Ooma announces that it is extending even more freedom and flexibility to its customers with new wireless offerings.

With the first-of-kind introduction of the new Ooma Telo Air wireless adapter, the Ooma Telo can now be placed anywhere in the home within range of a Wi-Fi network. The company also announced that it is extending the availability of its Ooma Bluetooth service to all Ooma Telo subscribers to broaden the integration of mobile phones and Ooma home phone systems. Ooma Bluetooth service was previously only available to Ooma Premier service subscribers.

Ooma's first-to-market support for home Wi-Fi VoIP connectivity is made possible by Ooma's PureVoice HD technology with advanced voice compression and adaptive redundancy to overcome any signal degradation within the wireless network. More information on Ooma PureVoice HD technology is available at www.ooma.com/products/ooma-purevoice.

By using the new wireless adapter to untether the Ooma Telo from the modem or router, customers have more convenient access to their cordless phone base station, voicemail messages and other advanced features that Ooma offers. They also have the option of using the Ooma Telo as a wireless bridge for laptops and other devices throughout the home. Ooma is delivering broad home coverage and a high-quality calling experience using the latest 802.11n wireless standard combined with Ooma PureVoice HD technology, which delivers crystal-clear call quality and up to twice the fidelity of standard phone calls for a richer, more natural sounding conversation.

By adding an Ooma Bluetooth adapter to the Ooma Telo, customers gain the convenience of answering mobile phone calls on any home phone without worry of poor reception or dropped calls. It provides transmission range of up to 30 feet and supports up to seven Bluetooth devices.

Further integrating the mobile and home phone experience, Ooma also offers the Ooma Mobile HD App for Android and Apple mobile devices so customers can save money on domestic and international calls by tapping their Ooma account on the go over any Wi-Fi or 3G network.

Pricing
the Ooma Telo Air wireless adapter is available for $49.99. The Ooma Bluetooth Adapter is available for $29.99.

Ooma Premier is an optional level of service offering a suite of more than 25 advanced telephony services, including the new 911 Notification feature, and costs $9.99 per month. New customers signing-up for one-year of Ooma Premier service receive their choice of a free number port, Ooma Telo Handset, Ooma Bluetooth adapter or extended warranty.

Cisco Cius, the first Android tablet aimed at enterprise customers will be launched by Verizon Wireless later this summer. According to Verizon, the company is combining the power of its 4G LTE network with the Cisco Cius to improve "Mobile Enterprise Collaboration."

It's no secret that Apple has been militant in suing competitors that employ technologies even remotely close to Apple's own. But when it comes to stealing ideas for apps from developers, Apple's intentions are a bit more dubious.

The Register reports that Apple is being accused of stealing the idea of one UK-based college student and developer — Greg Hughes. In May 2010, Hughes submitted an app for consideration called Wi-Fi Sync, which allowed users to sync their iTunes libraries wirelessly.

 

Samsung announced two new models in their Galaxy Tab line, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy Tab 8.9. The Tab 10.1 has been redesigned since we saw it at MWC and both tablets can now boast that they are the world's thinnest tablets at 8.6 mm.

Both will feature an updated Live View interface on top of Honeycomb, specifically designed for the platform. They each have dual core 1GHz processors, will support HSPA+ as well as have WiFi-only versions. 

Samsung also announced pricing and availability today, something that they don't often do. 

Here is what they announced:

• Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi-only 16GB: $499, available June 8th
• Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi-only 32GB: $599, available June 8th
• Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi-only 16GB: $469, available "early summer"
• Galaxy Tab 8.9 WiFi-only 32GB: $569, available "early summer"

Samsung announced some pretty impressive additions to their Galaxy Tab lineup and is stepping up their game in terms of pricing.

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"We designed WiFi Direct to unleash a wide variety of applications which require device connections, but do not need the Internet or even a traditional network," said Edgar Figueroa, CEO of the WiFi Alliance, in a statement. "WiFi Direct empowers users to connect devices — when, where and how they want to, and our certification program delivers products that work well together, regardless of the brand."  

The five WiFi Certified WiFi Direct products, the Alliance announced, are:  

• Atheros XSPAN Dual-band 802.11n PCIe mini card;  

• Broadcom Dual-Band 802.11n 2x2 MiMO PCIe half mini card;  

• Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 WiFi card;  

• Ralink MIMObility 802.11 2x2 PCIe half mini card; and  

• Realtek HM92C00 PCIe mini card. 

WiFi Direct technology is intended for both consumer and enterprise devices, as it offers the latest WPA2 security protections. It also works with older WiFi Certified devices, offers a “push-button” setup and—unlike the limited distances of Bluetooth technology—works at a typical WiFi range.

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This is the first time in 25 years that the FCC has passed an order that frees up wireless spectrum and makes it available unlicensed for innovation. “Wireless in general is very central to our economic growth,” Chairman Genachowski told me in a phone conversation earlier this month. He believes that wireless and wireless broadband will have a wide-ranging impact on everything from health to entertainment to education. (Related Post: All You Need to Know About White Spaces Broadband.)

“A year ago, no one was talking about the spectrum shortage in this country, and now we are moving toward solving that problem,” said the FCC chairman. According to some estimates, the demand for mobile broadband means that in three years, the current amount of spectrum won’t be enough. The FCC, in its national broadband plan, has asked for 500 Megahertz of new wireless spectrum, of which 300 MHz it wants freed up in the next five years.

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The MTX-3 offers seamless interaction with AV and environmental systems, providing true feedback of all settings, and displaying metadata information for all digital media.  Crestron’s infiNET EX wireless technology provides reliable two-way communications throughout a residence or commercial structure utilising a 2.4 GHz mesh network.

A complete infiNET EX network uses the lighting dimmers and other devices throughout the structure as wireless relay stations, each receiving and passing on wireless commands to the central gateway.

Every device that is added to the network effectively increases the range, strength, and reliability of the entire network by providing multiple redundant signal paths, ensuring that every button press is executed instantly and consistently.

The MTX-3 can also communicate directly with the gateway if no other infiNET EX devices are installed. Up to six MTX-3s can be assigned to a single gateway.

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ip.access and Kineto Wireless have announced successful interoperability testing between ip.access’ Oyster 3G femtocell Access Point and Kineto’s Multi-Service Access Gateway (MSA-GW). The testing was based on 3GPP’s Release 8 Iuh specification, which defines the standard interface between femtocell Access Points and the femtocell gateway.

Avaya today at Interop 2010 unveiled new data products that are specifically designed to support the growing needs of today's bandwidth-hungry video and unified communications applications. These products address the main challenge that enterprises face today: how to cost-effectively add the bandwidth needed to position them for growth.

 

The 7” screen size is the only real issue I have with the OpenTablet 7. It uses LED backlighting, supports b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and cellular connectivity. That apparently gives the OpenTablet 7 mobile broadband (WiMax) access, but not 3G. That's going to limit this thing's outdoor usefulness pretty harshly by geography.

The OpenTablet 7 also packs a mic and speakers, HDMI out, dual cameras for HD recording and still images, a microSD slot, a USB port, and a Moorestown Atom CPU. It is .59” thick, 9” by 5” in size, and only 1.15 lbs. This device has some shortcomings, but on the whole I think it represents a pretty solid answer to the iPad. We'll know more when OpenPeak announces pricing and availability.

Source: I4U News

There’s no doubt that the upcoming Apple iPad will kick the asses of all netbooks, tablet PCs, and e-readers, but it’s by far the perfect unit that we had hoped for from Apple. But then again, neither was the original iPhone.

How could it have been better?

Here’s a list of things we felt strongly about. Post yours in the comments section below. Please keep the tampon jokes to a minimum.

 

- No camera. Video conference calls over Skype or iChat with a front-facing hidden iSight camera would have been a killer feature. Apple did announce 30-pin connector accessories like an external keyboard, however there’s been no mention of an external video capture device. Hopefully something is in the works. I personally feel they should have held off the launch of this until a built-in camera was available. #1 feature, completely missed — and will keep many from not buying. As Spock would say, this is quite illogical.

- No phone. There’s 3G support, but no phone support? Perhaps VOIP is the answer.

- AT&T only? The love/hate relationship between Apple and AT&T continues. Why, man, why?

- Picture frame. What’s the deal with the humongo black frame? My guess is usability tests showed that it was necessary (the way users held the iPad), but it sure doesn’t look as slick as if the screen met up with the edge of the case.

- Mobile Safari still doesn’t support Flash. I suspect Apple’s mobile devices will be the death of Flash, and maybe that’s their intent? As a web developer myself, I avoid Flash or have to disable Flash for mobile devices for this very reason.

- Multitasking. There’s still no multi-tasking support with the iPhone operating system. Yikes!

- Storage. 64GB is the best they could do? What about support for network drives, memory expansion, or even tossing in a small hard drive?

- Battery. Like all Apple products these days, there’s no way to change the battery. A trend that nobody likes except for Apple.

And finally, I’m a bit bummed that there was no mention at all about an iPhone update, or at the very least — an iPhone OS update. I realize that an hour and a half on the iPad left little time to discuss anything else–but it’s been a long while since we’ve had an iPhone or iPod Touch OS update. Throw us a bone, Stevie-baby!

Apple iPad Specs

Source:  AppModo

On paper, DataJack has me second guessing my recent decision to pick up a CLEAR WiMAX modem. That’s especially true since while my mobile WiMAX modem works great, the home modem isn’t as fast as the DSL service I was hoping to replace, so I’m thinking of canceling the home service which means I’d end up paying as much as $45/month for WiMAX service that only works in a handful of cities when I could be paying $40/month for 3G data service that is available nationwide.

But this time I think I’ll try not to be the early adopter and wait to see how well the service works for others before signing up.

Source: Chip Chick

The US Federal Communications Commission is considering a plan that would reclaim some precious airwaves from the country's television broadcasters and reinvent them as wireless broadband.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the FCC intends to release the plan on Friday as part of an effort to ensure that there's enough wireless bandwidth for the America of the future. "The record is very clear that we're facing a looming spectrum gap," said Blair Levin, who oversees the plan, part of a wider push to expand US broadband.

The plan would involve the FCC buying spectrum back from TV folk and then auctioning it off to wireless folk. The FCC has already opened up the television "white spaces" as unlicensed spectrum, hoping to create a kind of "WiFi on steroids."

But the new plan creates vast swathes of licensed wireless broadband, providing more bandwidth for the likes of AT&T and Verizon. Alongside God and Dolly Parton, the nation's TV broadcasters vehemently opposed the white spaces move, and you can bet they'll do the same with the proposed plan to take back even more spectrum.

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The V Phone offers a key advantage that is sure to grab the attention of users of other mobile VoIP software. Rather than locking iPhone users into working with a single VoIP provider, it lets users choose between multiple providers of their choice for voice calling. The V Phone nullifies the single provider protocol and lets users choose the most cost-effective provider for each task, a capability that is unique among such programs. In addition, the V Phone app is the first ‘open and configurable’ app to also offer SMS messaging over IP.

The V Phone’s SMS features offers two standard VoIP provider networks, as well as an option for entering the user's own provider of choice. The app’s VoIP calling and text messaging options works with WiFi, allowing for convenient coverage without the need for a SIM card. Additionally, iPhone users can now make 3G/GPRS/HSDPA VoIP calls. With an intuitive, attractive graphical user interface and simple installation steps, the V Phone makes it easy for anyone to save money and start getting more out of their mobile or cell phones.

Matrix has released a video on You Tube demonstrating to iPhone users on how easy it is to configure and use the app.

Matrix has submitted the app to Apple for approval and believes it should be available in the App Store within 2 to 3 weeks.

The study, performed by Perspective Associates, concluded that unlicensed use of white-space spectrum could lead to low cost wireless broadband access in rural areas since white space is essentially supercharged WiFi that can operate over a larger range than WiFi. The study also said that white-space spectrum will lead to a number of devices and services because of a low cost of entry.

"This innovation in unlicensed spectrum is built on competition between thousands of manufacturers, service providers, and system integrators of varying scale and scope competing to sell a wide range of products and services directly to end users," the report said. "In contrast, voice and data services in licensed spectrum are provided by a small number of network operators, selling largely similar bundles of services."

The FCC last year approved unlicensed use of white-space spectrum as long as the services don't interfere with existing services. Google, Microsoft and Motorola are among the service's largest backers. Still the National Association of Broadcasters has filed suit against the FCC over interference concerns. White-space standards have yet to be established by regulators and device makers.

Source: FierceBroadband

As predicted last month, the IEEE has finally approved the 802.11n high-throughput wireless LAN standard.

Finalization of the new wireless networking standard--which is capable of delivering throughput speeds up to 300 megabits per second (and even higher)--took exactly seven years from the day it was conceived, or six years from the first draft version. The standard has been through a dozen or so draft versions.

News of the ratification broke via a blog post displaying an e-mail sent by Bruce Kraemer, longtime chairman of the 802.11n Task Group, to task group members. There has been no public announcement yet. Update 5:49 p.m. PDT: A press release has been issued.

(The 802.11n Task Group is part of the 802.11 Working Group, which oversees WLAN (wireless local-area network) standards. Task group members include the majority of Wi-Fi chipmakers, software developers, and equipment OEM vendors. Meru Networks, one of the members, posted the blog that broke the news.)

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Equi-Wireless services are robust and highly reliable. The highly scalable services utilize a mesh architecture with no common point of failure. Equi-Wireless services provide native IP addressing with no tunneling, QOS for voice services and do not traverse the open internet.

"Equi-Wireless combines the capabilities of our powerful MPLS network with the reliability and cost effectiveness of wireless, said Marcus McEwen, president of Equivoice Inc."

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) enables customers and carriers to build next-generation intelligent networks that deliver a wide variety of advanced, value-added services over a single infrastructure. This economical solution can be integrated seamlessly over any existing infrastructure, allowing subscribers with differing access links to aggregate an MPLS edge without changing their current environments.

Equivoice Inc. was founded by President/CEO, Marcus McEwen, a telecommunications entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience and CIO, Scott Grau, patent holder of "System and method for communication of audio data over a packet-based network" Document Type and Number: United States Patent 5526353.

Source: PR Web

The contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency provides Raytheon $24.4 million for one year. Options would extend the deal for the mobile network to 2012 and raise the potential value to $155 million.

The system will integrate more than 30 different military, civil or coalition radios into an affordable single network to facilitate communications.

Raytheon says the unique architecture of the system overcomes the limits of most networking systems in use today.  The company also says the system allows for many more users to join the network at the same time.

Source: AP

 

ADVERTORIAL: Product debuts and important industry topics such as ecology, lifestyle, HDTV & wireless communications the main features at IFA 2009.
For the second time, and with an even more comprehensive show, the leading brands of the consumer electronics and electrical home appliances industries will be jointly represented on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds at IFA 2009.

Mike Storella, director of business development at VoIP phone maker snom, believes unified communications is the strongest segment in the communications industry.
As customers look to become leaner and meaner, he stresses the advantages offered by wireless technology, such as WiFi, saying he feels it should be "everywhere".

If you're surrounded by neighboring Wi-Fi networks, and if all of your devices can operate over 5GHz (most newer laptops with built-in 802.11n adapters support both bands), switching to 5GHz could be the answer to your interference problems. Be forewarned, though: 5GHz 802.11n does not have quite as good range as the 2.4GHz band.

The WRT320N has a sleek spaceship-style design and very good features. It also has an excellent software utility called LELA that goes beyond standard setup tasks to include features like network maps and device information, making it useful for ongoing network monitoring.

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TrendNet announces today, from Interop Las Vegas, the availability of the first to market Wireless-N Internet Camera Server with 2-Way Audio, model TV-IP512WN, offering unsurpassed wireless range and video bandwidth. This is the first Internet security camera with integrated 300Mbps wireless n technology to produce unmatched wireless surveillance capabilities.

The Wireless N Internet Camera Server with 2-Way Audio transmits real-time high quality streaming video over the Internet. Users can view and manage the camera from any Internet connection. 300Mbps wireless n technology provides up to four times the coverage and vastly improved bandwidth to wirelessly stream Internet security video. Manage up to 32 TRENDnet cameras with the included complimentary IP View Pro 2.0 camera management software.

The camera offers advanced features such as multiple variable-shape motion detection recording windows, event driven email alerts, scheduled recording sessions, MPEG-4 and MJPEG image compression and advanced hard drive storage allocation tools. Add this camera to your wireless network at the touch of a button with Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) support. 2-way audio allows users to hear and talk to people in the camera's viewing field. Input/Output ports can be hard wired to third party alarm systems.

The camera comes with a removable CS lens and features 16x digital zoom. A built-in SD card slot allows users to store images directly to a memory card. The off-white camera housing blends into most environments and includes a wall/ceiling mounting kit for easy installation. "The Wireless N Internet Camera Server (TV-IP512WN) redefines the design parameters and product capabilities of wireless IP cameras," stated Zak Wood, Director of Global Marketing for TrendNet. "It offers greater installation flexibility, enterprise class product features, far superior wireless bandwidth and the convenience of one-touch wireless network connection to WPS."

The Wireless N Internet Camera Server with 2-Way Audio, model TV-IP512WN, will be available from all Online and retail partners within a few working days. The MSRP for the Wireless N Internet Camera Server with 2-Way Audio is US $249.99.

That's a change from recent years, when flashy new phones and data services hogged the spotlight. This year, the developments have been more appropriate for a recession: People who are least able to pay are getting cheaper service.

In traditional prepaid service, which generally has been marketed to people with iffy credit, customers buy minutes in advance, and often are charged a fee for each day they use the phone.

The big change this year has been the rise of prepaid plans with no limit on the minutes used.

In January, Sprint Nextel Corp. made a bold move to capture a larger share of the prepaid market, launching a service with unlimited calling, texting and Web access for $50 per month under its Boost Mobile brand.

The plan was partly a response to MetroPCS Communications Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc., two upstarts building their own wireless networks. In the last few months, they've expanded into New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago with unlimited plans that cost around $50 a month, depending on the options.

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