Plantronics, Inc. announced that Oracle, the world's largest enterprise software company, selected the Plantronics Voyager 510-USB Bluetooth headset system to optimize Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications and provide hands-free efficiency to its global workforce.

Combining the Voyager 510-USB with a VoIP-enabled laptop and mobile phone, Oracle employees now have a single wireless headset to use across multiple applications. For example, the Voyager 510-USB allows employees to use voice commands to log into Oracle Collaboration Suite, listen to and draft new e-mails, and access calendar items, address book contacts, and other information. The result: improved efficiency through faster communications and decision making and enhanced collaboration.

Sonim Technologies, announced that Swedish mobile phone retailer Dialect will offer the Sonim XP1 ruggedized handset across all retail locations nationwide. The XP1 will meet the needs of industrial workers and sports enthusiasts with its ease of use, durable exterior and extended battery life.

Sonim designed the XP1 to withstand severe elemental and environmental conditions and made the handset next to impossible to break. The XP1 can survive falls from heights up to 1.3m, making it a natural choice for users needing a ruggedized handset with sophisticated features. The XP1 is also IP52-Certified, meaning that it is resistant to water, rain and dust – three of the elements that are most disruptive in outdoor and industrial environments. The handsets will be available in all Dialect stores in December 2006.

Coms opens its online store, Coms Express, at www.comsexpress.com. The store offers all the basic equipment required, such as internet enabled handsets and headsets, to start using internet telephony to make low-cost or free calls. Coms Express stocks the widest range of VoIP products and guides customers to select the most appropriate equipment for their use.

Making calls over the Internet uses an application called Voice over Internet Protocol (or VoIP). VoIP means that conversations are transmitted over the internet to other internet users or normal telephone users. Coms operates its own VoIP network and calls are cheaper than traditional services because they are made using the customers existing broadband connection.

USRobotics, announced the addition of the USR9640 USR Mini Cam for Skype to its Skype product family. The webcam joins the company’s other Skype products, including USB handsets, a speakerphone, and the cordless dual phone and accessory handset.

“With our webcam and headset, Skype users can now make free video calls to friends and family around the world, as well as share recorded video and snapshots,” says Anurag Batta, USRobotics Product Manager for VoIP. “The camera is a natural extension of our Skype product line and continues our development of easy to use, reliable, Skype certified products.”

Yahoo! Messenger and Linksys, announced the availability of a new dual-mode cordless phone. The Linksys Dual-Mode Cordless Phone for Yahoo! Messenger with Voice (CIT310) gives consumers the flexibility to make and take low-cost Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls using Yahoo! Messenger with Voice(a) as well as place and receive phone calls using their traditional landline/PSTN connection.

The dual-mode cordless phone provides Yahoo! Messenger users with a convenient and fun alternative to make free Internet-based calls to friends and family on their Yahoo! Messenger Contact List. People subscribing to Yahoo! Phone Out can use the cordless phone to make an Internet-based call to any traditional or mobile phone at very low rates. With the use of the USB base station, the phone gives people the freedom to take their Yahoo! Messenger with Voice calls away from the PC and into other rooms, just as they do with mobile or cordless phones. People have the flexibility to instantly switch over from VoIP to a traditional landline phone service with the touch of a button.

The voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) semiconductor market is witnessing very high growth in all the end-user segments such as carrier infrastructure, enterprise, and consumer or residential markets. There is also a trend toward integration and this results in the need for a high-performance, low-power and cost-effective solution. In order to understand the changing market dynamics, it is imperative for vendors to have strategic relationship with customers.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, World VoIP Semiconductor Markets, reveals that the market earned revenues of $256.2 million in 2005 and estimates to reach $857.8 million in 2009.

Camrivox, a developer of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) equipment, has announced that it has added support for Google Talk to its range of Flexor IP phones and telephony adapters.

The Flexor products allow users to register a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) account and a Google Talk account simultaneously on the same VoIP device. This means that they can make or receive calls either via Google Talk or with any other SIP-compatible VoIP phone or conventional phone.

"We believe that Camrivox is the first company to add this capability, and our Flexor range is therefore the first devices that enables Google Talk to be used without a PC," said David Moorhouse, VP of Marketing at Camrivox.

Broadcom Corporation, announced that the Broadcom Wi-Fi phone platform now supports Skype software and will be available to consumers in new Wi-Fi phone handsets from Buffalo. In the past, Skype users needed a PC to make Skype calls. Now, with the availability of wireless Internet phones, users can make calls at open Wi-Fi access points all over the world without being tied to a PC.

"A Wi-Fi phone is more flexible and useful than a traditional analog phone because it uses Internet Protocol (IP) as the underlying technology and can communicate with other devices on the network," said Monika Gupta, Senior Product Marketing Manager of Broadcom's Consumer VoIP products. "Consumers can now be part of the Skype community -- scroll through their contacts, see who is online, make free Skype-to-Skype calls -- all without sitting in front of the PC."

I came across a review of these two Philips VoIP Phones and thought I'd provide you a cliff notes version of the review.

The VoIP433 provided users with a "true plug-and-play" experience with Windows Live Messenger and the phones automatic contact book provides an up-to-date contact list. However the screen is considered to be one of the worst ever seen on a handset. It's 98x67 pixel LCD is only capable of showing 4096 colours and the low resolution can make it hard to read.

Features:
Call on hold
Call waiting
Battery life of 10 hours talk time and 100 hours standby

The VOIP321 is a Skype phone that requires the installation of a driver and small application program. This runs in parallel to Skype and your computer to provide the phones interface. After installation it provides a small icon in the computers system tray.

snom technology, announced that during the VON Europe show in Berlin, Germany and SIMO in Madrid, Spain, snom technology will be demonstrating the compatibility of its SIP based VoIP phones with the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.

The security provided by SIP-based (Session Initiation Protocol) IP communications offers a complex, protected, and unassailable communications infrastructure. Both snom and Microsoft customers benefit from the increased security measures that are put into place when using a SIP-based infrastructure.

Gennum Corporation, a leading provider of technology for personal audio products, announced the release of the nXZEN VoIP headset, its newest Bluetooth product offering. The nXZEN VoIP headset system is a Skype certified combination of Gennum's nXZEN 5000 extreme noise-cancelling Bluetooth headset with the new nXZEN USB audio dongle. Together, this nXZEN pair creates a powerful, plug-and-play VoIP solution that brings both the simplicity of Bluetooth and Gennum's extreme noise cancellation technology to IP telephony users.

With the market for dual mode (Cellular and Wi-Fi) smartphones taking off. Nokia is currently the market leader to date and have shipped more than 70 million devices using the S60 platform. The 'S' stands for Symbian, which is the open operating system installed on these devices.

Making cheap VoIP calls in fixed locations using your cell phone is convenient, but the industry has increased its goal to integrate seamless roaming between networks is what users really want.

Nokia's smartphones are targeted at the business professional and Cicero Networks, based in Dublin, Ireland. They have launched what they believe is the first VCC (Voice Call Continuity) solution for the Eseries and nSeries devices. Cicero Networks also have a server-based solution, enablin seamless roaming for users between Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

I came across this review by David DeJean of TechWeb on Netgear's Skype Phone Model SPH101 and found it to provide some helpful insight.

"Even though the Skype Voice-over-IP (VoIP) service lets you talk to other people just like you would on the telephone, it still requires a computer to make it work. However, a new generation of Skype handsets is changing all that. The Netgear Skype WiFi Phone gets you off your computer entirely: If you've got a WiFi network and this handset, you've got all the equipment you need."

This mouse phone offers a flip open to reveal a nifty VoIP handset. Inside this toy-like design you will be pleasently surprised to find many technological treats.

There's a Skype-friendly caller-ID display for the phone and a 800dpi optical sensor for the mouse. Of course there's always that question of what happens when you pick up your cursor to answer a call? Accuratus sensing this dilemma has included a loud speaker allowing you to continue using your mouse while taking calls at the same time.

Taiwanese handset maker E-Ten Information Systems has released a new mobile-based smartphone with GPS, computing capabilities with Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS, and VoIP software from Skype.

The Glofiish X500 has a slim design at just 15.5mm, which is a big selling point. The voice functions are also very nice. Glofiish offers quad-band GSM and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution), as well as GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and EGPRS (Enhanced GPRS). It enables users to bypass their mobile phone company and use Skype when in a Wi-Fi hot spot.