Telephony/conferencing - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Facebook adds free video calling to Messenger

  Users can now place free video calls with Messenger, as Facebook continues to extend the app beyond simple text-based chats.

• Facebook releases a caller ID app for Android

  Facebook wants to mesh its massive social network with phone communications so that it can provide its members with useful information about people at the other end of the line.

• Google, Fidelity invest $1 billion in Elon Musk's SpaceX

  Google and SpaceX could be joining forces to beam the Internet from the sky after Google and Fidelity Investments together invested US$1 billion in Elon Musk's space venture.

• Kim Dotcom's Mega to launch anti-spying call and chat service 'soon'

  Kim Dotcom, founder of the file hosting service Mega, is preparing to launch an encrypted video-calling and chat service that will shield its users' communications from government surveillance.

• Does Skype for Web mean WebRTC is ready for prime time?

  Microsoft's upcoming Skype for Web service will use the new WebRTC standard so it works in all modern browsers -- but not right away: Early users will have to download a plugin that's only available on Mac and Windows.

• Skype appears to bow to Indian rules, ends in-country calls to local networks

  Microsoft has decided to stop routing Skype Internet calls from within India to local landlines and mobile phones, in a move that may signal it is giving in to local regulations.

• Ericsson releases WebRTC browser and framework as open source

  Ericsson is resurrecting its WebRTC-based browser, Bowser, to help spark the development of more websites and apps that embrace voice, video and messaging features.

• Skype version for broadcasters released to manufacturers

  A special version of Skype designed for professional TV broadcasts reached another milestone with its release to manufacturers and the signing of three hardware partners.

• Viber adds video telephony to Android, iOS apps

  Viber has updated its apps for Android and iOS to let users make video calls.

• Almost one in six doctor visits will be virtual this year

  With an aging Baby Boomer population and broadband bandwidth improved a hundredfold from a decade ago, telemedicine is exploding as a convenient and less costly alternative to the traditional visit to the doctors' office.

• Google opens Glass sales in the UK, for £1,000 a pop

  Google Glass is now available to any adult living in the U.K., as the company eyes international expansion of its head mounted computer system.

• The real 'fire' in Amazon's smartphone? A shopping spree

  You'd be forgiven for thinking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants to compete with other phone makers with his company's new Fire smartphone. But forget the multiple cameras and pretty 3-D-like effects, the device is really about selling more stuff.

• Skype app for iPhone due out from Microsoft today

  Microsoft promises that a revamped Skype app for the iPhone will be significantly better than the current version, although it may be too late for users who have long since switched to other options.

• Siemens' Unify to cut staff in half

  Unify, a joint venture between Siemens and the Gores Group, will cut 50 per cent of its staff and refocus its product roster away from hardware, following a shift in the overall unified communications market toward software and Cloud services.

• IDC: Cloud, software options deflate sales of enterprise video systems

  Sales of video conferencing and telepresence hardware systems are declining, hurt by an increase in cloud and software-based options that often are cheaper and simpler to deploy, according to an IDC study.