If you own a relatively new smartphone or tablet like Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s iPad, chances are you've at least noodled around with video calling through any number of apps including Facetime, Tango, Skype and more.

Ditto in the office. Videoconferencing isn't yet ubiquitous, but the gains in popularity it has seen as a cost-cutting tool and for collaboration among teams point to it becoming so.

So, if you think you're likely to avoid it at home, think again. The technology is a nascent one, and there are only a few vendors pushing it hard, but, according to new research, it's likely to grow more than tenfold by 2015.

Attribute it, in large part, to the popularity of social networks like Facebook and Google+, which, with the increasing prevalence of services like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)'s Skype are beginning to push living room video calling to the forefront.

In the U.S., cable provider Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is teaming with Skype to launch video calling for its customers; globally, Logitech (Nasdaq: LOGI) continues to introduce new high-end, low-cost webcams, like its 1080p C920 for $99 that it introduced earlier this month.

NPD In-Stat, in research released today, forecasts total users will increase from 1.5 million in 2011 to 16.4 million in 2015. Granted, the numbers aren't huge, put the potential is.

While video calling has been around for several years, the ease of connecting on mobile devices has helped push it to the forefront of consumer adoption.

The digital home market, however, has been slow to ripen. But, with social networking as a catalyst, expect that to change.

As NPD analyst Amy Cravens points out, "While the mobile market is experiencing the strongest growth in usage, the PC and living room calling markets are also experiencing a surge of large player activity."

She said Skype's integration with Facebook and Google+'s incorporation of Hangout has provided a new perspective.

"Introducing this capability to the living room, enabling HDTV video chat, is an additional aspect of the market that is being endorsed by industry giant Microsoft as well as leading device OEMs including Panasonic, Samsung and LG," she said.

Her forecast? A whopping increase in video calling minutes approaching 550 billion minutes in 2015, up from just 141 million minutes in 2010.

But despite increasing bandwidth to homes, Internet connection speeds have remained the weak-link in HD video calls, with average speeds of a few megabits per second (Mbps). While VGA only requires 147 Mbps of data, full 1080p HD requires nearly one gigabit per second of data.

For video calling technology to reach full acceptance by consumers, HD calls likely will be required.

Logitech's VP and GM for business Eric Kintz agreed, telling FierceEnterpriseCommunications that its own research and customer feedback shows users want simplicity of use and "sheer quality" of picture. He says the new C920 is "the best quality camera we've produced to date," both in terms of optics and technology. The C920, he said, encodes the video at the camera rather than relying on a computer, which means less processing power is needed, opening up the range of laptops, desktops and connected devices, like smart TVs, that will be able to support high-quality video calling.--Jim

With Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s iPad continuing to see aggressive adoption by enterprises, it has been no surprise to see UC vendors scramble to get their platforms connected to the device. Add Avaya as the latest entry.

The company has rolled out a secure, next-gen unified communications solution for use on the iPad.

Avaya's Flare Communicator for iPad tablets, which works over either Wi-Fi or 3G networks, extends the Flare Experience currently delivered on the Avaya Desktop Video Device, to include the popular tablet. The free app is currently available for download in Apple's App Store, and Avaya promises it will be rolling out apps for other mobile devices later in 2012.

With the new app, users will be able to view the availability of enterprise associates from the contacts card, launch an instant message, voice call or email with a single tap. It also enables users to manage two simultaneous voice calls while mobile, multi-task on the iPad and access and add contacts to a corporate directory.

Customers with Avaya Aura 6.1 or later can add up to 50 Avaya Aura client access licenses at no cost to connect users to Flare Communicator during an introductory offer through April 30.

Pew Research Center this week said tablet ownership in the U.S. had grown by some 19 percent over the past several weeks, nearly doubling from 10 percent just prior to Christmas. In the September quarter, Apple sold 11.2 million tablets and indications are that Apple will report some 13 million sold last quarter.

Avaya earlier this month introduced a mobile UC app for the Android OS that enables enterprises to use Avaya's IP Office 8.0, including the ability to invite, view, mute and drop participants during a conference call.

The app lets users display their availability and show specific times of availability based on a user's Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Outlook calendar. The app also includes instant messaging, a geopresence display that lets users display their location and visual voicemail.

One-X Mobile Preferred for IP Office builds on Avaya's existing Essential Mobility solution for IP Office, which extends voice capabilities such as one number access and call control.

For more:
- see this release

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Avaya, playing catch-up with several other vendors, has rolled out a mobile UC app for Android devices, enabling SMEs to access a set of unified communications capabilities. The company said it plans to release an iPhone app in early 2012.

The app for Avaya's IP Office 8.0, one-X Mobile Preferred for IP Office, allows users full conference management  through their mobile device, including the ability to invite, view, mute and drop participants during a conference call.

The app lets users display their availability and show specific times of availability based on a user's Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Outlook calendar.

The app also includes instant messaging, a geopresence display that lets users display their location and visual voicemail.

One-X Mobile Preferred for IP Office builds on Avaya's existing Essential Mobility solution for IP Office, which extends voice capabilities such as one number access and call control. Already available on Symbian, Windows Mobile and iPhones, Essential Mobility will be available for Android and Blackberry devices in first quarter of 2012.

Avaya is the latest in a string of vendors to announce mobile platforms for their technologies, especially to Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)'s iPad and iPhone and to a variety of devices running oin Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)'s Android OS.

Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM), Radvision (Nasdaq; RVSN), ShoreTel (Nasdaq: SHOR), Vidyo and others already have apps on the market for Apple and Android.

The mobile segment is seen as a potential boon market as 37 percent of the world's workforce, about 1.3 million people, is expected to be mobile by 2015, new research finds.

For more:
- see this release

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Count on a sizzling videoconferencing segment in 2012

It wasn't that long ago that, as an editor at a daily newspaper, I brought my Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) laptop to an editorial meeting and received an extra helping of abuse from everyone at the table but the head of the graphics department for bringing my "game" computer to a serious meeting.

That former daily paper now only does home delivery three days a week, and the number of pages in its Sunday product now rival a weak Tuesday. Ah, how times have changed. I don't know how many of its reporters and editors now use MacBookAirs, iPhones and iPads, but I'm guessing the number tends toward a majority.

A couple of months ago, an AllThingsDigital story pointed out that Macs--desktops in particular--were becoming more common in the workplace (actually, the story said, "There's really no other way to say this: The Mac is kicking ass").

Click here to zoom in on this chart.

Just last week, new Forrester numbers said Apple is riding high on the bring-your-own-device wave, forecasting it could see a boost to its revenues of up to $19 billion this year as enterprises pony up $10 billion for iPads and another $9 billion for Macs. But, according to Forrester's Global Tech Market Outlook, that could be small potatoes in light of the $16 billion and $12 billion it expects enterprises to spend for iPads and Macs in 2013.

There's more news this week to back that up, certainly on the tablet front.

IDG Connect, in a survey titled iPad for Business, said the device has become as ubiquitous in business as the BlackBerry once was, becoming the go-to tool for some 60 million users around the world. According to the survey, IT and business professionals use their iPads intensively, across a wide range of scenarios. More than half (51 percent) of IT decision-makers say they "always" use their iPad at work (and a further 40 percent say they sometimes use it at work). Out-of-home usage is even more intense, with 79 percent of IT decision-makers saying that they "always" use their iPads "on the move."

Predictably, this survey confirms that iPads are better suited to consumption, rather than generation, of content. Around three- quarters use their iPads for news consumption and web browsing.

Surprisingly, IT and business users in South America and Europe have embraced the iPad more than their North American counterparts. Twenty-seven percent of South American respondents said they'd "completely replaced" their laptop with an iPad, and 23 percent of Europeans did likewise.

Click here to zoom in on this chart.

Increasingly, business users are turning to their iPads for work communications, said IDG.

IDG didn't break out any data that defined whether iPads were being used in VoIP applications, email, video calling, videoconferencing, or for collaboration, but it did say that in North America, a whopping 67 percent said they "always" use their iPad for work communications. That number, considering only 40 percent of iPad sold have 3G connectivity and Wi-Fi, will likely go up when Apple rolls out its next iteration that includes LTE.

IDG saw the iPad as a significant potential market for technologists. Judging from the spate of enterprise communications apps that have hit the market in recent months--from video conferencing to VoIP calling--they're not alone.--Jim

Apple, which has long played second fiddle to Microsoft when it came to sales to enterprise customers, is riding high on the bring-your-own-device wave. New research says it could seen a boost to its revenues of up to $19 billion this year as enterprises pony up $10 billion for iPads and another $9 billion for Macs. But, according to Forrester's Global Tech Market Outlook, that could be small potatoes in light of the $16 billion and $12 billion it expects enterprises to spend for iPads and Macs in 2013. For more, see this AllThingsDigital article.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has been pushing hard into the enterprise space with its recently redesigned suite of cloud-based apps.

And it's really making some waves. Increasingly, government agencies--like the State of Wyoming, which moved all of its 10,000 employees to Google Apps for Government in June, and the federal government's General Services Administration, which moved 17,000 workers to the platform in July--are looking at the potential savings and buying into the software.

Wyoming expects to save at least $1 million annually; that number increases if it factors in employee productivity and server and licensing costs. It also spent less than the $5 million it allocated to make the move, which included consolidating email from the 13 current platforms it employs to a single Google cloud-based platform.

"Just looking at the number of staff alone that were dedicated to handling the mail solutions when they were disparate across agencies, you're going to see a dramatic change in the amount of personnel required by the state," Flint Waters, the state's CTO said at the time.

The GSA, meanwhile, moved 17,000 employees to Google Apps; it was the first of more than a dozen federal agencies that are slated to make the transition. That move will cost taxpayers $6.7 million, but it is expected to save the GSA alone about $15.2 million in reduced email operation costs over the next five years, said GSA Administrator Martha Johnson. The federal market alone for cloud services is expected to top $20 billion.

Integral to all of this, of course, is the Gmail component of the suite, a piece that currently holds just a 1 percent market share in the enterprise space. But it holds so much potential that Gartner earlier this year classified it as a significant threat to Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) email dominance.

But not everyone is thrilled with Gmail's functionality (aside from its recent redesign).

In Los Angeles, the Google Apps for Government roll out at the LAPD hit a major snag when officials raised concerns about possible security issues. The problems are nagging enough that a number of critics have raised concerns about the suite's ability to replace products from other vendors, most notably, Microsoft.

New, often, is hard. As IDC analyst Al Hilwa told the Wall Street Journal about the Google-LAPD tiff: "When you're trying to do something new and disruptive, you're going to have to go through these teething things."

And, there's the rub. Enterprise customers aren't as likely to be willing to suffer through the fits and starts of new technology, especially relating to security. They're looking for technology that solves problems, saves money and is generally easy to implement.

Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad is an example of that. And, even the iPhone, which early on met with resistance from businesses worried about support and the burden of yet another device on their IT staff, has become almost ubiquitous in its enterprise deployment.

That's why Google's faux pas this week in rolling out a buggy Gmail for iOS 5 app carries such potential weight.

Even though Google quickly pulled it off the virtual shelves of the App Store, there was such a strong reaction to it that I won't be very surprised it Google waits awhile before re-releasing the app, giving the angst it created some more time to dissipate.

Personally, I can't wait for a native Gmail to be released for my iPhone... but I'd like it to actually work this time. How about you?--Jim

A little oops goes a long way, especially when you're Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). The search giant Wednesday released its much-anticipated Gmail app for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone and iPad in the iTunes App Store, but then pulled it back when users discovered it contained a major bug.

Google's official statement said the app "contained a bug, which broke notifications and caused users to see an error message when first opening the app. We've removed the app while we correct the problem, and we're working to bring you a new version soon. Everyone who's already installed the app can continue to use it."

iPhone owners, already dealing with an apparent bug in iOS 5 that shortens battery life for some users, reacted vociferously to the snafu, filling sites like Twitter, Google + and Facebook with scathing comments.

The release of a buggy app isn't the norm for Apple, which generally is reknown for vetting-sometimes to the nth degree-apps before they're posted to the App Store.

Google, meanwhile, has been looking to position Gmail more solidly into its suite of business apps. Research firm Gartner in September said Gmail currently has just a one percent share of the enterprise market, but said it's a real threat to players like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), which leads the cloud email segment, because it makes up some 50 percent of the cloud email market overall.

"While cloud email is still in its infancy, at 3 to 4 percent of the overall enterprise email market, we expect it to be a growth industry, reaching 20 percent of the market by year-end 2016, and 55 percent by year-end 2020," said Matthew Cain, research VP at Gartner. "The intense competition between Microsoft and Google will make both vendors stronger and enable them to apply cloud expertise to other enterprise cloud endeavors."

For more:
- see this ZDNet article
- see this Gmail blog

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Vonage (NYSE: VG) has added the final piece to its "Extensions" program launched in July, and it said it has seen strong uptake among VoIP customers.

The program allows Vonage's residential customers to add another line to their VoIP service for free, including a business line or mobile line. When it originally made the Extensions announcement, the company said it would quickly launch apps for phones using Google's (Nasdaq:  GOOG) Android platform and for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhones, anticipating that consumers would most likely be interested in registering their smartphones as additional lines. While an Android app launched in September, its iPhone app has been even slower coming out.

With the introduction of an iPhone app last week, Vonage finally has a full product to push, and it has been positioning the value add as a plan allowing users more flexibility.

"This new service dramatically increases the value of Vonage's core offering, providing customers with more flexibility and savings when making international calls," said CEO Marc Lefar, in a statement.

Michael Tempora, Vonage's senior vice president of product management, said the mobile apps have been well-received.

"More than 20 percent of customers who have registered and are actively using Extensions are doing so from an Android or iPhone app," he said. "So, in a very short time, we've got terrific engagement from our customers, both in registering and using the apps."

Vonage, meanwhile, is set to release earnings Wednesday. Analysts say they expect the company to show investors some profits, after a losing quarter a year ago.

For more:
- see this release
- see this VoIP Planet article

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Just more than a week after announcing support for iOS 4.x devices, Vidyo today launched VidyoMobile for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 4S.

Click here to view a slideshow of VidyoMobile images.

The app, available now in the iTunes App Store, allows iPhone 4S users of Vidyo's videoconferencing platform to video conference with up to four endpoints and share content.

Apple's launch of iOS 5 earlier this month prompted a flurry of videoconferencing app rollouts for Apple mobile devices looking to take advantage of the operating system's new features.

Vidyo, which in September announced it had landed $22.5 million in VC to expand its sales and marketing, was among those companies announcing updated apps, and it promised support for the iPhone 4S eventually.

Today's announcement helps it take full advantage of videoconferencing's most visible trend, mobility. The company said the iPhone 4S, because of its more robust processor, will deliver the same experience on the iPhone 4S that it delivers on the iPad 2 including a pinch to zoom capability which enables a better user experience when sharing content on a small screen or even enlarging a given participant.

"VidyoMobile delivers an unmatched multipoint experience on the iPhone 4S and enables mobile workers to hold a true enterprise video conference system in the palms of their hands," said Ofer Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of Vidyo.

VidyoMobile can participate in conferences with more than 100 participants, displaying up to 4 participants at a time on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. It provides the user the ability to customize the view and select presentation materials to improve collaboration.  Participants are displayed using the active speaker feature, which automatically displays the current and the last few speakers.

For more:
- see this release

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Mobile VoIP provider Rebtel, which in June voiced the possibility that it would look to an IPO to raise funds, has rolled out the latest iteration of its Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone app, promising users the ability to move between connections on-the-go as call quality dictates.

Rebtel's latest version of its iPhone app features "Keep Talking."

The company said version 2.0, available here, allows users to easily choose how they want to connect calls, either via Wi-Fi, 3G or with local minutes. But users also can opt for the app to automatically select which service it uses, depending on network quality. And, said Rebtel, the app detects if call quality degrades, and gives you the option of switching to a carrier voice network. Users are alerted to possible problems and can push a "Keep Talking" button to hop networks.

Rebtel said the Smart System always chooses the cheapest option for the calls and takes just two seconds for a call to switch over to a voice connection.

With 13 million users, Rebtel is the second-largest mobile VoIP company in the world. It anticipates 1 billion call minutes in 2011.

For more:
- see this MobileBeat article
- see this video
- see this release

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Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) FaceTime has some major advances in the work, according to Patently Apple, which reported the U.S. Patent Office has published an array of patents that could have a huge impact on the way the software is used in videoconferencing.

Click here for a larger version of this image.

The report said seven patents, which address features like camera focus, PIP controls and superimposing, are outlined, suggesting Apple is gearing up to offer stronger competition to Skype; especially since that software likely will soon be integrated more deeply into Windows now that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has cleared major regulatory hurdles to its acquisition of the VoIP company.

According to Patently Apple, Apple has technology in the works for an iPhone with a dual camera that would allow users to capture images--like slides or other presentation materials--during a FaceTime session and send them.

It could also send captured video, say of an unfolding event, during a real-time communications session, switching back and forth between the video conference and the video. The switching could be initiated by either the local or the remote device.

Other potential enhancements include: the ability to move picture-in-picture dispays, resize them or swap the main and PIP displays; PIP size control by pinch and zoom, new controls to mute, switch camers and end conference buttons; and the ability to control cameras remotely.

For more:
- see this Patently Apple article

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Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM) this week, joined ShoreTel (Nasdaq: SHOR), Vidyo and Radvision (Nasdaq: RVSN) in rolling out a videoconferencing solution for iOS devices, unveiling RealPresence Mobile, which it calls the first enterprise-class HD mobile video solution for tablets.

Polycom's enterprise-level video-conferencing solution, is RealPresenceMobile.

RealPresence Mobile links the Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad 2, Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets to other tablets and to desktop and immersive video room systems within the enterprise; the software was rolled out this week and is available in the App Store and the Android Market.

"We want to enable our customer to be able to deploy across multiple platforms; we want them to have an easy choice as to what they want to use," Jim Kruger, SVP of global solution marketing told FierceEnterpriseCommunications. "Having so many devices, the BYOD trend, has really made it difficult for IT departments. In many cases, they've tried to keep them at bay and not support them. This solution eliminates that problem; it allows them to manage and deploy via software."

Kruger said customers are looking to embrace mobility and tablets, which, he said, have a significant impact on business productivity.

It's a market that the company believes will see explosive growth in the short and long-term.

"The market driver is demand for mobility, and the key is tablets," he said. "The quality of the cameras, the processing power [and] the larger displays make tablets effective multipoint devices. They handle content and desktops; they make it easy to collaborate and connect into meetings."

Gartner predicts some 900 million tablets will be shipped by 2015, with upward of 320 units shipped in 2015 alone. GigaOm Pro, meanwhile, said videoconferencing participation is expected to grow 14-fold to more than 140 million units over the same time frame.

The tablet, said Kruger, is a natural video conferencing endpoint, and it's proven remarkably popular. Eleven percent of information workers are using tablets to do their jobs, even though the tablet is just a year old.

"For a lot of people on the consumer side, tablets have become the device of choice," he said. "As enterprise continues to adopt them, we want to be sure we have a fully interoperable solution to offer."

For more:
- see this release

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Radvision rolls out mobile video conferencing app for Apple iPad, iPhone

Videoconferencing, once so expensive that only enterprise customers could afford it, is seeing a change in the market that, some day soon, will make it as commonplace as the smartphone.

And, just like the smartphone, the technology is improving so dramatically that even off-the-shelf platforms and SaaS alternatives are starting to climb up the customer ladder, making inroads into SMBs and smaller enterprises, a segment that, analysts agree, will help drive video-conferencing revenues over the next several years.

"There are numerous advantages to telepresence, such as reducing travel costs, improving productivity and reducing carbon footprints, and the technology is now of a very high quality, so take up is increasing," said Ovum analyst Richard Thurston.

The technology is spreading across almost all verticals. Telemedicine is experiencing a boom as the healthcare industry looks to expand services to remote areas that are too difficult, or far away, to travel to. They're expanding services, like surgical consults, mental health services and patient assessment.

"Telemedicine has the potential to open up consultations with top specialists, regardless of your location," said Manhattan Research's president, Meredith Ressi. "Combined with the impending shortage of primary care physicians, the implications of these technologies for how healthcare is delivered in our country are remarkable."

Radvision makes the Scopia videoconferencing system.

Videoconferencing systems also are being used in universities to allow students to take classes that might not have been available to them before; using subject-matter experts, say, from one area of the country--or the world--to teach a class in a distant city.

But its not only high-end applications that are driving the boom.

One-person ad agencies, for example, are using the technology to make presentations to clients in other cities, not only presenting images and charts, but actually making virtual eye contact with customers.

According to CED, 62 percent of Americans videoconference or video chat weekly; Frost & Sullivan says 67 percent of companies use videoconferencing and forecasts that the videoconferencing and services market will reach $5 billion by 2016.

The growth and the acceptance by small and large businesses alike is all part of the consumerization of the segment. Devices are getting cheaper, platforms are using bandwidth better and bandwidth is becoming cheaper and more abundant.

Skype, Google+, FaceTime and all the other free video chat services have opened us up to the technology. We use it in our personal life, get used to it and gradually allow it to infuse into our work life, too.

Citrix's HDFaces includes multi-person HD videoconferencing.

"The social networking movement that has happened is starting to bleed into the business segment," Telesphere CTO Sanjay Srinivasan told FierceEnterpriseCommunications.

The number of middle-level to high-end videoconferencing offerings also continues to increase, with cloud offerings available for as little at $10 a month. The push up from videoconferencing systems looking to gain customers in the SME segment, meanwhile, has prompted the bigger players to look for ways to infiltrate the SMB market, something they've had no desire to do in the past.

The true promise of the industry, the one that has the industry sitting on the edge of its collective seat, is the mobile side of the equation.

"In this industry," said one sales executive whose company is poised to roll out its own mobile solution, "there has always been a ‘wait until tomorrow' feeling. Well, with mobile, that day is here. Today is tomorrow."

Blame it all on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Apple's 2010 launch of the iPad was a seminal moment in the mobile computing world, but the launch of the iPad 2 and its camera this spring is what allowed video calling and videoconferencing to really light up the industry. Despite its short time on the market, numerous companies have adopted the iPad 2 as an endpoint and as part of their strategy to grow their share of the multi-site videoconferencing market.

While an hour in a rented dedicated telepresence room with a Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM) or Radvision (Nasdaq: RVSN) platform can set you back $1,000, multiple companies are offering apps for the iPad for free. And, with 900 million tablets forecast to be shipped by 2016, the addressable market--and the potential adoption--is huge.

Citrix in August added an HD videoconferencing service, HDFaces, to its $39-a-month web collaboration platform. It works on a desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet. And, it's easy to use.

"The message we have to get out to the market (is) the understanding that videoconferencing has finally come to a level where it's no longer a Jetson's promise anymore; it's not a novelty," Bernardo de Albergaria, VP and GM of collaboration for Citrix Online, told FierceEnterpriseCommunications. "It's a vital tool to use with a diversified and distant workforce. It's not just for the C-level suite anymore.

"Before long, it will be strange to be on a conference call and not be on a video conference," he added.

Vidyo, which scored $22.5 million in new VC last month, rolled out an app today for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS 4.x devices, including the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, which will allow users to participate in full multi-point videoconferencing sessions.

VidyoMobile is available for the iPad (right) and soon for Android-enabled tablets (left).

The app, VidyoMobile, is available in the Apple App Store, and helps the company take advantage of what has become the Holy Grail of videoconferencing: mobility.

VidyoMobile gives Vidyo's enterprise customers the ability to offer mobile workers access to company video conferences from iOS devices. VidyoMobile for Android is in beta and will come to market in November. The company didn't say when it will offer support for the iPhone 4S but did note it is in development.

"VidyoMobile turns hundreds of millions of mobile devices into video conferencing and communication endpoints delivering up to 720p HD resolution with shared content viewing capability," said Ofer Shapiro, CEO and co-founder of Vidyo. "Equally as important is that participants are able to connect to video conferences beyond their mobile devices--with desktop and laptop computers and telepresence room systems--and experience the same low latency, high quality performance that is Vidyo's hallmark."

VidyoMobile is for business customers who currently offer their employees access to Vidyo's software-based infrastructure through their enterprise IT department or through service providers who offer Vidyo as a service.

VidyoMobile lets users participate in conferences with more than 100 participants, displaying up to four participants at a time on the iPad 2. Users can customize the view and select presentation materials. Additionally, participants are displayed using the active speaker feature, which automatically displays the current and last few speakers.

For more:
- see this release

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If you aren't videoconferencing, you will be soon

Logitech (Nasdaq: LOGI) hasn't wasted any time leveraging its purchase of Italian mobile videoconferencing provider Mirial. The company Tuesday announced its LifeSize ClearSea enterprise-class desktop and mobile video conferencing platform, which supports Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) new iOS 5, also announced Tuesday.

The LifeSize ClearSea enterprise-class desktop and mobile video conferencing platform supports iOS 5.

Logitech in July acquired Mirial and its ClearSea product specifically because it was considered to be nimble enough to move quickly across new platforms.

During an interview in July, Michael Helmbrecht, vice president of product marketing for LifeSize, told FierceEnterpriseCommunications that Mirial had, in less than a year, moved its software across Mac and Android mobile platforms as well as PCs.

"They'll help us provide a pathway to other platforms quickly, which is becoming very important because the lifecycle on hardware devices is shortening" he said then. "They are totally standards based and can move so quickly that we believe this acquisition puts us into a very good position; our competitors will have to chase us."

ClearSea already supports a broad range of iOS and Android devices including the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPad 2; HTC EVO, Desire, Incredible, myTouch 4G, Sensation and ThunderBolt; Motorola Atrix and Xoom; Samsung Epic 4G, Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab, as well as the Google Nexus S and Dell Streak.

Logitech said that, in addition to the now available iOS 5 support, ClearSea will support the new iPhone 4S, which was announced Tuesday, starting in November.

"For years the market has struggled to deliver interoperable video conferencing solutions to mobile devices--the experience has been far from the simplicity of a voice call," said Craig Malloy, chief executive officer of LifeSize and Logitech senior vice president. "We know enterprise users, ourselves included, want the ease of making a video call anywhere at any time on any device. With today's iPhone 4S announcement, we're making that possible and changing the video calling landscape--all while maintaining enterprise-class quality."

For more:
- see this release

Related articles:
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Mirial takes ClearSea videoconferencing to the Cloud
Logitech acquires Italian video calling company Mirial

IT departments are increasingly struggling to support an array of mobile devices as the bring-your-own-device trend adds additional security and management concerns to their responsibilities.

Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR), hoping to capitalize on the increased number of BYOD tablets and smartphones in use by enterprises, is launching several new products in a networking portfolio dubbed "Simply Connected." The portfolio includes three new switching products, wireless LAN product innovations and a set of updated iOS and Android mobile device security capabilities. The initiative arrives just as Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) sets to launch the iPhone 5 Tuesday, likely to increase the demand for mobile solutions.

According to Nemertes Research, 86 percent of enterprises report an increase in the number of telecommuters. Additionally, while IT budgets remain flat or increase only marginally, more than 43 percent of organizations report a double-digit increase in mobility budgets.

Juniper said it believes legacy networks designed for wired PCs are ill-suited to meet the demands of new applications; the company hopes its new portfolio simplifies current network infrastructures.

"It should be simple for individuals to choose and change their devices, simple to securely access their business applications and easy for the IT department to provision one policy per user that works across multiple devices, from tablets to smart phones to PCs," said Alex Gray, senior vice president and general manager of the campus and branch business unit at Juniper Networks.

Juniper's Simply Connected portfolio includes two Ethernet switches available now, the EX2200 and EX3200, and the EX6200, which is set to ship in the fourth quarter. The EX6200 is designed to deliver a scalable, resilient, high-performance wiring closet solution and to provide extremely high port densities in a space-optimized form factor.

Also available this month is the WLC880 wireless LAN controller, which is supported by new system software capabilities, including Juniper Networks Spectrum Management, and ensures over the air reliability on mainstream 802.11n APs including the WLA-522 AP and advanced spectrum planning capability.

Juniper's Junos Pulse Mobile Security Suite has been updated to include the ability for enterprises and service providers with Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhones, iPod touch and iPads to remotely lock and wipe lost or stolen devices, set and enforce security and passcode policies, provision and remove Microsoft Exchange profiles, provision VPN and Wi-Fi settings, inventory device applications and restrict specific apps on iOS devices.

For more:
- see this release

Related articles:
HP, Cisco battle prompts drop in Ethernet switch revenues
Cisco goes on offensive against Juniper Networks; is HP next?
Mitel plays into BYOD trend with UC apps for Apple's iPhone, iPad

Videoconferencing and teleconferencing continues to be hot topics of late. With Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) about to launch its iPhone 5 iteration this week, even more attention is being focused on the mobile side of the equation, where interoperability of a variety of mobile devices and operating systems has caused a flurry of activity in the mobile app market.

Radvision, (Nasdaq: RVSN), best know for its video infrastructure telepresence support, this morning unveiled its own app for iOS devices (see this story), looking to increase the appeal of its own high-end video conferencing platform in a U.S. market that has been owned for years by Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM).

Bob Romano, VP for enterprise marketing at Radvision, said the company's customers have been clamoring for more than a standalone mobile solution; they wanted something that would interoperate with their telepresence rooms and desktop endpoints and wanted it to be full-featured.

Enter SCOPIA Mobile V3.

The app is a big step for Radvision, which intends to continue with other rollouts for more devices.

"Regardless of the UC platform or video devices installed, we intend to support them," Romano said. "We believe in the model that clients and desktops should be free, that way you can extend the conference to everybody. It's the same model as WebEx, the host pays and the people they invite come free."

Currently, it's available through the Apple Store, "and we'll do the same with Android," Romano said.

Radvision is hoping SCOPIA Mobile V3 will expand their presence in the market, one they realize is going to be tough to crack.

"We know it's going to be difficult because Cisco and Polycom have almost a duopoly in the U.S.," he said. But Radvision, which has admittedly started slowly in North America, has been pushing hard, building out its sales and marketing infrastructure and working to gain reseller and customer attention.

"We are investing in this market and we feel we are on the upswing," Romano said.

Radvision is no stranger to Cisco. Before Cisco bought Tandberg, Radvision was a major supplier of its telepresence technology.

In fact, Romano said, "at one point, our most significant customer was Cisco. We had an 11-year relationship and we provided all of their video infrastructure."

But after Cisco bought Tandberg, the relationship began to play out.

Before the Tandberg acquisition, Cisco had been a reseller of Radvision technology; that part of the business made up about 40 percent of Radvision's revenues. Radvision has said it expects revenues from Cisco to continue near the baseline level of approximately $2 million on average per quarter for the remainder of 2011.

Radvision has been in the marketplace some 20 years, they were a pioneer in IP-based MCU severs IP gateways.

"We were a technology provider to nearly every endpoint out there," said Romano. "Our go to market has been through partnerships, OEMs or resellers. Almost all of our business was through partners."

A couple of years before Cisco's Tandberg buy, Radvision decided it had an opportunity to expand its own product line. It started by developing an executive desktop product with Samsung; it also debuted a room system a year ago.

"We're looking to have a broad portfolio of endpoints," Romano said. "We already have the best of breed infrastructure."

Radvision thinks there's plenty of room in the $2.5 billion industry, especially with service providers that it sees as less concerned with the nameplate on a product.

"We have a robust platform that's designed to be scalable and we think that's a good fit for service providers," Romano said. "Service providers tend to be less brand aware, less inclined to have to buy the market leader. They'll get the best technology, and that's what we think we have."

Romano said the flexibility of the mobile app, it allows, for example, a second and third splash screen to show when Scopia launches, could help on that end.

"It allows the service provider to be in control," he said.

Radvision's technology has served as a foundation for telepresence for two decades. Whether it will be enough to differentiate itself from other solutions already in the space, not to mention those still in the pipeline, remains to be seen. Targeting service providers likely will help it step onto the dance floor. Will it attract enough partners to make it significant? Two words: Cisco and Polycom make it problematic. --Jim

Increasing demand for high-end mobile video conferencing, especially with users looking to bring their own devices into the mix has been prompting more companies to focus on the growing market.

Telepresence specialist Radvision (Nasdaq: RVSN), in advance of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 rollout Tuesday, today announced its own app for iOS devices, SCOPIA Mobile V3. It is the first standards-based mobile video application, according to Radvision, to enable videoconferencing, data collaboration with review capabilities, conference call control, moderation and administration all through an intuitive user interface.

SCOPIA Mobile V3's click-to-participate capabilities allow users to join standards-based video conferences with full two-way video and see up to 28 participants simultaneously. SCOPIA Mobile can connect to telepresence systems, standards-based HD video conferencing systems and unified communications applications such as Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Lync.

The app currently is available for free through Apple's App Store, "and we'll do the same with Android," Radvision VP of enterprise marketing told Fierce. "We believe in the model that clients and desktops should be free, that way you can extend the conference to everybody. It's the same model as WebEx, the host pays and the people they invite come free."

The app allows users to view presentations, spreadsheets, documents and images shared in a conference with standards-based H.239 data collaboration. A neat twist is Radvision's data/collaboration slider feature which allows users to review previously shared materials without interrupting the presenter.

Mobile users can start or stop recording or streaming, lock a conference or end the meeting. They also can view a list of participants, mute background noises, stop cameras or simply disconnect unwanted participants. It also allows more standard features like the ability to change video layouts and view statistics such as codecs in use, resolution, network speed and loss for troubleshooting.

For more:
- see this release

Related articles:
Defense Department certifies Radvision videoconferencing secure
Radvision reports 2Q loss, revenue drop
Alcatel-Lucent offers video collaboration solution for SMBs, enterprise
Radvision's new SCOPIA Video Gateway for MS Lync making interoperability easier

Free VoIP provider magicJack VocalTec (Nasdaq: CALL) has updated its financial projection for 2012, saying it expects GAAP earnings per share before any nonrecurring items of between $2 and $3, on revenue growth that should come in between 20 percent and 30 percent higher between 2011 and 2012.

MagicJack launched an app for Apple's iPhone and iPad.

The company said it expects to see substantial call growth and said it expects to begin delivering other devices and serices connected with Wi-Fi and 4G next year.

The company also launched an app for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, that would allow users to to make free calls to numbers in the U.S., Canada and to other magicJack numbers worldwide. The app doesn't require users to have a voice plan.

Users can use their existing magicJack number to make and receive calls or use the application for outgoing calls to landline or mobile numbers. The company said magicJack APP is easy to use and claims it produces better voice quality. It also allows users to access their stored iPhone contacts.

"Apple has the best OS and devices built for voice and I believe we have the best telephone network and software engineers to take advantage of this incredible platform," said Dan Borislow, CEO of magicJack.

For more:
- see this release

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MagicJack under attack for 911 fees
magicJack gets VoIP upgrades with AudioCodes Mediant 5000 gateways
MagicJack apparently a reliable phone service

Employee-owned devices increasingly are becoming the reality for enterprise IT departments, and, with 91 percent of Fortune 500 companies testing or deploying iOS devices, Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone or iPad, research firm Gartner says the trend is an "unstoppable train."

Mitel releases a UC app for devices running iOS.

Unified communications software solutions provider Mitel, which sees the increasing adoption of iOS devices as a major business opportunity to expand in the small and medium enterprise segment, today launched Mitel Unified Communicator Advanced software, extending the reach of its Freedom UC platform to Apple mobile devices, allowing IT managers to accommodate the BYOD phenomenon.

The newest iteration provides desktop and mobile users a single interface to access all of their Mitel communications capabilities, including voice, video, instant messaging, conferencing and presence.

Unified Communicator Advanced for iPhone and iPad, in combination with the Freedom architecture, allows employees and IT department to utilize existing infrastructure and devices of choice without having to purchase new equipment.

"We recognize that delivering unified communications software to the iOS platform for Apple products is essential to our customers," said Ron Wellard, executive vice president and general manager at Mitel Communications Solutions.

With the addition of the iOS software, Mitel's unified communications applications, which also work with RIM- and Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android-based mobile devices, are available across the majority of mobile devices in business environments.

Among the features available to iOS users:

• Search the corporate directory and click-to-dial from corporate contact list to place calls through the corporate network;
• Missed, dialed, and received calls;          
• Access to visual voicemail from office extension and the ability to manage messages by preference rather than sequence; and,
• Automatic updates of presence status and call routing preferences based on a users location, or time of day.

The UC Advanced Mobile for iOS is available to UC Advanced users in Apple's App Store.

For more:
- see this release

Related articles:
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How Mitel's virtualized desktop softphone works
Mitel takes UC on the road with its 'Freedom Tour' bus

There are a lot of things that Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad can do, but can it replace your desktop phone? With a 3G plan, a SIP softphone and a Bluetooth headset, it easily can replace a mobile phone, a laptop and a desktop phone. Its big screen allows video conferencing and video collaboration and, it does all of that for less than some higher-end traditional IP desktops. To a degree, it's a no-brainer. Article

Mobile office productivity solutions provider Quickoffice has updated its Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad application, adding cloud partners and enabling users to take advantage of their social networks when working with their office documents.

The company's newest iteration, Quickoffice Pro HD 3.0, allows users to publish and share documents and files across Twitter, Facebook, Yammer and LinkedIn; it also allows users to access content found in Evernote and Catch.

Quickoffice Pro HD users can access, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. The application's social sharing feature introduces a way for consumers to distribute documents, spreadsheets, PDFs and presentations to their social networks. It also integrates with cloud storage services like Box.net, Google Docs, Huddle, MobileMe, Dropbox, SugarSync and now Evernote and Catch.

"Mobile and cloud environments are converging, and at Quickoffice, we're developing apps at the forefront of that intersection," said David Halpin, VP engineering at Quickoffice. "We know our users will enjoy this next level of productivity and connectivity, and we're excited to bring these essential social features to our iPad users and their circle of friends."

Quickoffice is installed on over 300 million devices in more than 180 countries.

For more:
see this release

When Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) made its $8.5 billion bid for Skype in May, the big question was, "What would it mean for the VoIP provider?"

Neil Stevens, Skype's vice president and general manager of products and marketing, in an interview with Forbes this week, said that, in addition to its iterations for iOS devices and Android phones, the company wanted to create a Skype experience for Windows Phones that "can show people what a really great Skype experience is like when there are no hardware or vendor limitations," unlike Skype's experience with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG).

"We're disadvantaged against [Apple's video-chat service] FaceTime because of this closed environment," Stevens said, adding that he'd like to see Skype integrated into the device instead of added on as an app.

"People don't want to start an app when they're making a call," notes Stevens. "This is the way the world's moving; it's hard to do on phones but we have to move there."

He said Skype also would be integrated into Xbox, Lync, and into Windows 8 devices eventually.

Expect, too, he said, to see more advertising on Skype, as Microsoft utilizes its experience with online advertising. Some of that already is being tested.

The deal, which has been approved by the U.S. Justice Department, is still awaiting the okay of European regulators, which should come before the end of the year.

Stevens also said Skype would continue to evolve its relationship with Facebook, focusing on rolling out its online video chat and adding, eventually, the ability to make outbound landline calls from the social networking site, and to call into Facebook from Skype, which likely will be on a fee basis.

"We have a plan to build out a number of products with Facebook," he says. "We'll be Facebook's key partner for communications."

For more:
- see this Forbes article

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Skype for Apple's iPad is officially available... again
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The long-awaited Skype app for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, which piqued curiosity when it was launched and pulled back within hours on Monday, is back again... and it appears this time it's here to stay.

Skype for iPad allows users to broadcast video using the front or back camera.

After teasing users with promises of an imminent release as long ago as June, Skype posted the app in the App Store yesterday but took it down in the evening citing an accidental release. It was back up today and should stay put. You can get it here.

The company said the new app gives users the ability to broadcast via either the front or back camera, so you can show your call-mates what you're seeing, or just keep it face-to-face-and switch back and forth at will. You can also view their broadcast in either portrait mode or landscape view.

In addition to two-way video calling  users also can instant message during a conversation--and even include those annoying emoticons--or SMS any of their contacts.

Skype video quality on the iPad checks in at up to 720p at 3fps, much better than Facetime's 240 resolution at 10 fps, which should make it the next best thing to being there for users... and it's free. That, and the fact that Facetime users can only connect to other iOS devices; Skype will connect to Windows devices as well.

The app fits the iPad; as Skype said on its blog: "It offers the best of both worlds for users who want a larger Skype experience, on-the-go. The large iPad screen is perfect for bringing Skype video calls to life, in either landscape or portrait view, and because it is on the iPad, Skype video calls can be made at the beach, in a car or even lying on a couch."

For more:
- see this blog post
- check out a video of the new app here

Related articles:
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Skype set for iPad debut
Another Skype security flaw in latest Facebook integration reported
Facebook partners with Skype to launch video chat
Google looks to play in Skype's space
Skype cutting execs loose before Microsoft sale closes
Think your calls on Skype are secure? Think again
Microsoft, Skype and reasons to worry that a good technology is about to die
Microsoft pays $8.5 billion to acquire VoIP provider Skype

Skype's 3G calling pay plan announcement has certainly caused some grumbles in the industry and consumer space. Will people pay for the service? One thing is for sure, it looks like iPhone users love the app as over 5 million users have downloaded the new 3G calling version of the Skype App from the iTunes music store. With numbers like that you have to believe that Skype stands to make some cash when they start asking loyal users to pay for the service.

In a recent CNN article, Skype revealed that by August 2010, the 3G Skype-to-Skype service will become a pay service with users paying a monthly fee for calls using the app over 3G. The fee will be on top of whatever users are paying AT&T for the (now capped) data and voice plans. Russ Shaw, Skype's general manager for mobile, says they don't want to price themselves out of the market and understand they can't charge too much since users currently pay nothing.

It will be interesting to see if Skype's service can find the right price point for bargain shoppers. Although a pay plan won't be interesting to iPhone users with an unlimited voice plan, it might be a way for bargain shoppers to get a smaller bucket of minutes at a cheaper rate and use their data plan combined with a small Skype fee to avoid overage charges.

For more:
- read this CNN/Mashable report

Related:
For all your Skype news in recent history check out - Roundup: The Skype Renaissance in Review