Vapps updated its Skype Extra, a plug-in that launches the full feature set of its High-Definition Conferencing service from within the globally adopted Skype internet communications application.

Vapps added HD-C to Skype’s Extras Gallery in October 2007, uniquely conferencing together public switched telephone network and Skype users for a value-priced flat monthly fee ranging from $25 for as many as 10 users to $200 for as many as 500. The convenience of Vapps’ Skype plug-in—with 100,000 registered users to date—encourages frequent, ad-hoc use, and along with the flat-rate pricing makes it easier for growing companies with remote teleworkers to manage costs.

fring mobile VoIP application to be made publicly available for the iconic apple iPhone, enabling users to talk, chat and interact with other fring users ("fringsters") and all of their online communities, using their iPhone's WiFi connection.

A light, sneak preview R&D version of the phenomenally popular mobile VoIP application, developed in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology academic research labs in Israel, is now available for use on the iPhone from fring.com. The pre-release version is designed to both answer demand from iPhone-owning would-be fringsters and at the same time enable fring to learn about user experience, benefit from early feedback and influence the R&D process of the full release version, due for launch later this year.

The special pre-release version will enable iPhone users to get an early taste of fring and discover the freedom of being able to take their fring contacts and buddies from their other favorite online communities mobile on their iPhones. They will also have the ability to make free and low cost mobile calls over WiFi & enjoy rich, IM-style live chat with their online contacts, regardless of whether they are on their mobiles, PC's or other internet devices.

HelloSoft announce the launch of HelloMobileCommunicator-FMC for Nokia's E-Series devices. The S60 Platform is a software platform for mobile phones that uses Symbian OS. The S60 is currently amongst the leading smartphone platforms in the world. It is developed primarily by Nokia and licensed by them to other manufacturers.

With the S60, being the world's most popular software platform for smartphones, HelloSoft has been diligently working on the S60 platform to bring Fixed Mobile Convergence to Next Generation Networks.

HelloMobileCommunicator-FMC is a standards-based complete solution enabling mass-market deployment of low-cost and power-efficient fully featured handsets. HelloSoft's award-winning and commercially deployed comprehensive SIP-based VoIP technology forms the core component of the product. This 3GPP compliant product leads the way for FMC deployments with it's Voice Call Continuity feature offering seamless handoff between any access networks (Wi-Fi, WiMAX, WCDMA, EVDO, HSDPA/HSUPA).

Paltalk launched its newest version of its video chat platform, PaltalkScene. PaltalkScene v9.4 expands the many ways in which Paltalk users are able to connect with each other through voice and video chat including new PC-to-phone calling options, allowing users to make calls directly from their Pal list to any of their Paltalk buddies or offline friends.

In addition to PC-to-phone calling, PaltalkScene 9.4 will also offer many other features designed to enhance user-experience and engage community members more intimately as they chat and view video content produced for the Paltalk platform. Features include FindMe, which enables users to display what rooms they are currently participating in, and pet emoticons to enhance their one-to-one and community chat experiences. These features, along with the company's Super IM capability, which allows free videoconferencing calls for up to 10 people at a time, as well as its recent partnership with Vumber to offer virtual phone numbers, separate Paltalk from other voice and video chat providers by providing the most robust offering to users who want flexibility in how they communicate with friends around the world.

BroadSoft announces that Broadcore is employing BroadSoft's VoIP application software as the foundation of its Managed Business Communications Services. The BroadWorks VoIP platform enables Broadcore to deliver advanced hosted PBX and business trunking services to small and medium-sized businesses throughout California and to multisite U.S.-based businesses nationwide and internationally.

Broadcore selected the BroadWorks platform because it is a complete, scalable hosted PBX platform that requires no third-party solutions. With BroadWorks, Broadcore delivers to its customers a comprehensive solution that eliminates the need for multiple vendors, multiple points of failure and multiple bills. Broadcore's all-in-one VoIP solution includes the provisioning of local loops, local and long-distance services, Internet access, IP equipment, consolidated billing, live around-the-clock support and disaster recovery.

VoIPshield Systems launches VoIPguard, the industry's first enterprise VoIP Intrusion Prevention System to provide effective protection against known and new security threats for VoIP systems from Avaya, Cisco and Nortel. Microsoft support will be added in Q3.

Attacks on communication networks can be stopped most effectively if their signatures are known. Years of research by VoIPshield Laboratories, the research division of VoIPshield Systems, has yielded the industry's most comprehensive database of known VoIP attack signatures. These attacks are specific to VoIP, and therefore cannot be detected and stopped by traditional data security products.

The new category is VIPS, or VoIP Intrusion Prevention Systems. There are two key technical requirements: a VIPS must protect against voice-specific attacks, and it must do so without causing increased latency, jitter or packet loss.

U.S. small businesses can soon take advantage of VoIP phone service on Microsoft Response Point phone systems to improve their business communications. At the third annual Microsoft Small Business Summit, Microsoft announced it will release a feature update, Service Pack 1, to its Microsoft Response Point phone system software this summer, available free via a simple download.

Response Point SP1 will enable small businesses to easily supplement their existing phone service with VoIP services. As customers become more comfortable with the reliability and quality of service offered by VoIP, they can seamlessly move from analog to VoIP without needing telephony expertise.

Responding to growing adoption of VoIP by its customers, Untangle announced VoIP support for the Untangle Gateway Platform, the world’s first commercial-grade open source solution for blocking spam, spyware, viruses, adware and unwanted content on the network.

To date, security, firewall and Unified Threat Management solutions have faced challenges co-existing alongside VoIP and Asterisk servers, resulting in increased SIP traffic latency. For small-to-medium businesses using VoIP for voice communications, this has often meant choosing between the lesser of two evils - poor voice quality or an unsecured network.

PhoneFusion announced the launch of Fusion Voicemail Plus. This free, downloadable voicemail application gives any smartphone user with a wireless data and text messaging plan the ability to centralize all of their voicemail boxes and see right on the screen of their mobile device a list of their voicemail messages. The service also allows users to listen to their voicemails directly from their smartphone. Fusion Voicemail Plus is available to anyone whether or not they are an existing PhoneFusion customer at www.fvmplus.com. This free service also comes as a standard feature in the PhoneFusion One solution.

Fusion Voicemail Plus provides a faster, more efficient way to review messages in the order people want, rather than dialing multiple voicemail systems and listening to the messages in chronological order. A feature distinct to Fusion Voicemail Plus, users can view the incoming phone number and see the caller ID name. Other services only display names if they are stored in the users' phone books. With that information, Fusion Voicemail Plus users are able to dial the callers back immediately or send them a text message.

D2 Technologies announced that its flagship embedded VoIP product, vPort, has increased its universal mobility capabilities by resolving the problem posed by firewalls and Network Address Translation traversal. Through broader support for the Internet Engineering Task Force’s standards, including STUN, TURN and ICE, vPort eliminates barriers created by disparate communications platforms and individual network security implementations, such as what might exist between a user and a corporate network. As a result, vPort now guarantees the delivery speed and quality of VoIP calls and allows manufacturers to quickly and affordably deliver the latest VoIP-enabled communications devices to market, including dual mode phones, triple and quadruple-play devices, advanced VoIP adapters/gateways, IP phones and other mobile devices.

Fonality announces high growth in the company’s commercial and open source business units. trixbox CE, Fonality’s open source project, has now been downloaded a total of 2.6 million times, which includes 1.6 million SourceForge downloads and an additional one million upgrades downloaded from trixbox.org. Separately, over the past five months Fonality’s commercial customer count has doubled. More than 5,000 customers in over 100 countries are now using the company’s business phone systems and have made a total of 225 million calls over the company’s hybrid-hosted systems, PBXtra and trixbox Pro.

“We’ve hit the 225 million call threshold and have proven that Fonality can scale with the market opportunity,” said Chris Lyman, Fonality CEO. “We are on track to serve a broad segment of the 35 million small businesses that will adopt VoIP over the next several years.”

Fonality releases PBXtra 4.0, an all new version of its phone system designed for the modern workplace. PBXtra now includes FindMe with Boomerang Mobile Integration, a feature that uses presence detection to automatically find employees on their mobile devices, allowing them to answer the call or bounce it to another extension. A host of other new features deepen PBXtra integration with mobile phones and web browsers, enhance support of branch offices, and make ongoing management of the phone system easier than ever.

The new FindMe capability in PBXtra 4.0 ups the ante in the Find-Me-Follow-Me feature wars. Not only does it allow employees to decide when and how they will be found according to their personal schedule and rules, but FindMe also has built-in presence detection. The system observes a person’s keyboard and mouse activity and can route calls to their mobile phone or other number when they are inactive on their computer

Raketu released its WebIM web-based global instant messaging application. In addition to Raketu’s voice calling, SMS-Texting, file sharing and other communications, information and entertainment services, the new application allows any user, anywhere, to send and receive instant messages from any device totally free – without any download. Raketu’s new WebIM also unifies instant messaging with the Raketu download client, so that users on Raketu’s website, mobile websites and from the download client can instant message and share information.

3CX releases version 5.1 of 3CX Phone System for Windows. The latest version of the award-winning IP PBX has an integrated 3CX Tunnel which simplifies firewall configuration by channeling all VoIP traffic over a single port; making it easy for remote workers to connect to their company’s PBX and for Network Managers to connect different remote PBX systems between them. Traditionally, firewall configuration for remote SIP / VoIP systems and/or extensions can represent a challenge, because it requires many open ports.

Tpad has unveiled their latest innovation in their drive to cut the cost of international phone calls. By dialling a Local Access number followed by a unique pin number the caller will only be charged at local rate no matter where in the world they are calling from.

Steven Johns, Marketing Manager for Tpad, believes that these numbers will make it easier for Tpad customers to stay in touch with family or friends living in a different country: "The international call charge can be prohibitive for anybody wanting to chat to a friend or family member in another country. Now with the Local Access numbers all they need to do is get a free Tpad Account and they can make international calls using a normal phone at the minimal cost of local call."