VoIP News & Information

eBay’s Skype VOIP telephony business adds some improvements to the second beta of Skype 4.0 for Windows, including the return of the compact screen and group contact capabilities. Reintroducing features from Skype 3.8 seems retro, but Skype needed to make the moves to keep its over 300 million users happy. Such improvements could lead new VOIP and telephony customers looking for free messaging and collaboration apps to Skype in a time of financial distress.

Skype on Oct. 1 will launch the second Skype 4.0 beta for Windows with improvements to the way users view and access their VOIP conversations, as well as better instant messaging alerts. Skype 4.0 Beta 2 will be downloadable here beginning Oct. 1.

Mobile network 3 just dropped it’s the latest model of their internet-friendly phone, bringing VoIP calls, instant messaging, social networking at the internet to your pocket.

As well as Skype calls, it’ll play nicely with Facebook, Bebo and Windows Live Messenger, as well as sucking up RSS feeds from any website you like.

There’s also a brand new interface, using a carousel to select the service you want, with a special ‘switcher’ key on the side of the phone to flick quickly between functions without diving back into the main menu.

More info

Skype on PSP

It’s important to note that Skype will only work on the PSP Slim & Lite (PSP-2000) version of the PSP and not the original, because the newer PSP has more RAM. You’ll also need either a Go! Cam or a headset and corded remote (which are currently sold seperately but will soon be bundled together) so you’ll have a microphone to input your voice.

More info here, here and here

Intel’s remote wake-up chip could finally turn PCs into phones.

One of the biggest drawbacks of current PC-based Internet phone services like Skype, which allow people to make phone calls from their computers over the Internet for free or for reduced fees, is that you can’t receive calls when the computer is turned off. But that is changing with a new chipset introduced by Intel Thursday that allows computers to wake from “sleep” to accept calls and do other tasks like accept downloaded content.

Intel has teamed up with JaJah, a California-based voice over IP start-up, to allow JaJah users to receive calls on their PCs when their computers are in “sleep mode.”

Full story here