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HOLMDEL, NJ — Dec 31, `07 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Vonage and Nortel today announced that they have agreed in principle to end the litigation pending between them.

The contemplated settlement involves a limited cross license to three Nortel and three Vonage patents and will not call for any monetary payments by any party.

Claims relating to past damages and the remaining patents will be dismissed without prejudice. The settlement is subject to final documentation. More at Vonage.

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)

New-Generation XSPAN Delivers 11n Performance at Price Points To Enable Broad Deployment of Triple-Play Gateways.

SANTA CLARA, Calif — Dec 17, `07 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Atheros today announced two single-chip 802.11n solutions developed expressly for the carrier gateway market.

The new dual-band, 2.4GHz/5GHz, AR9220 and single-band, 2.4GHz AR9223 PCI designs join the comprehensive Atheros XSPAN family, the world’s most widely adopted draft 802.11n Wi-Fi solutions.

These latest 802.11n designs provide reliable, market-proven performance at price points that allow carriers to broadly deploy home gateways capable of supporting data, voice and video on a single wireless network.

The AR9220 dual-band, 2×2 MIMO, PCI design is ideal for high-end, multiplay gateways and set-top boxes, which must robustly support multimedia applications requiring uninterrupted throughput — IPTV, HD video streaming, VoIP calls and multi-player online gaming on the 5GHz channel-while using the 2.4GHz band for simple data networking.

This solution provides leading 802.11a/g/n performance, supporting up to 300 Mbps physical data rates and 200 Mbps of actual user throughput on both the uplink and the downlink. With the dual-band design, users will enjoy universal connectivity to any 802.11 device through their gateway or set-top box. More at Atheros.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif — Dec 17, `07 — A new telephony startup came out of stealth today, aiming to become “Silicon Valley’s first phone company.” Ribbit, unveiled a new platform for developing telephony services and a new business model for serving the new global telephony market.

The company also unveiled some of the first applications from its partner and 600-plus developer community, including an integration with salesforce.com.

The Ribbit Platform: Liberating Voice from Its Current Confines

At the core of Ribbit’s technology offering is a sophisticated, open platform that enables developers to bridge the worlds of traditional telephony and the Web. The Ribbit SmartSwitch - evolved from a Lucent-tested CLASS 5 softswitch - and open Flash/Flex-based API (application programming interface) enables non-telephony developers to quickly build innovative, rich voice applications and integrate them into web sites, communities and applications.

By connecting voice from any Flash-enabled browser to the PSTN (public switched telephone network) and new VoIP (voice over IP) networks, over 750 million computers become the next generation of phones with developers deciding how they work. With an assortment of back-office and service delivery infrastructure, the platform also enables developers to not only build services, but sell them as well. More at Ribbit.

SAN DIEGO — Dec 17, `07 — Qualcomm today announced that it has acquired San Diego-based SoftMax Inc., a market leader in noise reduction for mobile devices.

SoftMax brings leading-edge, multi-microphone noise suppression and echo cancellation expertise to Qualcomm, broadening the audio and voice capabilities of the Company’s product portfolio for integration into devices such as mobile handsets, Bluetooth headsets, VoIP phones and notebook PCs.

SoftMax’s leading-edge voice algorithms for signal separation, echo cancellation and signal processing have enabled some of the latest wireless devices on the market to separate a speaker’s voice from various background noises. The result is a dramatic improvement in voice quality, providing significant differentiation for the end product. More at Qualcomm.

On Friday, Dec 14, Nortel Networks, the Canadian maker of telecom equipment, filed a lawsuit against Vonage - claiming that it violated nine patents related to Internet phone services and related features such as 911 and 411 calling and ‘Click to Call’.

Vonage was dragged into the legal battle after it acquired three patents from Digital Packet Licensing last year, according to Vonage spokesman Charles Sahner. DPL had filed a suit against Nortel in 2004 alleging violation of those three patents, so Vonage continued with the lawsuit.

“Litigation is ongoing, and both parties have filed - and will continue to file - papers supporting their case,” Sahner said. On the possibility of a settlement, he said: “We always prefer to settle disputes amicably whenever possible.”

In this particular case, Vonage is pursuing the legal action, rather than getting sued. Sahner said Nortel’s countersuit was a defensive move.

In October, Vonage settled the last of its lawsuits with the major U.S. telecom companies. Throughout the year, it had fended off legal actions by Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel.

Mountain View, CA –Marketwire–Dec 06, ‘07 — JAJAH today released version 2.0 of its calling application for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. In addition to saving on international calls, users will have an iPhone style dial pad, iPhone address book and full calling functionally with the device.

Hand-in-hand with JAJAH’s developer community, the enhanced application enables users to make ultra-low cost international calls directly from the iPhone and iPod touch. The application combines the best of both worlds: The reliability and quality of a standard landline or cell phone while profiting from the cost savings of Internet telephony.

Apple users have modified the application on top of the JAJAH platform to make it look exactly like any other phone call on an iPhone device! There is no need to install an application so users globally can use the service without any jailbreaks. This new JAJAH Web app is available from today at http://iphone.jajah.com

Users can access the application at jajah.com/iphone. To place an international call, users simply use the Web apps dial pad or click a name in their address book and JAJAH connects the call right away. To sign up for the JAJAH iPhone service, visit Jajah.

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.

On Nov 15 a U.S. Appeals Court has denied Vonage’s appeal of a patent-infringement loss to Verizon Communications. The court action means the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) provider Vonage must pay Verizon $117.5 million, rather than $80 million.

Vonage settled the infringement suit on Oct. 25 after Verizon won both a jury verdict and an appeal in the case. The accord left open the amount to be paid until the appeals court decided whether to grant Vonage’s request for reconsideration.

Vonage had asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to review its ruling, or have the full 12-judge court reconsider the Sept. 26 decision in favor of Verizon. That request was denied today in an order posted on the court’s Web site.

“We were not surprised, but disappointed that the court denied our request for a rehearing of the case,” Vonage spokesman Charlie Sahner said. “We are pleased to continue putting litigation behind us.”

Vonage wanted the court to review a decision that upheld most of a March verdict, which found that the company had violated two Verizon patents. The jury from that trial awarded Verizon a 5.5 percent royalty on future income. The amount owed to Verizon had grown to about $88 million when Vonage announced the settlement.

Under the terms of the settlement, the $120 million payment would have been cut to $80 million had the appeals court in Washington agreed to review the decision. Holmdel, New Jersey- based Vonage must pay $117.5 million to Verizon and give $2.5 million to charity.

Vonage has settled with Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T over patent infringement claims.

New York, NY — Nov 08, ‘07 – Internet phone company Vonage, which was the subject of bankruptcy speculation only a few months ago, took another step toward putting its troubles behind it on Thursday.

The company said it was in talks with AT&T to settle a patent suit, the last of several filed against it by traditional phone companies.

Vonage said it and AT&T are discussing settling the suit for $39 million, an amount to be paid over the next five years. In October, it settled with Sprint Nextel for $80 million, and with Verizon for between $80 million and $120 million, depending on the outcome of a court hearing.

Cupertino, CA–Oct 31, ‘07 /PRNewswire/ –Web communication start-up Ccube, is today announcing the launch of Communicator Toolbox, a set of four no-dial calling tools for every Web user. Communicator Toolbox is the first Voice 2.0 solution for consumers and small-medium-businesses that enables free nationwide Instant Calls (IC) from the Web in four ways, on any landline or mobile phone, and without downloading software or using a credit card.

Headlining Toolbox are Ccube’s true two way privacy solutions (neither number or email is ever revealed). Web Communicator connects members to members and lets them connect by keywords, while the Call Me Widget, (dubbed ‘the 800 number killer’) connects visitors to members through a clickable button placed on websites, email signatures and classifieds, at no charge to either party.

My Keypad, for calling known long distance numbers free, like family and friends, and Virtual Calling Card, a giftable alternative to plastic calling cards for free nationwide calling, both debut in Toolbox.

“Our social networks continue to explode with new contacts everyday, but how we communicate online has not evolved to the level of efficiency our mobile lifestyles demand,” says Mahesh Lalwani, Ccube founder and CEO. “Ccube Instant Calling tools are changing that — by powering our phones, the way Instant Messaging powered our keyboards a decade ago.”

Anthony Bettencourt, chairman of the world’s largest video search engine, Blinkx, and Ccube advisory board member, says Web 2.0 is now about social utilities like Communicator Toolbox, bringing service value to users across all areas of their lives. Ccube.

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.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — 8×8, Inc, provider of Packet8 residential, business and video Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services, today announced it has signed a deal with CompUSA, one of the nation’s largest technology retailers, to offer the Packet8 Virtual Office small business phone system, now in use by over 9,000 U.S. based companies, and the Packet8 Tango Video Terminal Adapter (VTA). 

Beginning this month, customers who shop at any of CompUSA’s 103 stores nationwide will be able to purchase the Packet8 Virtual Office hosted iPBX retail package for just $79.99 (after $50 mail-in rebate) per extension and the Packet8 Tango VTA for $99.99 (after $100 mail-in rebate). 

Packet8 Virtual Office lets small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) implement a distributed, hosted iPBX telephony solution for a fraction of the cost of traditional business phone system alternatives such as premise-based Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs), Key Systems or Centrex. In addition to complete PBX functionality, Virtual Office service plans provide unlimited local and long distance calling in the U.S., Canada and eight additional countries for a flat-rate of only $49.99 a month, as well as lower-priced metered plans and international calling at highly competitive rates. More at Compusa here and here.

LONDON, October 29/PRNewswire/ — Skype, the global Internet communications company and 3, the UK mobile operator, have launched a new affordable handset that lets you make free Skype to Skype calls and send free Skype instant messages from your mobile phone to other Skype users no matter where they are. 

The 3 Skypephone is a fully-featured 3G Internet phone with Skype built-in. In addition to Skype calls the phone makes conventional calls and can be used to access 3’s broad range of other internet services.  

3 customers using the 3 Skypephone will be able to make Skype calls and send instant messages on the move with the push of a button. This is the first time an operator has offered a mass market device which is tailor-made for free calling over the internet from a mobile. Now, all of Skype’s 246 million registered can be reached for free with the 3 Skypephone.  

The handset was developed by Skype and 3 in partnership with Qualcomm, using Qualcomm’s BREW platform to enable Skype to work with core handset features such as address book and messaging.  

The 3 Skypephone will be available this year in the UK, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden. Skype to Skype calls will always be free from your 3 Skypephone as long as you are on contract or your PAYG 3 credit is topped up monthly. In the UK, the 3 Skypephone is GBP49.99 on a PAYG tariff or free on a contract.(i)  

The 3 Skypephone is available from 2 November in 3Stores across the UK and from Skype and 3’s websites in time for Christmas. The 3 Skypephone is available for pre-order in the UK from today. 

3 Skypephone functionality: With 3G, a 2-megapixel camera, mp3 player, mobile TV and internet, 3 Skypephone keeps you occupied even when you run out of things to say. Plus, it’s small and shiny, and comes in black or white, with blue or pink trim. 3 Skypephone also includes: 

- Fully integrated Skype functionality with contacts, call logs and presence.
- Access to Java and 3D games and two preloaded games
- 2.0 Megapixel camera, Internet browsing, Bluetooth
- Size: 100×44x13.6mm, Weight: 86g
- Battery Standby: 320 Hours, Talk Time: 270 Min, Video Talk Time: 170 Min
- Screen Size: 2.0″ QCIF (176 x 220), Colour: 262K
- Internal Memory: 16MB, External: expandable to 1GB microSD
More at Skype

New York, NY–October 25, ‘07–Vonage Holdings said late Thursday it has settled its patent dispute with Verizon Communications. Vonage said the terms of the resolution depend on how the Court of Appeals decides its pending petition for rehearing regarding two of the Verizon patents.

If Vonage wins rehearing on either patent or if the injunction is vacated, Vonage said it will pay Verizon $80 million. If Vonage does not win a rehearing, or if the stay is lifted reinstating the injunction, Vonage will pay Verizon $117.5 million.

The lawsuit, along with two filed by other phone companies, had cast a heavy shadow over Vonage’s future. The company’s service enables subscribers to connect their phones to their broadband connections for about $25 a month using a Vonage adapter.

After setbacks in the litigation with Verizon, which began in June 2006, Vonage put $88 million in escrow. The settlement caps any payouts Vonage will make on top of that amount at $32 million. If Vonage wins a rehearing on either of the two patents at issue, its total payout will be $80 million.

The settlement was announced just after the 4 p.m. stock market close, which saw Vonage shares down 10 cents, or 6.2 percent, at $1.50. In after-hours trading, the shares jumped 67 percent to $2.50.

In March, a jury held that Vonage had infringed on three patents and awarded Verizon $58 million in damages, plus a royalty on future revenues. In September, an appeals court sent the remaining two patents in dispute back to the lower court for retrial.

“This settlement removes the uncertainty of legal reviews and long-term court action and allows us to continue focusing on our core business and customers,” said Sharon O’Leary, Vonage’s chief legal officer.

The settlement is a major step forward for Holmdel, N.J.-based Vonage, which earlier this month settled another patent dispute with Sprint Nextel Corp. for $80 million.

The settlement does not put Vonage’s legal troubles in the past, however. AT&T sued Vonage last week, also for patent infringement.

Vonage had a substantial war chest, thanks to an initial public offering last year at $17 per share that drew in more than $500 million but quickly turned into an embarrassment when the stock plummeted. The legal challenges have scared off customers and stalled Vonage’s growth. It now has about 2.45 million subscribers.

Richardson, TX, October 23, 2007 – Sipera VIPER Lab, operated by Sipera Systems, the leader in comprehensive VoIP/UC security solutions, today disclosed multiple threat advisories for users of VoIP services and equipment from Vonage, Globe7 and Grandstream. Among other threats, unwitting VoIP users face eavesdropping, spam, spoofing and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Full details on these vulnerabilities are posted as an educational security service to Sipera’s customers and the general public at http://www.sipera.com/viper.

Sipera VIPER Lab determined the Vonage VoIP Motorola Phone Adapter (VT 2142-VD) and Vonage service implementations leave users vulnerable to a form of VoIP identity theft, allowing hackers to take over a user’s phone service with a “registration replay attack,” then make and receive calls while impersonating the victim. Incomplete security practices, such as not encrypting traffic, open Vonage users to eavesdropping on private voice and video communications. Hackers can also send multiple SIP INVITE messages to a user, an Internet version of “ringing the phone off the hook” which creates a DoS attack. Leveraging these vulnerabilities, remote attackers can also send malicious messages directly to Vonage users, subjecting them to spam, social engineering and VoIP scams.

“These vulnerabilities create serious privacy and service availability issues for users,” said Krishna Kurapati, Sipera founder/CTO and head of Sipera VIPER Lab. “Vonage, Globe7 and Grandstream customers can no longer assume that their VoIP providers are automatically securing their services, but they should demand best security practices be followed as a condition of becoming a customer. Sipera VIPER Lab will continue to proactively identify VoIP threats and assist VoIP providers to implement best security practices before attacks occur.”

More at Sipera

New York - October 19, ‘07 - Beleaguered Internet telephone company Vonage Holdings Corp. disclosed Friday it is being sued by AT&T Inc. for alleged patent infringement.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Vonage said AT&T’s suit, filed Wednesday in a Wisconsin district court, pertains to a patent on a wide area packet telephony system. Vonage said it has been in discussions with AT&T to resolve the matter. The company also said it can’t guarantee the case won’t go to trial.

The single patent in question, filed in 1996, appears to broadly describe the idea of routing telephone calls over data networks like the Internet. The listed inventor is Alexander Fraser, AT&T’s former chief scientist.

Two weeks ago, Holmdel, N.J.-based Vonage settled a patent dispute with Sprint Nextel Corp. for $80 million. A suit filed by Verizon Communications Inc. is still in the courts, but Vonage suffered a significant setback in that process in March, when a jury awarded Verizon $58 million in damages, plus future royalties, after finding that Vonage violated three Verizon patents. Vonage denies infringement and says it has deployed workarounds for two of the patented technologies.

And last week, Vonage settled a fourth legal dispute, with Klausner Technologies Inc., a small company with patents on voicemail technology, for an undisclosed sum. Klausner had sued for $200 million.

AT&T said it has been trying to arrange a settlement with Vonage for the past two years but was unable to negotiate a “reasonable licensing arrangement” with the company, an AT&T spokesman said. “We were forced to file a lawsuit,” the spokesman said.

In a statement, Vonage said the company had hoped to keep negotiating. “It’s our preference to settle disputes through negotiation rather than litigation,” said Vonage chief legal officer Sharon O’Leary in a statement. “We will continue to work toward an amicable solution.”

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

EBay Inc’s Skype is working with British mobile phone service operator 3 to produce a handset that will allow users in Britain to make free calls on the Internet, a spokesman for the company said on Friday. Reuters further reports, “A spokesman for 3 confirmed that the group was working to make Internet calls mobile but would not confirm any further details or who it was working with. The phone is expected to work in the normal way but to include a Skype function to contact other Skype customers.Skype uses an Internet connection to place a voice call, cutting out the telephony network for which telecoms operators charge by the minute. Skype calls to other broadband-connected Skype users are free. The Skype spokesman did not give any further details but said the phone would be out later this year.”

More at Reuters