#Android & #iOS Lync Client Xavy Gets Update That Makes It Functional, Holiday Price Drop to $.99

Xavy (aka Xync) has a beleaguered history: The first Android/iOS VoIP client on the market but unfortunately the product was pre-Beta quality when released. Now in a bittersweet turn, the product seems to be nearing a market ready state just as Microsoft themselves is close to releasing mobile VoIP clients, not only for Android and iOS but also for Windows Phone.

Here are my quick findings after purchasing Xavy (for the 3rd time? ;-P) My tests are done on a Android Xavy Version 6.28.050717.4.1 on a Samsung Galaxy III.

Good Changes:

• Xavy now on Holiday sale for $.99
• I can now make PSTN and video calls without Xavy crashing
  

Bad Changes:

• Now you need to register the app, using your corporate email AND Lync ID before you can use it. (this really doesn’t sit well with me—seems very invasive and clunky to boot)

Issues Remain

• UI remains not very  finessed
• UI the same on all platforms
• odd looking icons, not a great deal of attention to UI design
• dialing pad gives a tone "echo" on each digit press
• presence in contact list does not update timely (ever?)
• Trying to listen to a voicemail seemed to get stuck on “Fetching…”
• Photos in contact list do not update/very hit miss
• video on side (90 degrees) for remote party
• very slow presence update on 3G (perhaps 3G?)
• App crashed out several times during testing (my device?)
• When switching to WIFI Xavy would not seem to login (perhaps my device?)

My advice: before rolling this client out I would definitely put it through thorough testing.

Xavy also has an edition, Xavy Attendee, that allows non-authenticated mobile users to attend Lync meetings much like the Lync Attendee client.

Finally, a product that seems it could have had promise. Unfortunately Xavy has likely worn out most users’ patience and wallets by the time it becomes useable. With Microsoft releasing a VoIP Lync mobile client and Lync MVP Thomas Poet noting Microsoft’s set to release Lync Mobile Wave 2 (VoIP) sometime in first part of 2013, we suspect most will wait.

 

Links:

https://xavy.damaka.com/xavy/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.damaka.ucc.XyncCollab.A.ui&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.damaka.ucc.XavyMeeting.ui&feature=more_from_developer#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEwMiwiY29tLmRhbWFrYS51Y2MuWGF2eU1lZXRpbmcudWkiXQ..

Lync Phone Edition Gets Much Anticipated Music on Hold Feature in Just Released December 2012 Update

 

Appears like Lync Phone Edition version 7577.4363 for “Tanjay” and 7577.4366 for “Aries” is here.

Known features:

• Music on Hold on Lync Phone Edition (preset & not changeable) Details of Feature, Click Here
  • the audio file is embedded in the LPE update and *NOT* changeable
  • Only the first call put on hold will get music…due to device/”Aries” CPU
  • the music on hold file played is the defaultHold.wma
• The device will now be branded “Lync Phone Edition” instead of “Lync 2010 Phone Edition”
• LPE will support Lync 2010 and Lync 2013

For my blog on every possible question you could ask about Lync and Music on Hold, click here.
For step to update your LPE devices, check out Jeff Schertz’s step by step blog: click here.
An interesting note: snom UC Edition (Lync) has had MOH for some time already click here.

Update Description: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2737911

Polycom/Nortel: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21644
HP: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28158

BYOD SBA: Making Small Branches Offices Survivable Without Lync SBA?

If you have a small branch office, with just a handful of users and they would like to be able to receive calls in the event of a branch office WAN failure, the typical Lync answer is a SBA (or Survivable Branch Appliance) This is a slick solution but does have an associated cost. This especially adds up for a company with many, very small branch offices.

Is there another solution between nothing and a SBA? Actually, there might be: Use the existing Lync mobile infrastructure along with the existing mobile calling infrastructure your employees already have as your mobile powered “SBA" solution. If employees notice their PSTN calling is down, their first response will be to pull their mobile out of their pocket and use it---so why not make it a part of the official plan? Why not use the infrastructure that is already in place?

Just have users pull their smartphone equipped with Lync mobile out of their pocket, forward calls to their mobile and...voila..."mobile powered SBA" is up! For those with "dumb" phones, IT at HQ can enable forwarding using SEFAUtil. If it is not an incredibly busy office you could have all calls forward to one “attendant” mobile number as well.

A way to make this solution even more automated (and even kind of elegant?) would be to create a script that pings the branch in question. If this fails, a preset script using SEFAUtil forwards calls of all users at that branch to their mobile phones.

Since the next gen of headsets from plantronics/jabra/etc support both deskphone and mobile, this experience could remain similar as well during down time. Also, this mobile powered “SBA" will become even more functional once Lync Mobile supports VoIP.

Some nice things about this solution

• inbound and outbound calling
• Employee mobile numbers are not exposed (normal Lync Mobility feature call via work)
• voicemail retrieval continues to work.
• Just turn off call forwarding to let calls go to voicemail.
• No limited functionality: IM/Presence/Contacts continue to work (wink)

Some challenges with this solution:

• users need to have a mobile phone and be willing to use it for work
• there needs to be central capacity to handle a branch down scenario
• Lync Mobile forwarding will not work with Response Groups

 

Obviously this is a work around, and only for small branch offices. But, for very small branch offices this could be a basic, alternative survivability option. If you have additional ideas, let’s hear them!

Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer for Lync & #Exchange Gets Big Refresh

New /Enhanced

• Exchange and Lync connectivity test sites combined
• Lync Mobile Autodiscover tests
• New Office365 DNS and Free/Busy test

Go check it out!

http://testconnectivity.microsoft.com

https://www.testlyncconnectivity.com/

[News] Microsoft Lync Public IM Connectivity to Yahoo Messenger Goes End-Of-Sale Today (Dec 14, 2012)

According to Yahoo and Microsoft, PIC to Yahoo Messenger (Lync to Yahoo Messenger federation) can no longer be purchased as of today. (Dec 14, 2012) This is the beginning of the process to shut down ahoo PIC. Microsoft says the exact date is TBD but will be no sooner than June 2013.

Considering that the lights are being turned on for Skype, I am more than happy with the trade.

Sources:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/lync/archive/2012/11/26/lync-and-yahoo-federation-end-of-life.aspx
http://www.ymessengerblog.com/blog/2012/11/30/updates-to-yahoo-messenger-features/

Skype Federation:
http://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-to-enable-skype-to-lync-20102013.html