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Ooma's expanding its VoIP offerings to the world of business, introducing "Ooma Office" today at CES 2013. Ooma Office takes the already existing VoIP functionality built into Ooma's Telo device (made for residential use) and adapts it for small business purposes -- conference bridges, an automated, programmable receptionist, and line extensions are all part of Ooma Office. You can even set your own on-hold music, should that be your kinda thing. The biggest difference from Ooma's home offering is the price; at $19.99 a line, Ooma Office is much more expensive than the residential version (which only charges for the initial base, and not for service), but much cheaper than competitive services (see: Vonage, Access Line, etc.).
Rather than pretend this is a solution for large business, however, Ooma's targeting businesses of 1 - 10 employees. "Sound like a big business at a small business price," is the device's slogan, which is highly appropriate considering the device's functionality. The Ooma Office launches this month for $249.99 at US and Canadian retailers, and it works with standard land line phones, cell phones, and "most" fax machines and credit card readers.
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Continue reading Ooma Office brings VoIP to small business, launching this month
Filed under: Misc, Networking
Ooma's Telo telephony device is pretty wonderful all by itself, but pairing it with the company's soon-to-be-released HD2 handset and Linx peripheral presents a whole new opportunity to the VoIP crowd. The HD2 -- the second generation Telo handset first introduced at CES 2012 -- offers some smartphone-esque functionality to your home phone: syncing with contacts across various social media services, for one, and profile photos popping up in the 2-inch color screen as identification on incoming calls. It launches very soon -- October 17 -- at US and Canadian retailers with an asking price of $60, despite previously being given a March 2012 launch window.
The Linx -- which was outed in an FCC filing earlier this year -- adds a much more quaint ability to the Telo: the ability to plug in any normal landline phone (yes, even that free football phone you got with your Sports Illustrated subscription in the mid-'90s). The Telo can handle up to four connected phones, in the HD2 handset or Linx-connected devices (including fax machines, also from the mid-'90s). Linx connectors are also available as of October 17 at US and Canadian retailers with an asking price of $50.
Filed under: Misc, Handhelds, Household, Peripherals, Wireless
Ooma HD2 handset and Linx adapter available on Oct.17 for $60 and $50, respectively originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Telia raised hackles in March when it proposed charging Swedish subscribers extra if they wanted to use voice over IP. On top of the net neutrality issues, the proposed price premium would have been a slap in the face to Skype, the country's homegrown VoIP pioneer. While Telia's Spanish subsidiary Yoigo has no problems with such a split, Telia itself must have had a change of heart: as of now, all regular plans will continue to treat internet telephony as just another set of data packets. Only a new, ultra-basic Telia Flex Bas plan excises the option. Unfortunately, most everyone will have to pay the price for equality -- new subscriptions will have their data plans "adjusted" to compensate for increasing data use, and those paying daily will see their maximum rates jump from 9 SEK ($1.40) to 19 SEK ($2.90). As painful as the price hike might sound, however, we'd still endure it to avoid carving the mobile internet into pieces.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
Telia scraps plans to charge extra for mobile VoIP in Sweden, hikes overall rates in compensation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 02:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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For the past year or so, Vonage has been adding to its international VoIP game, and the latest new feature is roaming. That's right, the company's iOS and Android apps will soon have Vonage Mobile Roaming, meaning folks can take all their incoming calls over WiFi wherever they go without fear of ringing up a ridiculous cellphone bill. The catch? The service is in its trial phase and you've gotta reside in the UK, Netherlands, Spain or Italy to take advantage of this frugal feature. Those interested (and eligible) can sign up to get in on the action at the source below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Vonage mobile apps get international roaming, let users chat for free on both sides of the border originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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