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Dec 19, `07 — FCC has revealed all the tiny details, except the price and availability (obviously), of Creative Lab’s unannounced video conferencing device - inPerson -

To make a video call / chat you’ll need a wired or wireless Internet connection and account with SlightSpeed (provider of Internet video chat and voice calling) or alike(?)

Key Features
• High video quality (up to VGA resolution and 2 Mbps bit-rate)
• Excellent low light performance
• Wide-angle lens
• Dual Microphones with Acoustic Echo Cancellation and Noise Reduction
• Wi-Fi
• Rechargeable, removable Lithium-ion battery
• Auto Login
• Auto Answer
• Screen Saver
• Speed dial
• Call History
• Contact List

Usage Scenarios
• Built-in dual microphones, and audio output to external speakers (not included) with the bundled RCA cables.
• Built-in dual microphones and internal speaker.
• For privacy: bundled microphone and earphones.
• Viewing on a larger screen: video output to TV with the bundled RCA cables.

Network Connection
• If inPerson is connected to the network using both Ethernet and Wi-Fi, the Ethernet connection will be used.
• Wi-Fi networks requiring a webpage login are not supported.

Specifications
Dimensions (W x D x H) 7.6’’ x 5.9’’ x 1.9’’ (194.3 mm x 150.5 mm x 48 mm)
Image Sensor Color VGA CMOS (5.04 ?m active square pixels)
Lens Precision glass lens, F/2.0
Field of View 76° ultra wide angle
LCD (Color Display) 7’’diagonal (16.7 million colors)
Microphone Built-in hardware AEC with dual microphones
Video Resolution Maximum 640 x 480 (VGA)
Exposure (brightness) Automatic, manual adjustment
White Balance Automatic, manual (Auto, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Outdoors) adjustment
Video Resolution 640 x 480 (VGA), 352 x 288 (CIF), 320 x 240, (QVGA), 176 x 144 (QCIF)
Effective Focal Range 30 cm to infinity
Video Codec Support H.264, H.263, H.263+
Audio Codec Support dvi4, ilbc, G.711, G.723.1a, G.729ab, telephony tone signalling (rfc2833)
Communication Protocol SIP/SDP, RTP/RTCP, STUN, ICE
Network Protocol UDP, TCP, ARP, DHCP, SNTP, ICMP
Ethernet Connection RJ-45
Ethernet Network Interface 10/100 Base-T
Wireless Standards Compliance IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g
Wireless Security WEP (64-bits), WEP (128-bits), WPA-PAK (TKIP), WPA-PSK (AES)
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) 0.138 mW/g
Power Source AC power adapter:100 - 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 5 V/2.4 A
Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery: 3.7 V/3500 mAH
Power Consumption 6 W (typical), 12 W (maximum)

More at FCC: Creative InPerson Details, External Photos, Internal Photos, User Manual (in PDFs)

Consumer demand for bandwidth could see the internet running out of capacity as early as 2010, a new study warns. US analyst firm Nemertes Research predicted a drastic slowdown as the network struggles to cope with the amount of data being carried on it.

Such gridlock would drastically affect how people use the web and could mean the next Google or YouTube simply doesn’t get off the ground, it said. The report said billions needed to be spent upgrading broadband networks.

It put the figure at around $137bn (£66bn) globally. For users, the slowdown could see a return to the bad old days of dial-up, the report predicts. “It may take more than one attempt to confirm an online purchase or it may take longer to download the latest video from YouTube,” the report cited. But it is the knock-on effect for new services that could be the real problem, report authors think. “The next Amazon, Google or YouTube might not arise, not from a lack of user demand but because of insufficient infrastructure preventing applications and companies emerging,” the report warned.

The demand for bandwidth-intensive applications shows no sign of abating. Nearly 75% of US internet users watched an average of 158 minutes of online video and viewed more than 8.3bn video streams during May, according to research by measurement firm comScore.

The financial invested required to “bridge the gap” between demand and capacity would range from $42bn to $55bn in the US, Nemertes estimates. The report is part-funded by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA) which campaigns for universal broadband in the US.

Florham Park, N.J. - October 29, 2007 — Global Crossing, a leading global IP solutions provider, today announced expanded VoIP access options in Japan, China, Singapore, India and Thailand to support the rising demand in the region for Ready-Access — Global Crossing’s flagship on-demand and reservation-less audio conferencing service.  

Global Crossing has experienced strong demand for collaboration services by customers in Asia during the last three years. As a result, Breauninger said, plans are underway to extend collaboration service throughout South Korea by the first half of 2008. Earlier this year, Global Crossing extended Ready-Access to customers in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand via new VoIP platform access options in the region. 

The company further announced key enhancements to Global Crossing Ready-Access Web Meeting, such as the ability to edit recordings of meetings and training sessions and transform them into rich media podcasts that can be shared effortlessly with mobile and geographically dispersed employees, customers and partners.  

These new features are part of Global Crossing’s latest update to Ready-Access Web Meeting. A fully integrated audio and Web conferencing productivity solution, Ready-Access Web Meeting provides companies with global business communications to maximize time, resources and productivity anytime, anywhere.  

Podcasts are ideal for publishing recordings of department meetings, training sessions, sales presentations and project work. Listeners can tune in at their convenience to podcasts on their portable media players on airplanes, trains or in automobiles, maximizing time and productivity. Podcasts can also be distributed to subscribers via iTunes-compatible RSS feeds for playback on MP3 players, desktop computers, televisions or set-top videoconferencing systems. More at Global Crossing here and here.

Customers report savings of 25 percent to 30 percent from VoIP, conferencing software; more than 50 partners announce new products and services. Says Microsoft. SAN FRANCISCO — Oct. 16, 2007 — Today, Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., and Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division, announced the worldwide availability of Microsoft’s unified communications software, taking the first step toward streamlining workplace communications and helping reduce the cost of the average corporate voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) system by half.“In the next decade, sweeping technology innovations driven by the power of software will transform communications,” Gates said. “Working with partners, we’re making rapid advances that will enable fundamental advances in the way people communicate and collaborate at work.”

Joined by customers and partners, the Microsoft executives launched unified communications and VoIP software that includes the following:

“Unified communications software will transform business communications as fundamentally as e-mail did in the 1990s,” Raikes said. “Today, Microsoft is in the VoIP game, and our customers and partners are already winning with better economics and new business opportunities.”

More at Microsoft PressPass

PARK RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 11, 2007 – Sony Electronics is expanding its IPELA line of Internet protocol (IP)-based collaborative communications products with the new PCS-TL33 videoconferencing system. Designed for desktop use or for small meeting spaces, the new system is network-ready and features a built-in digital PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) camera, speakers and a microphone in a slim, lightweight body.

Designed for desktop use or for small meeting spaces, the new system is network-ready and features a built-in digital PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) camera, speakers and a microphone in a slim, lightweight body.

“As the quality of IP networks improves, business work styles are changing to include more effective use of communication tools to the point where compact, easy-to-use systems can function in a variety of ways,” said Mike Sekiguchi, general manager of Sony’s IPELA Visual Communications group. “This new system is perfectly suited to the changing work styles of business professionals, serving as a desktop computer system or as an effective multi-point collaborative conferencing tool.”

The PCS-TL33 system brings this efficient work style to the personal level with its ability to double as a PC display, conserving desktop space and providing “all-in-one” system multi-functionality. With an intuitive graphical interface and mouse-operated, one-click dialing, Sekiguchi said the system is easy to operate with a single-layer GUI and translucent cascading menus.

The PCS-TL33 system is available now through Spire Global, Sony Electronics’ exclusive sales arm for its IPELA® line of IP-based video conferencing endpoints and accessory products in the United States, at a suggested list price of $3,490.

More at Sony Press Release here and here…