InnoMedia
wants everyone to enjoy IP telephony. Not just service
providers or enterprise users, but everyone. The
company's stated strategy entails proliferating
VoIP-enabled client devices in order to create and
enhance value to a user's experience, and to do so in
part by partnering with world leaders in various
fields of specialty. We're all aware of their recent
partnership with Sega, which saw InnoMedia include
their VoIP software into all of Sega's DreamCast game
consoles with added hooks into many game titles, which
proliferated VoIP among Internet gamers. Well,
InnoMedia and Sega recently expanded their
relationship in a partnership with ISAO Corporation,
one of the fastest growing service providers in Japan.
The companies announced availability of the DreamCall
Internet calling
service, which is offered through DreamCall
Corporation, a joint venture among the three.
DreamCall's Internet telephony services are
available to all PC owners in Japan simply by
downloading the DreamPassport for PC v2.11 software
that is available online. The DreamPassport software
enables PC-users in Japan to make calls from their PCs
to a landline or cellular phone anywhere in the world
at very low rates. The VoIP software will also offer a
suite of enhanced voice services, including free
PC-to-PC calls and instant messaging (IM) in both a
dial-up and broadband environment.
Of course, as everybody knows, instant messaging is
one of the hottest applications under the sun these
days. Whether it's the sheer number of new users
signing up every day or the high-profile battles
between industry giants Microsoft and America Online
(AOL), IM is certainly enjoying its moment of glory.
The next step of course is to add voice to IM, to
expand its basic functionality so it may become more
of an all around communications solution. Maybe
include some PC-to-phone calling capabilities? It
might be fun to possibly add the ability to conference
together some number of people while you're instant
messaging, too.
Well, guess what? InnoMedia has released BuddyTalk,
an Internet-based voice and text software
communication application designed to enable
multi-party conferencing (up to 10 people), PC-to-PC
calling, PC-to-Phone calling, and of course, IM. The
company will target this new application to a number
of user groups, including: Teens and young adults with
common interests (e.g., discussing a particular Teen
Dream Date Web site and surfing it simultaneously);
tech-savvy families and friends for reunions, special
occasions, group meetings etc.; students and teachers
for use in a distance learning environment with
specific examples including study groups, tutoring,
and the like; and SOHO users.
Essentially, there are four components to the
application:
- BuddyTalk Dialer, which is the VoIP client;
- My Buddies, which is a personal contact list
featuring real-time buddy presence information;
- My Buddy Room, which is the control panel for
multi-party conferences;
- And Chat With, which is the IM component.
BuddyTalk Dialer allows users to place and receive
free PC-to-PC calls to/from any other BuddyTalk user
anywhere in the world. Likewise the dialer enables
global PC-to-Phone calls for low rates. This portion
of the solution also features elements such as address
book creation and speed dial.
My Buddies allows users to see real-time status
information regarding all of the contacts in the buddy
list. Through the use of presence technology users can
see who is online, who is available to receive a call,
etc. It's also easy to send an IM from this interface
by simply double clicking a user's name, and then
entering the text of the message.
My Buddy Room, the conferencing center of the
application, allows users to start and end conference
sessions, invite or expel participants, mute or unmute
any of the participants, as well as several other
unique features. Up to 10 BuddyTalk users can
participate in a conference at any given time.
Conferences are one hour long, and the cost for that
hour is just $3.00 deducted from the host's account.
At the end of the hour, the host is presented with an
option to continue for another hour at just $3.00
more.
With the release of BuddyTalk, InnoMedia once again
is proving its commitment to the proliferation of
useful VoIP applications. The demo we had in our
office crystallized the practicality of the
application. By simply double-clicking on a user's
name, we were able to speak from our offices in
Connecticut with one of the product managers back in
San Jose, CA. We were then able to conference in
another InnoMedia employee as a test of the
conferencing capabilities displayed by My Buddy Room.
InnoMedia continues to unveil practical applications
designed to place VoIP capability in the hands of
millions, and I urge everyone to visit www.innomedia.com
for information on how to get your hands on yet
another fascinating product.
[ Return
To The September 2001 Table Of Contents ] |
Are you a service provider with the infrastructure
blues, dying to roll out unified messaging without
spending millions on infrastructure build out and
replacement? CyberTel's new CyberCom-SC software (and
other software solutions, for that matter) may just be
the instrument needed to play those blues away.
CyberTel develops an open universal communications
platform that enables the provisioning of device,
network, topology, and media independent
telecommunications services. Their Pure-Play-IP Vision
is to produce telecom software offers solutions for
the service provider wishing to deploy services on a
massive level by linking the traditional PSTN with IP
networks.
CyberCom-SC uses SIP to enable service providers to
expand their service offerings to include multi-modal
unified messaging. With the public network evolving to
IP as a transport backbone and the concentration on
open systems and architectures, CyberCom-SC allows
telcos to utilize an Oracle-based application server,
which synchronizes and stores information for relay to
myriad user interfaces.
At this point, CyberTel has designed the platform
to work across a Web Browser, a SIP phone, and a
normal PSTN phone, and will soon be evolving to the
next steps in the service chain -- wireless, wireline,
and Internet access -- across any device, platform, or
mode. By providing for this growth curve, CyberTel has
positioned itself well for the present and future.
CyberCOM-SC uses a component-based design to sit
100 percent on the server side and work its magic --
transport any e-mails, fax-headers, and any voice
mails to the endpoint in its native delivery language.
Furthermore, the multi-point communications are
synchronized to ensure efficient management of the
inbox -- a real benefit to the exceptionally busy or horribly
disorganized.
For more information, visit their Web site at www.cybertelinc.com.
[ Return
To The September 2001 Table Of Contents ]
|