Pay Phone Makes Comeback in Saudi Arabia

June 8, 2013 by Nathan Miloszewski

Lonely Pay Phone (Courtesy: Eric Hauser)

If you’re trying to make a free phone call using Viber or Skype in Saudi Arabia, forget about it.

Dig up some change and use a pay phone.

The telecom regulator in Saudi Arabia has suspended use of the Viber web-based communication service, which normally allows users to make free calls and send free texts and photos.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is the regulatory agency that issued this ban and the one who sent a warning back in March to Viber, Whatsapp, and Skype for breaking “local laws.”

The thought is that “the kingdom appears to be pushing for greater control over cyberspace as Internet and smart phone usage soars.”

Could it just be about money, like a lot of things usually are?

Nandagopal J. Nair at Quartz comments that:

In the neighboring United Arab Emirates, many features of Skype and Viber are already blocked, but WhatsApp isn’t. That might be a hint that, at least in the UAE, business interests are at play: Skype and Viber, unlike WhatsApp, allow users to make voice calls for free, and international calls are where the telecom operators are likely losing most of their revenue.

Via Reuters and Quartz

The New Standard Features of VoIP Phones

June 7, 2013 by Tom Costelloe

In almost every field that involves technology the standard expectations of what’s included changes with time. Whether by popular demand, to keep up with competitors or by legal requirement, what was once a new shiny feature only available to few will most likely become the standard.

Next time you are in a car take a look around it at some of the features that have become pretty standard: seat belts, airbags, radios, GPSs, power steering, cruise control, and the list could go on for quite some time. If a car manufacturer was to release a new model and not have power steering or cruise control as an option, if not standard, I think people would be taken back and confused. While the VoIP Phone industry hasn’t been around as long as the car industry it too has certain features that have become standard.

To get a better idea of how the standard features on VoIP phones have changed over the years I took a trip to the VoIP Supply library to pull some older datasheets. If you’re imagining dust covered shelves of datasheets on rolled parchment you couldn’t be further the truth. How we store things has evolved and now within a few clicks I was able to pull up all the information I needed.

With a few datasheets in hand for both old and new VoIP phone models I took a look through to see how the standard features have changed.

For my side-by-side testing I looked at the Polycom IP300 vs the . I thought they were two good examples of phones from a manufacturer that had a shared lineage that could be used as an example of an entry level phone for the time they were released.

Wideband Audio – Wideband audio or HD voice is called many different things by different manufacturers but what it boils down to is the G.722 codec and a wider range of sounds. Depending on the datasheet you are reading it will be described in variety of different ways but to sum it up quickly wideband audio enables a clear more lifelike call experience. The older phone models, such as the IP300, usually only supported G.711 and G.729 codecs which limited the range of sounds that could be heard. The range these phones supported didn’t cover the full range that the human ear can hear which compromised the quality of the audio on a call. Wideband audio was usually limited to the higher end phones or in some cases you would have to purchase a separate handset to enable wideband audio. For our side by side comparison: IP300 – G.711 and G.729A vs VVX 300 G.711, G.729AB, G.722 and G.722.1 or in simple terms IP300 no wideband audio but a big yes for the VVX 300.

Electronic Hook Switch (EHS) – If you use a cordless headset with your desktop phone you want EHS. You may not be aware of it but you do . . . but why? EHS allows you to answer/end your call remotely using your headset without having to lift the handset, use a lifter or press the headset button on the phone. It makes phone calls easier. For a while a lifter was a solution there still was a bit of manual work to make sure it worked correctly especially if you were using a Polycom handset with a Plantronics lifter. For our side by side comparison: IP300 – no EHS vs VVX 300 – yes to EHS.
Dual RJ45 Ethernet Ports – This topic is up for some debate. If you make a living running cable you most likely are against Dual RJ45 ports being standard on VoIP phones but if you don’t you probably are in favor of it. Dual RJ45 ports allow a VoIP phone to operate as a one port switch handing off internet connectivity to a second device such as a computer. The advantage of this is with many companies switching from older phone systems to newer VoIP systems they may run into a dilemma of not having two internet drops at every desk. In these situations Dual RJ45 ports can be a huge cost savings eliminating the need to run additional cable or buy additional switches. For our side by side comparison: IP300 – Dual RJ45 ports (I was surprised by this) vs VVX 300 – Dual RJ45 ports

Power over the Ethernet (PoE) – If you want to get an idea of how great support for PoE is in a phone do a quick experiment. Ask all your employees to move their phones from one side of their desk to the other and watch how many power supplies go missing. Like socks in a dryer, power supplies just seem to disappear. In all seriousness the two biggest advantages of PoE are convenience and cost. With a PoE enabled phone you don’t have to worry about being near an outlet or making sure you don’t lose the power adapter. Additionally you don’t have to check the power adapter to see if it will support the voltage coming from the walls when deploying outside the US. The only caveat is to make sure you are using them with a PoE enabled switches. Another huge benefit of PoE phones is the cost savings. If you are deploying 200 phones and you don’t need power supplies that can mean the savings of couple thousand dollars. By my quick back of the napkin math depending on the phone this could be a savings of 8-10%. For our side by side comparison: IP300 – I am going to say no because it required a special cable that still had to be plugged into the wall vs VVX 300 – Yes

I’ll hold my hands up and admit that my findings might not have been derived using the most scientifically accurate processes and that my methods may have been slightly skewed to get the results I wanted . . . isn’t that what all scientist do anyways; but, I think my findings are pretty accurate. In my opinion the features listed make up what I feel should be the minimum requirements for a new VoIP phone.

Now this isn’t the definitive list to end all lists of VoIP phone features that is to be carved in stone and passed down from generation to generation of VoIP phone designers. Far from that it is a small snapshot of where things stand now that is going to change with time. If I was to rewrite this piece in three or five years I am sure the features I’ve listed above would be as standard as a dial pad or handset and I’ll be talking about Gigabit ports, color displays and maybe some features that haven’t been created yet as the new standard features of VoIP phones.

VoIP Supply’s Telemedicine Kit Featured in Medical Economics

by Nathan Miloszewski

Click here to view our HIPAA approved Telemedicine Kit for video conferencing.

Via Medical Economics

The TMC Labs 2013 Award Winner is….

by Taylor Hamp

The upcoming July issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine will be featuring several cool topics, but possibly the coolest is the winner of the TMC Labs Innovation Award Winner for 2013. This award is granted to “products that have demonstrated innovation, unique features, and noteworthy developments toward improving communications technologies.” It is not based on best sellers or name brands, but on actual, innovative improvement. And we know who won it.

This year the Grandstream GXV3672 Series of infrared IP cameras has taken the prize.

TMC’s CEO Rich Tehrani announced, “We’re pleased to bestow Grandstream with a Unified Communications TMC Labs Innovation Award. The GXV3672 IP Video Camera has show true innovation and is deserving of recognition.”

“Businesses are investing in IP video surveillance as a way to affordably add applications for physical security monitoring as well as assessing human behavior and market research purposes,” said Grandstream Networks CEO David Li in a press release on the topic. While IP Surveillance might not strike everyone as a communications technology, Grandstream has made their IP Surveillance equipment unique in that the video phones will connect with all of their cameras. Not only can you view your security video footage from any web browser, but with a push of a button you can check it on your desk phone! Cool, right?

Grandstream offers two cameras from the GXV3672 Series. Both models offer IR LED lights and IP66 weather-proof casing, providing excellent outdoor surveillance in even low or no light. They’re also ready to install with included mounting brackets with the PoE cabling already strung through. The GXV3672_HD offers a 1.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor for 720p HD surveillance and the GXV3672_FHD comes with a 3.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor for 1080p Full HD. Both stream in real-time, compress video in H.264 and MJPEG formats, offer pre/post event recording buffer, and support video motion detection and SIP/VoIP support.

Grandstream’s line up is a great choice for any business looking to have high technology for a low budget. Be it IP Voice Telephony, Video Telephony, or Video Surveillance, Grandstream is committed to offering a complete set up for any business while being affordable. They’ve also considered those who are making the gradual transition to the IP world from analog by providing ATA’s and Analog Gateways for phones, video encoders/decoders for surveillance, and several means of support.

TMC is a global integrated media company that strives to support client’s goals by building communities through all means of media, including several magazines they publish and the industry trade events they sponsor or produce.

“Grandstream has displayed its commitment to quality and innovation in the development of the unified communications industry,” said Tom Keating, CTO and TMC Labs Executive Editorial Director at TMC, in the same press release, “I look forward to more innovation from Grandstream and continued effort toward improving the future of the UC industry.”

VoIP Supply’s Guide to IP Paging Systems

June 6, 2013 by Nathan Miloszewski

VoIP Supply’s Guide to IP Paging Systems is now available to download.

IP Paging Guide

This educational guide will walk you through:

What is IP Paging?
How to use IP Paging features
How to install IP Paging Systems
How to converge IP Paging with your existing network and VoIP phone system
Using adapters to get new IP Paging features while keeping existing legacy (analog) systems
How to buy

Read, enjoy, learn – Download the IP Paging Guide today.

Cisco Sponsors VoIP Supply’s 2013 Corporate Challenge Team

June 5, 2013 by Nathan Miloszewski

Thank you to Cisco for sponsoring the VoIP Supply team running in the 2013 J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Buffalo on Thursday, June 5th.

Don MacKinnon from Cisco will also be joining our team to compete for our Top 3 Runner prizes. Thanks to his sponsorship we’ll not only have food and drink, but these wonderfully vibrant t-shirts too:

Please feel free to join us at our tent in the Green section (map) – Just follow an orange shirt and introduce yourself.

Good luck to all the runners, may the wind be at your back.

First Look: Grandstream GXP2200 Android VoIP Phone Review

May 29, 2013 by Nathan Miloszewski

Grandstream has been producing VoIP phones with lots of features at affordable prices since 2002.

Their first ever Android VoIP phone comes in the form of the Grandstream GXP2200 for less than $250.00.

What Is It?

If you’ve used an Android smartphone before, then you already know more about what the Grandstream GXP2200 is than you thought you did.

Grandstream’s official product description for the GXP2200 is “Enterprise Multimedia Phone for Android.”

In simpler terms, that mean that the GXP2200 is a standard desktop VoIP phone that runs on the Android 2.3 operating system and it uses a color touchscreen for simple navigation.

The great thing about the GXP2200 is that it’s assimilating with the other technology consumers are using. Its user experience is similar to that of a smartphone or tablet.

You can customize the home screen with your favorite apps and the touchscreen allows you to drag, swipe, pinch, and zoom.

The Grandstream GXP2200 will feel very familiar right out of the box.

Customize your GXP 2200 home screen

What Does It Do?

The Grandstream GXP2200 looks, feels, and sounds great with its HD Voice handset. If that’s good enough for you, skip this section.

Otherwise, here are the key bang-for-your-buck VoIP features:

Multiple Accounts/Lines: Supports up to (6) independent SIP accounts
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi: Yes, support for both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections (see Bluetooth Headsets section below)
Plug-and-Play: Has both a USB port and SD card reader plus an RJ9 headset jack (EHS with Plantronics Headsets)
Touchscreen: 480 x 272 Capacitive LCD color touchscreen
HD Audio: HD handset and speakerphone with Advanced Echo Cancellation. Support for G.722 Wideband Audio.
Standard Telephony Features: Hold, transfer (attended/blind), 5-way conference, virtual busy lamp field, 1000 contact phonebook, shared and bridged-line appearance, personalized ringtones, and more.

Add conference callers simply, visually

Android features on the GXP2200 include:

Storage: 3GB of storage
Apps: Download apps from GS Market or Google Play Store.
Email: Sync your email with built-in email client or, download apps for Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and more.
Video: Supports streaming video and there’s an IP Camera App to sync with Grandstream IP Cameras
Internet Calling: Make calls through Skype or Google Voice
Music: Stream music from Pandora or Spotify
Touchscreen: Swipe, pinch and zoom just like cell phones and tablets
USB: Supports USB connection for mouse, keyboard, storage, and USB cameras.
Angry Birds: Yes, you can play Angry Birds on the GXP2200

GS Market

Grandstream GXP2200 Video Features

As Tom Keating writes on the VoIP & Gadgets Blog, the GXP2200 can stream video but since it doesn’t have a built-in camera, it doesn’t transmit video.

However, Keating was able to get the Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam to work with the GXP2200. Click here to read the details.

If you need Skype video calling from your desktop phone, look to the Grandstream GXV3140 which is a Skype certified video phone.

Or, the Grandstream GXV3175 has a built-in camera, a 7 inch color screen, and is great for desktop video conferencing or video surveillance with Grandstream IP cameras.

Streaming video in browser from Niagara Falls webcam

Who Is It For?

This phone is for someone who needs an extra screen on their desk to mult-task and/or someone who uses custom business apps.

I use two monitors at work and didn’t think I’d need a 3rd screen. The GXP2200 is handy though. Instead of clicking and searching for the weather in yet another browser tab (I have 23 open right now), all I have to do is hit one button on the phone to wake it up and there it is – my local weather.

Simple example but, the same can be said for using the GXP2200 as a dedicated screen for your company’s Twitter feed, customer service email account, Facebook page, stock ticker, or whatever you want quick access to.

Custom Business Apps

The GXP2200 runs an open version of Android OS so you can use Google’s API to customize uses for your business. VoIP Supply uses a custom dashboard on our phones to display key numbers throughout the day. Other examples include:

Hotel: Build a custom app to let guests check-in/check-out, order room service, pay a bill, get a list of local attractions.
Service Providers: Develop an app for customers to check plan status and firmware upgrades, make payments, contact support, softphone apps.
Warehouse: Build an app that tracks your inventory.

There are many possibilities depending on your application.

For interested app developers, click here to download the Grandstream GXP2200 SDK Framework Service Package.

A Second Computer on Your Desk

Bluetooth Headsets

The GXP2200 is the only Grandstream phone that supports Bluetooth connectivity. Here’s the list of compatible Bluetooth headsets that have been tested and verified by Grandstream:

Plantronics: M155, M25, M100, M55, M1100, BackBeatGo
Samsung: HM1000, HM1200, HM1700, WEP490,
Motorola: H720, HX550, H681, H500
Jabra: EasyGo, Wave, PRO 9470
LG: HBM235
Emerson: EM-237C
Nokia: BH-214

Availability

The Grandstream GXP2200 is available now.

Click here to read Grandstream GXP2200 customer reviews.

Buffalo City Mission Donations Now Up to 8,000 Meals Thanks to Anonymous Donor

May 28, 2013 by Nathan Miloszewski

Did you know that donating a good meal to someone in need is a simple way to start a domino effect of positive change?

Since Thanksgiving of last year, VoIP Supply has been giving $1.98 for every order placed online and customers are encouraged to match this donation when they checkout.

Thank You

We’d like to say Thank You to the anonymous party who recently donated 2,000 meals and took us up on our matching offer which helped provide 4,000 meals in a single day.

VoIP Supply has now donated over 8,000 meals in the company’s Feed the Homeless campaign.

“We have worked hard to do well, serve our customers, pay our bills, employ our people, grow and improve,” said Ben Sayers, CEO of VoIP Supply. We have worked hard so that we may help others and not just ourselves.”

“When I was a kid I was taught by my parents, as they lead by example, to wait for those behind you and hold the door so they may pass with a little less effort,” said Sayers.

“It isn’t just the physical door that needs to be held open, sometimes the “door” is an opportunity given, a pair of shoes or something as simple as a meal.”

Buffalo City Mission Summer Challenge

Help the Buffalo City Mission directly with their Summer Matching Gift Challenge. From now until May 31, 2013, every $1.98 donated is doubled to provide two meals.

Click here for more information or, to make a donation.

About the Buffalo City Mission

The Buffalo City Mission, founded in 1917, is a not-for-profit organization that provides preventative, emergency and long-term recovery services to thousands of people who are homeless or impoverished. The Mission includes: Women and Children’s Shelter (Cornerstone Manor); the Men’s Community Center; the Mission Automotive Vehicle Donation Program; and our Dick Road thrift store location to better serve our community.

Bigger (Resolution) Means Better (Quality)

May 24, 2013 by Taylor Hamp

Higher Megapixels are all the rage in IP cameras. Who can blame it? In a world of HDTV, higher resolution is a seductive quality. Details that have been missed for decades are now clearly defined, for better or for worse. When converting this over to surveillance, that paradigm is exactly what someone is looking for in their security system.

Several manufacturers have been quick to respond with higher resolution cameras, but strangely, the larger name brands such as Axis, SONY, Panasonic, and MOBOTIX were slow to respond. When speaking with the engineers at these companies, one comes to discover that higher resolution is not a simple cut-and-dry process.

The technology behind pixels is actually quite interesting. In simplest terms, think of pixels as units of light. A black pixel on the screen is an empty pixel, it contains no light. A white pixel is considered full of light. All the colors in between are varying temperatures of light, much like how a rainbow works. This is all based on the camera’s image sensor, which contains many photosites which correspond to a pixel. The image sensor can either be CCD, which has excellent light sensitivity but is more expensive to produce and somewhat of a lower technology chip, or the image sensor can be CMOS, which is comparatively a smarter chip and is less expensive.

Axis, SONY, Panasonic, and MOBOTIX are industry leaders, and as such they are incredibly picky about their lens (here, lens referring to the entire unit rather than just the glass). SONY manufactures their own with the Exmor CMOS sensor, but even for the IP cameras designed without it, SONY ships every camera with their own lens to ensure the camera will at least deliver quality 1 Megapixel resolution. Panasonic and Axis have in recent years switched to HDTV resolution also, often keeping to either 720p or 1080p HD, and MOBOTIX firmly kept to 3 Megapixel resolution for a long time as well. The reasoning behind this? Other brands don’t spend a lot of time on the technology behind Megapixel lens. In order to meet public demand, they quickly ship out the next highest 5MP lens on their camera.

When speaking with SONY, one of their engineers stated that a problem they kept seeing in higher Megapixel cameras was light overexposure. The higher pixel lens were absorbing so much light and their processors weren’t able to convert the output into a quality image. That was when they created their Exmor CMOS sensor, which has high speed readout and been utilized in their WDR technology, View-DR, and Visibility Enhancer feature.

Axis managers gave similar responses when speaking with them about high Megapixels. For the longest time, it all boiled down to not finding a lens that produced an image that held to Axis’ standards. It seems that that time has passed. Now Axis has a wide variety of HDTV cameras with Megapixel lens with their P33 series and P13 series, both of which have 3MP and 5MP options.

Panasonic was also careful with their Megapixel IP cameras, offering additional lenses aside from their own, from an exclusive OEM partnership with Fujinon.

Happily, MOBOTIX has also announced that a 5MP lens has met their expectations and will be launched in their new S15, D15 and V15 IP cameras. Even the directors were shocked at the clarity their test cameras were proving. The example of the flying dove was displayed proudly at this year’s conferences.

It seems now it is safe to claim that, yes, bigger is better. ACTi has released entire new lines of cameras replacing their old ACM, TCM, and KCM series, ranging from 1 MP up to the anticipated 10 MP coming later this year. With all these new Megapixel IP cameras steadily trickling out of these top line manufacturers, it seems like the age of quality HDTV surveillance systems has dawned.

To learn more about Megapixel IP cameras and to see if they make sense for your surveillance needs, call our IP Surveillance Specialist Tom Uhteg at 866.885.4853.

Have you had any experiences with early HDTV surveillance cameras? How did you like it? What are you looking forward to in the coming years?

5 Tips for Choosing an IP PBX for Your Small Business

May 22, 2013 by Nathan Miloszewski

VoIP Phone System Diagram

The proliferation of hosted-private branch exchange (PBX) solutions has led to a surplus of information about these virtual telephony systems. But small business owners should consider the pros and cons of both hosted PBX and on-premise PBX systems when evaluating a new system for their offices.

Business phone systems reviewer Software Advice has recently put together an article discussing the five important considerations for small business owners deciding between Cloud-based and on-premise PBX systems. The team at Software Advice suggests that buyers consider the following:

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