VoIP

Skype has launched a Session Initiation Protocol-based voice service for businesses that integrates free and low-cost calling into corporate IP PBXs, providing an opportunity to add voice features to corporate Web sites and to cut back on some phone expenses.

Google's new Gmail calling may be a great way for consumers to make free and low-cost voice calls, but the service isn't quite ready for business customers using Google Apps, the search giant's suite of cloud-based productivity programs.

The imminent arrival of Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy slate, which may debut as early as next month, signals that interesting times are ahead for video-chat users. Businesses and other early-adopters hoping to conduct face-to-face meetings via smartphones and tablets may be in store for a frustrating experience.

Would-be Internet telephony giant Skype has filed the paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq, the company has announced.

Skype is worried about whether the iPhone and other Apple products will undermine its VoIP services and is also insecure about whether it can achieve service levels good enough to lure business customers, according to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in preparation to offering public stock for the first time.

Skype SA seeks to raise US$100 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S., as the Luxembourg-based provider of Internet telephony, video calling and instant messaging communications seeks to diversify and boost its user base and revenue.

There's no denying that Google's Android operating system is a striking success. Consumer and business users are buying more than 200,000 Android-based mobile phones and other devices daily, according to Google CEO Eric Schmid.

Three weeks ago, telecommunications company IDT Corp. filed a civil antitrust complaint against eBay and Skype, but the companies, which have also been in a patent dispute since 2006, have now settled all their differences.

Avaya CEO Kevin Kennedy recently sat down at his office in Basking Ridge, N.J., with Network World Senior Editor Tim Greene to discuss the company's progress integrating Nortel enterprise assets into the company, the changing nature of the business communications market, the effects of Facebook and Twitter on corporate networks, the impact of Skype, the competition Avaya faces from Cisco and Microsoft and the promise of cloud computing. What follows is an edited transcript of that conversation.

Researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide have developed a way to expand the reach of mobile phone networks by turning each mobile into a mesh network node using standard wireless technology.

Android smartphone users can now place calls to their Android smartphone user contacts around the world absolutely free thanks to an updated app from Rebtel. Based in Sweden, Rebtel--which claims to be the world's largest independent mobile VoIP provider--may not be familiar to many users, but this app may change that.

Skype launched a new software developer kit on Wednesday to help electronics makers embed Skype into any new device they're working on.

After just over a year as a coveted, invitation-only beta, Google has officially launched Google Voice as a free service for all. Google Voice adds another component to the suite of tools available from Google providing small and medium businesses with cost-effective tools enabling them to conduct business like their much larger enterprise counterparts.

Now that Google Voice is open to everybody in the U.S., small business owners, particularly those with less than 25 employees, should take a close look at Google's free phone management service. Here are ten good reasons why: