CounterPath announces its latest softphone client application, Bria 2.0. Bria 2.0 introduces a number of new usability and customization features to the CounterPath Multimedia Communicator product suite and enables service providers and equipment manufacturers to present a highly flexible, user-friendly VoIP solution for consumer markets.

"Built on the same reliable SIP-based platform as our eyeBeam softphone, Bria 2.0 further enhances the end user experience by enabling communication over voice, video and IM intuitively based on personal preference," said Donovan Jones, president and COO of CounterPath. "The user interface we've created for Bria 2.0 offers not only a fresh look and feel for the client, but offers a number of different voice/video calling and IM management options including drag-and-drop for contacts, auto-complete dialing and an extendable call management module, making it more convenient and efficient for both novice and power users."

Pingo has been named a Finalist in the Fourth Annual LinkShare Golden Link Awards hosted by LinkShare Corporation. The awards recognize the best of breed practices of merchants who do business on the World Wide Web. The Fourth Annual LinkShare Golden Link Awards are part of LinkShare Symposium 2007, an annual event presented by LinkShare Corporation that brings together hundreds of leading companies in e-commerce, and will be announced at a ceremony on June 19 in New York City.

Continuing its expansion into the Wireless Internet Phone Market, Globe7 launched two new USB phones with a value based calling plan that is sure to make consumers take note. $120 is the total consumer outlay. Customers can make unlimited calls to 25 countries for one year.

The most popular destinations are included in the Globe7 Plan, based upon demographic research derived from the wireless Internet phone community. Most frequently called countries include: USA, Canada, China and Singapore. Said Chief Executive Officer Venkat Meenavalli, “Globe7 has once again blazed the trail toward value driven communications within the consumer market. As our customer base expands, we are listening carefully to their objectives and concerns. Our new technology and our new features are our latest offering toward establishing Globe7 as the premier VoIP provider in the world. According to myvoipprovider.com, other hi-profile communication providers; Yahoo, Skype, Vonage and others have not offered services at this low price.”

As more and more consumers make the transition from traditional phone service to internet phone service, there is a constant need for innovation without sacrificing convenience and familiarity. Meenavalli continued, “We are going to make it easier and more affordable than ever to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world.”

Esnatech has added Location centric Presence to MS live messenger and Skype with its new Presence manager Utility. For its leading Telephony Office-LinX unified communication platform version 7.5. As part of its ongoing goal for interoperability and to offer the richest presence and collaboration integrations in the market, Esnatechs new Presence Utility delivers its Location Centric Communication technology to third party presence applications such as Microsoft Live communication server and now MS Live messenger and the Skype desktop VoIP application. Users can call into the Telephony Office-LinX Unified communication serve and change their status, availability and location over the telephone and automatically the new Presence Utility will propagate these status and presence information to the users other IM clients at the same time.

Raketu launches RakWeb, a new web-based VoIP telephony service. RakWeb is entirely web-based and does not require consumers to download any software. Consumers simply visit Raketu.com, enter their own phone number (landline or mobile phone), then enter the destination number, and Raketu connects the lines at a fraction of the cost of traditional calling rates. With the launch of RakWeb, Raketu now offers the combined features of Skype and JaJah tied to a single RakOut dial-out VoIP account.

“Raketu’s mission is to make Internet telephony both fun and accessible to everyone,” said Greg Parker, CEO of Raketu Communications. “Whether you have dial-up Internet access or broadband, whether you feel more comfortable downloading and interfacing with an interactive desktop application, or you only want to access your Internet telephony services from a Web-browser, you can do it with Raketu.”

A free business phone system Webinar sponsored by VendorGuru.com and TelephonyWorld.com will help businesses make sense of the wide array of VoIP and traditional phone systems available. VendorGuru.com, a one-stop telephony and CRM resource for professionals, has researched hundreds of business phone system solutions to help business owners determine the right system for their business.

The no-cost, no-obligation Webinar will be held June 20 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., Eastern Central time. The Webinar will feature a panel of business owners describing how they chose their phone systems and how the systems have helped their business. To register, visit: http://www.mustseewebinars.com/vendorguruwebinar.html

A recent survey of U.S. early adopters by high-tech market researcher In-Stat found that almost half of those respondents planning to replace their cell phones want Wi-Fi capability. To meet the growing demand, there is an avalanche of dual-mode phones in the pipeline. By the end of this year, the Wi-Fi Alliance will have certified more than 100 different models of Wi-Fi/Cellular phones.

“In the years ahead, dual-mode VoIP-capable phone systems will have increasing competition from other technologies, like femtocells for cellular coverage, but widespread Wi-Fi deployment and the variety of Wi-Fi/Cellular handsets offers Wi-Fi/Cellular-based systems a significant head start in the market,” says Allen Nogee, In-Stat Principal Analyst. “Other technologies, such as WiMAX and Ultra Wideband, are also poised to enter the handset market, but Wi-Fi fills a unique niche that WiMAX and UWB cannot match.”

ShoreTel’s IPO should elevate their competitive posture in enterprise VoIP by ZDNet's Russell Shaw -- You may not have heard of ShoreTel, so some factoidness to get you started. I consider them a leader in the Enterprise VoIP space. ShoreTel 7 has some new features, including Programmable Toolbars that enable end users to execute telephony applications via the Personal Call Manager as well as the Contact Center. There’s also a new [...]

BroadSoft announced that Siminn (formerly Iceland Telecom) has selected BroadSoft's BroadWorks application platform to deliver residential and business VoIP services across Iceland.

Expected to be launched later this year, the Siminn VoIP offerings will address the growing demand for IP-based advanced communications services across both the residential and enterprise sectors. The BroadWorks platform can deliver VoIP services in both a fixed and mobile environment. Siminn will be launching a range of services using the BroadWorks platform, which can be tailored to Siminn's subscribers' individual requirements.

For its enterprise customers, Siminn will be using BroadWorks to complement its existing legacy Centrex and hosted PBX services. With the deployment of popular BroadWorks applications like the Assistant Enterprise and Receptionist clients, Siminn will be able to offer SMEs a communications model that will increase productivity, and enable smaller businesses to provide levels of customer service usually associated with costly high-specification PBX systems.

MegaPath has expanded the availability of “Duet,” its low-cost high-speed Internet and full-featured phone service bundle for small-to-medium sized businesses, throughout the Northeast as the first step in a nationwide rollout. Duet is up to 50% less than comparable services and can be easily purchased and installed with no upfront costs. With the addition of Duet, MegaPath’s complete line of managed voice, Internet access and security services enable customers to significantly lower communications costs at headquarters, branch offices and retail locations, while increasing employee productivity.

With Duet, MegaPath is providing business-class T1 or SDSL Internet access and full-featured telephone service starting at $99 per month for two phone lines and as low as $37 per line for up to 16 lines with unlimited inbound, local and long-distance calling in select markets nationwide. This is up to 50% less than traditional phone companies charge for similar telephone and Internet services.

Digium the Asterisk company announces a new family of telephony interface cards based on the PCI Express (PCIe) format. PCIe is fast becoming the dominant form factor in expansion cards for server, workstation and desktop systems because it offers numerous performance benefits over traditional PCI and PCI Extended interface formats. Digium is rolling out PCIe cards across its full product family and will continue to support interface cards based on the PCI and PCI Extended formats.

Digium is the creator and driving force behind Asterisk, the open source voice communications software deployed by more than two million servers and serving well over 10 million people today. The company’s hardware, including the new PCIe cards, is designed to help customers realize the full power and flexibility of Asterisk by meeting precise requirements for scalability; network connectivity; and support for IP, traditional analog or mixed telephony lines.

Dynamic Instruments introduces its DI Reliant Hybrid VoIP Recorder – a new hybrid recorder featuring a single-chassis design for multi-protocol recordings of VoIP, analog, digital PBX, and T1/E1 communications.

The DI Reliant Hybrid VoIP Recorder is a plug-and-play, one-box, one-database, and one-interface solution that is designed for the public safety, medical, government, homeland security, utility, financial, transportation, campus security, and military industries.

The DI Reliant Hybrid VoIP Recorder provides 24/7 recording for organizations with compliance, liability verification, and quality assurance/performance improvement needs, and is also ideal for companies that have remote call agents or decentralized operations that need to monitor their calls more cost effectively and with greater accuracy and ease.

Gizmo Project software now supports AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger buddies. Starting today, users can see who's online and send and receive messages with contacts on these networks directly from Gizmo Project software with no additional installation. Expansion to include Yahoo Messenger, GoogleTalk and iChat contacts is planned as well. As always, Gizmo Project is a free download at http://gizmoproject.com.

Through this new feature, users can add all of their contacts from these networks with just a few simple clicks. Once the user completes this process, all of their buddies from each network will appear in their Gizmo Project buddy list. No need to add contacts one by one, no need to add contacts when changing computers or devices; contacts are stored safely and securely online along with existing Gizmo buddies.

ooVoo announces its free, real-time video technology that lets consumers experience face-to-face conversations over the Internet. ooVoo's new video communication service features clear, high-quality video and audio in real-time. By sharing a story, a smile and visible emotions with ooVoo, communication becomes more meaningful and fun.

With ooVoo up to six people can connect on a call at the same time with high-quality audio and video that allows them to see one another, talk and share in the same way they would in person. Consumers only need a broadband internet connection, web camera, speakers and microphone. In addition to video, ooVoo lets consumers send video messages to both ooVoo and non-ooVoo users, Instant Message, and share files, such as documents or pictures-for a complete communication experience.

ooVoo gives consumers:

• A meaningful and fun communication experience
• An easy-to-use and free tool, that can be shared with friends and family around the globe
• A high-quality technology for seeing, talking, IMing, sharing files, or sending video messages

Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices announced that it is offering two new Gigaset devices with integrated VoIP functionality to support the next generation of communications. The Gigaset S450 IP combines traditional voice with Internet voice in a single, easy-to-use device. The Gigaset SX762 WLAN dsl gateway offers a single point of entry into the home for telephony, Internet, networking and home entertainment. Both products, key elements of Siemens vision of seamless communication and transparent operations within the home, are expected to be demonstrated at NXTcomm in Chicago during June 18-21.

The Gigaset S450 IP is a hybrid cordless communications system that supports connections for both fixed-line (PSTN) and LAN networks. This allows it to be used as both a conventional analog as well as a digital voice (over IP) phone. Now service providers can easily and conveniently offer all of the benefits of digital voice without the need of a PC. Configuring the device is just as easy as using it. If the phone is not already pre-configured with the provider’s VoIP settings, simple and intuitive menus guide the user to input these settings for rapid configuration.