AudioCodes Brings My “Crazy” Concept Lync Phone to Life in Form of AudioCodes 400HD

Remember my concept LPE Device? (see complete blog article here) Appears like Audiocodes has decided to bring it to life in the form of the newly Lync Qualified Audiocodes 400HD Series.

While it may not have every last feature I noted, it is eerily close.

Below Alan Percy gives me some details from the #LyncConf13 floor:

Microsoft Lync Mobile 2013: Everything You Wanted to Know

Microsoft has publicly demo’d their highly anticipated Lync Mobile 2013 client that does voice and video over IP. Below is an overview of what we heard about the new mobile clients.

Here is my 5minutes with Nokia 920 with the Lync 2013 Mobile client:

 

What Mobiles O/S’s Will Get Love?

What Features Will Each Client Have?

General Features

Below

Who Will Get Call Via Work?

Exactly Who You would have expected.

What Video Codecs Supported on Lync 2013 Mobile?

Some ScreenShots of Lync 2013 Mobile:

What video will look like on iPhone:

SnapView of Windows Store App During a Meeting

Visual Voicemail will be on all platforms. this is a poor, but the only screenshot I have:

 

Some Things you might NOT have expected:

• the iPhone version will NOT use Push Notifications but the same method as Android due to Apple Push not being reliable enough
• Ability to control if WIFI Required for VoIP
• Visual Voicemail and CallBack Method of Voicemail retrieval

What Will Be Included? and Not Included (from Q&A After a session at #Lyncconf13)

• Visual Voice on all platforms (included)
• Conversation History (not included)
• Collab for mobile phone platforms is not included but “on the roadmap”
• Adding Contacts is not included but “on the roadmap”
• Call via Work Will Be Supported Along with VoIP (included)
• Call Transfer is not included but “on the roadmap”
• Will NOT include handover between different networks (WIFI to 4G for example) (Source: click here)

When Will the Client Arrive?

The simple story:

• WindowsPhone and iPhone Q1 2013
• Android Q2 @2013

But see more below

Tweeting Live from Lync Conference 2013

If you were not able to make it to Lync Conference 2013: I’m sorry to hear that! But I will try to do my job and bring you any announcements/cool new products/vendor product & interview videos via twitter so follow/watch https://twitter.com/matthewlandis or follow hashtag #lyncconf

Here are My Key Takeaways of Lync Conference 2013

• Microsoft the first Enterprise communication vendor to have massive presence and connectivity from the Enterprise to Consumer: Living Room to Boardroom and B2X are terms Microsoft is using to talk about this developement
• Microsoft has invested heavily to get a full featured Lync Mobile client, with feature parity, on all major mobile platforms: BYOD fully embraced and no fear that it will be Microsoft mobile centric
• Microsoft is fully committed to Lync Server, demonstrated by announcing Lync Server 2014 in beginning of 2014. (no plans to rebrand it to Skype Server. Ent. and Consumer marketing will be intentionally preserved)
• Now that Lync is in Skype division expect Faster Release Cycles: Already demonstrated by several things: iteration via apps stores, CU including much more than fixes, and next Lync Server version announced for 2014
• Cisco and Avaya see Microsoft Lync + Skype as a major threat to their business as evidenced by blogs during conference (links below)

More Lync Conference 2013 Recaps

• Various 1 Minute Videos With Attendees Thots on LyncConf13: http://www.youtube.com/user/landiscomputer
• Tom Arbuthnot Video Summary: http://kressmark.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-great-lync-conference-of-2013.html
• Kressmark UC Blog: http://kressmark.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-great-lync-conference-of-2013.html
• Atea/Stale Hansen: Click Here
• http://trogjels.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/lync-conference-2013

TakeAways: Monday 2/18

• Polycom HDX 4500 is the first industry video end point qualified for Lync: Click Here
• snom 7xx Series Now Lync 2013 Certified: Click Here
• Audiocodes is planning to Lync Qualified there HD Series IP phones: Click Here
• If you want to watch the Lync Conference Keynotes, please see the following URL: Click Here
• If you are here at the Lync Conference, make SURE you give your biz card to any of the UCArchitects podcast guys with the black tee-shirts. They have 67 Lync goodies to give away (like IP phones, headsets and more)

TakeAways: Tuesday 2/19

• A Lot of Details About Lync Mobile 2013: Click Here
• Lync Room Systems: Native Lync software for Room Systems Makes Some Interesting Devices: Click Here
• Surprise: The venerable Lync Rountable will Get Gen2 Revision (not many details)

TakeAways: Wednesday 2/20

• Technical details of how Skype Lync Federation will work: Great Summary by Greg, Click Here
• System Center Advisor: Lync Server Monitoring for Free? BPA for Lync on Steroids? Click Here
• Lync Server 2013 Will Get Top Asked for Feature: Call Pickup Groups: Click Here
• Lync Server 2013 To Get Non-Emergency Location Based Routing: Click Here (via @mkressmark)

TakeAways: Thursday 2/21

• Lync’s UCWA API (thinks webRTC-like app enabler) Website coming at CU1: http://ucwa.lync.com/
• Lync Server 2013 CU1 to be much more than CU, It will include substantial features: Location Routing, Group Call Pickup, Mobile VoIP clients, more…

Interesting Facts From Lync Conference 2013

• 2,000 Twitter Mentions of #LyncConf13 on Tues Alone
• Former President Jimmy Carter shared the Del Coronado With Conference Attendees: Click Here

My LyncConf13 Photo Book

Below is my photo stream for Lync Conference (or click here for slideshow):

Other UC Vendors Respond to Lync Conference 2013

Cisco’s Lync Blogpost:
http://blogs.cisco.com/news/what-really-matters-in-collaboration/

Avaya’s Lync Blogpost:
http://www.avaya.com/blogs/archives/2013/02/freeish-aint-freeish-the-true-cost-of-microsoft-lync.html

Get To Know Me & Some Tips on Lync Voice in Interview on NexHop by Fellow MVP Justin Morris

 

Justin Morris has taken time out of his busy schedule to do an interview of me for his “Interview with a Lync Pro” Series on the Microsoft Lync team’s NexHop site. If you can’t get to the Lync Conference, this is a way to get a little peak into my life and background with Microsoft Lync. But even better, let’s chat at Lync Conference!

Click Below for the Interview:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/nexthop/archive/2013/02/13/interview-with-a-lync-pro-matt-landis.aspx

Justin Morris’ Excellent Lync Blog:
http://www.justin-morris.net/

Microsoft Lync 2013 Client Gets February 2013 Update: Most Requested Feature, Hide Offline Contacts Included!

 

This update includes quite a few fixes including the most requested feature over at http://lync.ideascale.com/: Hide Offline Contacts, which had 69 votes!

Enhancements Noted in KB 2812461

• Enables users to hide offline contacts in the contact list.
• Enables users to receive buddy invites from untrusted networks.Note This option is available under Alerts in Lync Options.
• Improves the support for high dots per inch (DPI) displays, for Microsoft Narrator, and for other accessibility features.
• Fixes bugs that are related to Location sharing and settings.
• Fixes bugs that are related to Tabbed Conversations.
• Enables participants to join online meetings by dialing out to their telephone number if online meetings are scheduled by a non-audio-enabled Lync 2013 user.
• Improves the handling of devices that have both a front-facing and rear-facing camera.
• Improves the user experience when you join a Lync meeting in a Lync Room System-enabled room.

Enhancements and Bugs Not Listed in KB

• When hovering over a Contact Group, there is a new Bullet that clearly highlights the group
• The Conversation tab is now populated from Exchange!
• The Phone tab VoiceMail now populated!

Show Offline, Away and Unknown Presence Contacts in a Separate Group (below)

New Group Hover Indicator

Conversation History Now Populated from Exchange

Why are there TWO files to update Lync?

There are 2 files involved in update 15.0.4454.1506 and you need to run both updates. The MSORES file contains icons/images and will not normally need to be updated. The LYNCLOC file is the actual Lync update.

Download the Lync and MSOffice update files here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2812461