windows SIP Softphone Gets Wireless Headset Support

There has been a lot of requests for wireless headset support for the free 3CXPhone v4 and 3CX has just announced that they now support Plantronics headsets. Way to go 3CX. Read more at:

http://www.3cx.com/blog/docs/3cxphone-wireless-plantronics/

I haven’t had a chance to test this integration yet so if anyone has I’d be glad for your comments below.

3CX CEO Comments on Microsoft Communication Server Developements

The 3CX Phone System and marketing efforts around it by 3CX certainly has brought a lot of attention to the possibility of running your phone system on a Windows based computer system. 3CX has especially brought the Windows based phone system to the small business because of it's ease of installation and low price. 3CX is not the first company to bring a phone system to the Windows world but certainly has invested a lot in letting the world know that your phone system can run on Windows.

Just today, Nick Galea, CEO of 3CX has commented on the recent developements of Microsoft Communications Server (formerly Microsoft Office Communication Server). Nick reiterated that PBX's are moving to software, and how that Microsoft will help in explaining the case for communications on Windows. Nick also noted how this move by Microsoft may affect 3CX:

At the same time, we have 'gained' a significant competitor and the question is how much of this now huge Windows PBX market will choose Microsoft Communications Server over 3CX Phone System.

One thing in the article that I would want more information on is the comment that 3CX integrates to Microsoft Office as good as Communicator. To quote the article:

And in the case of telephony it does not have a big strategic advantage in terms of integration with other Microsoft products. The Office 2010 communication APIs will be available to 3CX and we will achieve a similar level of Office integration.

One of the very strong points of Communicator is it's integration to Office. Why do I say this and what are some of the integration points I'm talking about?

-Instant Message history is automatically stored and searchable in Outlook
-If you Instant Message someone and they don't acknowledge an IM it is sent to their Outlook --Inbox as an email automatically
-Inside outlook you can see user presence anywhere that user shows up (Inside Outlook)
-You can label an instant message's subject so you can easily find it in Outlook history
-Search Outlook contacts from inside Communicator (live connection to Outlook)
-Outlook Appointments can change Communicator presence to "In Meeting" automatically
-Missed Calls show up in Outlook

Click here to see my video on Communicator integrating to Office. Microsoft also has a great video on how Communicator and Office integrate.

We haven't talked about integrations into current versions of Sharepoint & CRM.
And Outlook, Word and Excel 2010 have even deeper integrations to Communicator along with the 2010 version of Dynamics products.

Current version of Dynamics CRM Integration:
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2010/01/free-in-depth-integration-between-ocs.html

Dynamics GP 2010 Integration to Communicator:
http://dynamicssmallbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/01/microsoft-dynamics-erp-gets-in-depth.html

Nick makes a very good point that the PBX is a huge market. 3CX certainly has some things it does very well:
-Very low cost
-Very easy to use interface
-Very easy to install
-Very good how to install hardware documentation

Adtran, pbxnsip and others fill the more advanced PBX market that wants more pbx features, more mature platform and still simple infrastructure.

Microsoft fills a need for those that have next generation communication needs that allows users to securely federate presence/collaboration between companies, easily bump an IM/voice call to include HD video, & desktop sharing. Microsoft fills the need for those that want communication enable applications and want to benefit from an ever growing eco-system for MS Communication Server.

If Microsoft would release a Microsoft Communications Small Business Server, like it's very popular Small Business Server 2008 the playing field for small business communications would be massively altered. The lively field of Windows-base communication solutions certainly keeps things interesting.

Read the whole blog article by Nick at:
http://www.nickonit.com/2010/03/microsoft-endorses-software-based-pbx.html

Free, Unified Communication SIP Client Coming to Windows World?

I think it is imperative that existing, open SIP phone systems get a rich, collaborative SIP client to take the existing phone systems to the next level. After using Microsoft Office Communication Server at our own office I can see that this new collaborative way of communicating will take business by storm and existing solutions will need to get better to survive.

What are some of the features that need to be in the next generation SIP Client? full featured IM client, Wideband audio, rich audio conference call control from the PC, presence, desktop sharing, and video calls and multiparty video. Social network interoperability is increasingly becoming a must.

The SIP client that most closely fills this bill that I know of is the Blink SIP client by AG Projects. Currently this product does everything noted above except video and social network integration. The product is currently only available for MAC but is slated for Windows & Linux "soon". When I asked Blink spokesman Adrian Georgescu when Blink for Windows will be available his comment: "no date to announce yet". I think this product is worth watching closely.

http://icanblink.com/

Opensource "SIP Communicator" to Bring OCS Like Features to SIP IP PBX World?

A couple months ago I took a look at the Opensource project called SIP Communicator. It's goals looked interesting but I couldn't even get the product to register to my SIP PBX so I moved on.

Just this weekend in my effort to find a rich, collaboration oriented SIP client--I ran across the SIP Communicator product again--And this time it got my attention! First I could make a call and IM. (big strides there). It also has gotten some pretty impressive features: desktop streaming and computer audio call conferencing...and more. (see who is speaking, mute the noisy person with a click!). One last thing is the UI got totally refresh that looks more pleasing to me. (actually it has taken on similarities in design to the MS Office Communicator!)

Some of the computer based collaborative features is what makes OCS just shine and if the IP PBX's don't get moving will make them irrelevant. Some of the collaboration features that typicall PBX phone systems lack is:

-Desktop sharing
-Computer controlled audio/video conference (mute that loud breather)
-Rich Presence
-Video calling
-Multi-Person Video Conference
-Full featured Internal/Biz/Secure IM
-Public IM Interoperability (MSN, Gmail)
-Social Network Integration (facebook)

Most of the items on this list the SIP Communicator either has done or has it on the roadmap for not that distant future.

This project has made huge strides since I last looked at it. It is still "unstable" but looks like it is getting closer to version 1.0. SIP Communicator is not doing a great job of communicating what they are doing and there isn't even a basic User Manual. But if SIP Communicator " can deliver the goods", this product is one for Windows (or any! Linux, Mac, Android) phone system people to watch closely.

I don't think the PBX world should pooh-pooh Microsoft's Gurdeep's claim of no deskphone too loudly. The power of a rich PC Client app deeply integrating communication and collaboration activities is very powerful indeed.

Maybe the SIP based PBX can still close the "collaboration features" gap with OCS yet? If OCS gets more PBX features--PBX's sure better get more collaboration features. Maybe the OCS / PBX battle isn't over? ;-)

Click Here to Goto the SIP Communicator Website.
Click Here to Download SIP Communicator for Windows

ps-If you know of a commercial SIP client with the above features I would love to hear from you. Please email me or comment below.

What Do You Think: Are Mobile Phone SIP Clients Ready for Primetime?

I keep testing SIP phones for my Windows Mobile. They all seem either too clunky to use or have some major feature that doesn’t work. Or, there isn’t enough bandwidth (mobile cpu?) to keep a nice conversation going. Or in some cases it just doesn’t work—is the mobile provider blocking it? Here is some of my experience trying to answer the question: Is there an enterprise ready Mobile SIP Voice Solution?

I’ve tried the Windows Mobile 6.1 SIP client that is built into Windows Mobile 6.1 phones. This solution has a lot of potential in my mind because you are using the cell phone software built into the phone so there is not the switching between phone software. Amazingly this solution switches between GSM and WIFI automatically when WIFI is available. That is cool. But this solution requires a “hack” to get it working. Well, kinda working. In my case the voice volume was not acceptable and the ever present issue with the voice/audio coming out the speaker phone instead of the ear piece. So slash that one of the list.



I’ve also tried Ageet phone. This brings up the issue of running 2 phones on your mobile phone which I find a little “geeky” and fiddle prone. But of all the Windows Mobile SIP phones I’ve looked at this seems the most mature and simple to install and get working. But once again the voice came out the wrong speaker.Now that I could actually make a call I noticed that the call audio broke up. Not enough bandwidth? Not enough phone cpu? No sure.

What about iPhone? I’m not a iPhone user but I hear the problem there is that you run 1 application at a time so it is a little tricking to get your calls…but maybe someone can correct me on this?

Another player to think about is Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile. Communicator on mobile does not do Voice/Media. Is this because Microsoft wasn't ready to roll it out? Or because they didn't deem 3G reliable enough to do? Or just because RTaudio would take more cpu than is in any current mobile device?

What do you think? Is Mobile SIP Voice/Media ready for primetime? Do you know a solution that is?

Please vote on our survey about "Is Mobile SIP Ready for Primetime?". Also, I'd be very glad to hear your comments and solutions you think work...comment below!

The Favorite Free SIP Softphone Among Windows Admins Is the 3CX SoftPhone and Counterpath's X-Lite

The 3CX Softphone and X-lite ran neck to neck in this most popular-to-date survey we'ved run with 3CX inching just a little ahead in the end. All other softphone seems to have an inconsequential amount of votes. What do people like about these phones?

3CX
-Integrates tightly with the 3CX Phone System
-Integrates with the 3CX Call Assistant
-Incoming call pop capability
-The iPod like interface?

X-Lite
-Product has been around
-Video support
-SIP Instant Message client built right into the softphone
-Standard SIP Presence right on the softphone
-Conference call

Also here is an article about 20 Free SIP Softphones!
http://blog.voipsupply.com/free-sip-softphone-roundup

Thanks for all your input!