Graves On SOHO VoIP

For the past few weeks I’ve been hunting for a soft phone with specific wideband voice capabilities. I’ve found a couple but there arises complications.

Wideband-capable hard phones usually support G.722, G.722.1 or G.722.2 (aka AMR-WB) codecs. There are other codecs out there that support wideband voice coding. Speex is the one most often cited. However, Speex support in hardware is extremely limited. So Speex implemented in a soft phone is not going to help me evaluate interoperability with hard phones.

Read the rest of this entry »

In September 2007 the folks at FWD put up a wiki in the hope of getting users to document how to configure various hardware & software SIP clients for use with the service.

At the time I was provisioning a handful of Polycom SoundPoint IP430 phones for use within Pixel Power Inc. I took the opportunity to document the configuration with FWD based upon the use of v2.1.2 firmware.

Although my example was on the IP430 model it should be generally applicable to the entire SoundPoint line.

The word has come down that Hitachi has stopped making its Wifi SIP handsets and is exiting that line of business. If you liked any of their phones you may still be able to get them from retailers existing inventory, but numbers are expected to be limited.

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s been an interesting thread on the Asterisk Users Mail List where someone has been seeking a reliable Wifi SIP handset. Lots of user experience with Wifi and DECT devices has been forthcoming.

One reader indicates that they think the process of changing the active VOIP account on a snom m3 is troublesome. Here’s a short video I did some time ago documenting the keystroke sequence using my snom m3.

The phone supports up to 8 separate registations. This means that it can take incomming calls from eight separate sources. However, when making outgoing calls it only uses one of the accounts. You can set which one that is by default for each handset.

In my experience this is not a problem, as I make all outgoing calls through one account anyway. But by allowing multiple registrations I can take calls from auxillary services like Free World Dialup, IPKALL, IdeaSIP, etc.

This review was originally published Feb 26, 2008 at www.smallnetbuilder.com

I have worked from a home office for over ten years. Just over two years ago, I transitioned both my home and office to a completely VoIP-based phone system. My goal was to improve my ability to stay connected while reducing my monthly operating costs. I carefully selected high quality, business-class SIP desk phones with a variety of features to make running a small office easier.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dave Winer posted about the fact that The New York Times is using the same approach to covering the DNC convention as he is; namely Twitter and Flickr. Having taken a look through their current Flickr set I see two noteworthy bits of technology.

First, in the big tent for the press the organizers have deployed Nortel IP handsets.

secondly, someone from CNN is seen using a PC based video production system. I can’t tell from the PC screen if it’s GVG Ignite or perhaps something more online oriented like Streambox. It’s more likely something that handles web streaming.

Over the coming weeks and months I hope to explore wideband voice in greater depth. My recent purchase of a couple of Polycom IP650s and the Siemens S685IP provide me with some hardware end-points. I may also buy a snom phone as well, with the optional Klarvoice handset.

However, some of what I wish to undertake would be well served by a soft phone. As yet I have been unable to find a software that supports the G.722 wideband codec.

Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week Andy Abramson discovered that he could make a Phweet call via Twitter, thereby circumventing the VoIP blocking provisions used by American Airlines Aircell operated GoGo in-flight wifi service.

This is definitely interesting as Aircell somehow manages to allow Skype IM, but stop Skype voice calls. This implies that the Tring Me Flash VoIP widget is doing something at least a little unusual.

Read the rest of this entry »