Plantronics introduced the Plantronics .Audio 655 USB Stereo Headset for PC-based communications and multimedia. The .Audio 655 is the industry's first headset to take full advantage of the crystal clear audio quality of calls in the all-new version of Skype for Windows.

The .Audio 655 is the first headset certified to work with Skype's new SILK speech codec, which was introduced earlier this year. This new audio codec delivers exceptionally clear conversations and achieves wideband audio quality (16kHz) using 50 percent less network bandwidth than previously required. Moreover, it introduces a new standard for speech quality -- super wideband audio (24kHz) -- which delivers crystal clear, richer and warmer sound to those using a compatible headset and a high quality broadband connection. Skype's bandwidth manager interacts with the codec to adjust quickly to fluctuating bandwidth conditions to produce the most reliable sound.

snom integrated its SIP-based phone portfolio with the leading IP PBX system developer AYC Telecom. After rigorous testing and evaluation, snom's 3xx series VoIP phones received full certification by AYC Telecom as interoperable and deployable with its IP PBX IPcts System. With the partnership, snom VoIP telephones will be the handset offered by AYC Telecom with its IP PBX IPcts System in the United States market.

Households across the nation can now experience for themselves the most talked-about new consumer electronics device on the market, the Verizon Hub. The Verizon Hub is an intuitive device that puts a communications command center in the home that bridges wireline and wireless connectivity and runs on any broadband connection -- whether supplied by Verizon FiOS Internet or DSL or any other high-speed service provider.

TalkSwitch announces the availability of its TS-850i high-performance cordless DECT phone. The feature-rich TS-850i provides the ability to break away from the desktop while retaining full TalkSwitch IP-PBX phone system functionality.

The TS-850i sports a sleek design and sturdy construction. It's ideal for warehouses, retail stores, manufacturing facilities, teleworkers and any small business user on the move. It uses SIP for standards-based VoIP connectivity and also works with a landline. A TS-850i extension can be located anywhere in a home or office without a nearby phone jack.

Acme Packet announces that InPhonex has chosen the Net-Net 9200 session border controller to help expand its subscriber base and further enhance its service offerings. An existing Acme Packet customer, InPhonex currently services approximately 200,000 direct VoIP subscribers and plans to exceed one million subscribers by the end of calendar year 2009. In addition to its retail business, InPhonex markets its services through a worldwide network of more than three thousand resellers under the VARPhonex brand. InPhonex’s business and residential subscribers are able to place VoIP calls to over 140 countries, choosing from a growing portfolio of fixed and variable rate service plans.

MetroCast has deployed Cedar Point's SAFARI C3 Multimedia Switching System for VoIP services as part of MetroCast's digital cable and Internet triple play services in the state of Mississippi. Cedar Point is replacing Metaswitch, and is the exclusive switching vendor throughout the MetroCast service footprint.

MetroCast recently entered the Mississippi market through an acquisition and is planning to install a fiber optic network to bridge North and South Mississippi enabling them to deliver enhanced digital services to Mississippi customers. MetroCast deployed Cedar Point's packet-based SAFARI C3 Multimedia Switching System for part of a bundle of services that includes voice to approximately 50,000 total subscribers.

ESS Technology announces the ES9701 as the newest member of its VoIP product line. First in the industry to embed two Subscriber Line Interface Circuits (SLICs) and an Ethernet switch, the ES9701 brings the highest integration and lowest bill of materials to consumer VoIP adapters and IP phone applications.

Patton has inaugurated a regional sales office in Milan, Italy. As Patton's center of operations and business development for Southern Europe, the Milan office supplies Patton's full catalog of over 1,000 data, voice, VoIP, and triple-play networking products to carriers, enterprises, VARs, and integrators throughout the region.

The announcement follows recent carrier Ethernet rollouts from KPN, Tiscali, and AT&T.

ClearOne has begun shipping their MAX IP Response Point conference phone for the Microsoft Response Point phone system. MAX IP Response Point is a tabletop conferencing system that brings high performance audio quality capabilities to users of Microsoft's popular small business phone system.

Response Point is a small business IP phone system from Microsoft that supports both VoIP and traditional analog phone lines and includes a voice-activated user interface. The Response Point software system runs on hardware available from Aastra, D-Link, and Quanta and ClearOne's MAX IP Response Point phone is compatible with all three hardware systems.

Grandstream announces the GXV3005, a new addition to the popular GXV3000 IP video product line. The GXV3005 features the same design and all of the functionality as the GXV3000; however it comes with the advanced versatility of an FXO PSTN line port, which enables customers to receive both video telephony service over an IP network and their home land-line. VoIP resellers will benefit by distributing the enhanced capabilities and flexibility that the GXV3005 brings to the growing IP videophone market.

Sky|Wi Telecommunications has chosen to deploy multiple Taqua 7000 Switching Systems to provide high-quality VoIP call termination in Mexico for carriers in the United States and abroad. The cost effective and robust VoIP capabilities with the T7000 allows Sky|Wi Telecommunications to provide better rates to carrier customers while leveraging the reliability inherent with the T7000’s blade-based carrier class architecture.

snom continues to aggressively expand its global sales channel by signing a major agreement with Tek-Mart, one of the largest technology distributors in Mexico. snom’s new 820 and 3xx series desktop SIP phones and its award-winning mobile snom m3 IP DECT phone are now available to Tek-Mart’s reseller network of Value-Added Resellers, Network Service Providers and Systems Integrators.

IPEVO announced its FR-33.1 USB Internet Handset has been certified for use with the Avaya IP Softphone 6.0. Business professionals that use the popular Avaya Softphone system can now experience the design and sound quality of IPEVO's best selling Internet handset. The FR-33.1 supports one-touch function keys for call transfer, call holding and conference calls, as well as contact and call history menu navigation. Users can activate the Avaya IP Softphone 6.0 application, as well as dial numbers and answer calls directly from the handset.

IndustryDynamics announces the availability of VoiceGear SkyBridge Skype-to-PBX gateway based on the second generation enterprise Linux platform. VoiceGear SkyBridge comes in a small, cost effective package geared specifically towards small businesses that want to take advantage of Skype's low calling rates and improve their business efficiency. Due to the slumping economy and increased pressures to cut costs, businesses need to execute more efficiently than ever before. By deploying VoiceGear SkyBridge, small businesses will be able to cut their long distance and international communication costs by up to 90%, improve employee productivity and introduce new innovative communication avenues to interact with local and international customers

Hermon Laboratories announces its new test equipment TCA 4100 low cost PC Based solutions is initially offering for VoIP and SIP (H.323). Both solutions are available as optional add-ons plus VQT (PESQ), and acoustic testing with HATS. SIP solution is also available as a standalone software application.

The VOIP add-on solution complies with the TIA/EIA-810A/B and TIA/EIA 920 standards. The unique equipment offers R&D, production groups a low cost solution to reduce time to develop and faster testing for production lines. The new SIP add-on and standalone solution supports ETSI TS 102.027.