The inventor of JavaScript, Brendan Eich, once said that WebRTC is a new front in the long war for an open and unencumbered Web.
The innovative Web Real-Time Communication is an application program interface (API) that can be used for plug-in-free, real-time video, audio and data communication. It’s expected that this technology, like the softswitch and VoIP, will help evolve the way people will communicate once major smartphones will have it.
Cashing in on this technology, an Italian-based technology firm specializing in VoIP services, Messagenet S.p.A., has come up with one such WebRTC mobile- and Web-enabled, instantaneous, intuitive, cloud hosted communications service called Mtalk.net.
Enabling users to use VoIP even with SIP-based or PBX (News - Alert) office telephone systems, the new Mtalk.net facilitates registered users with a free, personal Web link that can be clicked on by anyone to initiate a voice call or send a text message to the link owner, without the need for any software. Users can even use their webpage’s link in their email signature or on their webpage if they would like to be reachable via Mtalk.net.
With Mtalk.net, anyone, including the least tech-savvy, can make a voice call or start a chat session without having to install any special software, read any instructions or register on a website. Users can even send SMS or make a call to a mobile phone from a computer and vice versa, thus providing better integration between these two platforms.
Based on the freemium business model, the new Mtalk.net also features a patent-pending filtering feature that permits users to receive calls only from people whose identities have been verified by Mtalk.net. With the help of a filtering feature, the user’s integrity will be protected.
Apart from acting as a Web-based, global toll-free service, Mtalk.net can also be set to deliver voice messages to the user's email if they are unavailable to take an incoming call.
Marco Fiorentino, Messagenet's co-founder, said in a statement, "Our technology makes instant click-to-call or click-to-text communication possible at no cost to either party, no matter where they are in the world."
Currently, smartphone users are required to download an app to access the voice service. Once mobile devices begin to support the new WebRTC communication standards, however, the need for downloading an app will also be eliminated.
The service is compatible with any personal computer with Internet access and with mobile devices running on Android (News - Alert); an app for iOS will be available shortly, said the company.
"Mtalk.net represents a user-friendly transition to WebRTC," said Emiliano Trevisani, Messagenet's VoIP technology officer. "We've integrated both a Flash- and a Java-based in-browser VoIP engine into our system – a world first."
Edited by Alisen Downey