Bria Upgrades Multimedia SoftphoneJuly 09, 2010
By Alice Straight, TMCnet Web Editor
CounterPath (News - Alert) Corporation announced a new release of its Bria multimedia softphone, which the company says is ideal for enterprises that want to replace their deskphones or integrate a UC application as an adjunct to their IP phone solutions.
The phone is a highly secure, standards-based softphone which enables voice and high-definition (1280x720p) video calls, and it integrates seamlessly with a broader variety of enterprise and carrier infrastructure equipment from major vendors including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, BroadSoft, Cisco, NEC (News - Alert) and Nokia Siemens Networks. Bria also supports Asterisk-based telephony systems.
'With Bria 3.1, we have enhanced the user experience and broadened the applicability of our flagship softphone,' said Todd Carothers, vice president of product management, CounterPath. 'Bria 3.1 proves that small and medium businesses, large enterprises, government agencies and other users don't have to compromise on call quality, video quality or usability when choosing to take advantage of all of the bottom-line benefits that multimedia softphones provide. With Bria 3.1, CounterPath is able to extend Bria to more countries, interoperate with a greater number of PBX (News - Alert) systems and continues to raise the bar for enterprise-grade, carrier-class softphones that users can bet their business on.'
One of the most significant additions to Bria 3.1 is support for multiple accounts, an increasingly common requirement in today's enterprise and government markets. With Bria 3.1, users now can select on the fly which account to use for voice, IM and HD video calling, whether it's over a wired or wireless IP network, including 3G/4G and Wi-Fi.
Bria 3.1 also features an enhanced, streamlined user interface (UI) to provide a better overall softphone experience. The improved organization and layout makes it even easier for users to navigate between their preferred methods of communication, such as making a call from the IM window or sending an IM during a call.
The new UI enhances Bria 3.1's expanded conferencing features, including additional multi-tasking options when multiple audio and/or video calls are in progress. Bria 3.1 also supports server-based conference calling using Bria's built-in native contact list and call manager.
Current Bria 3.0 users will be automatically updated to Bria 3.1 when the new software is available. Regular pricing for a single copy of Bria is $49.95 USD, with additional volume pricing options. The retail version of Bria 3.1 will be available mid-July in CounterPath's online store at www.counterpath.com.
Alice Straight is a TMCnet editor. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page. Edited by Alice Straight |