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Google Acquires Gizmo5

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Gizmo5Google Voice sounds like the best thing to happen to telephony since the cellphone, but it does lack one important ingredient: a softphone client. That’s about to change as Google acquires Skype competitor Gizmo5.

The obvious synergies of this deal make a Hell of a lot more sense than eBay buying Skype four years ago — and will probably produce a ton less drama. Gizmo5 may not have Skype’s enormous userbase, but Google clearly bought the VoIP service for its technology and not its userbase. Once Gizmo5 is fully integrated into Google Voice, expect Mountain View to throw its marketing muscle behind the combo.

New signups for Gizmo5 have been suspended, but expect its VoIP features to make their way into Google Voice and Google Talk in a year or two.

Originally posted on November 15, 2009 @ 1:00 am

Apple’s Lie Flowchart

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Apple Lie Flowchart

Apple’s recent lies about the rejection of the Google Voice iPhone app give us insights into their deception development process. Since this isn’t the first time they’ve been caught in a lie, the process must be pretty refined by now.

The Joy of Tech offers a flowchart of that process.

Originally posted on September 22, 2009 @ 7:44 am

Nimbuzz to work without 3G or Wi-fi

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Some months ago we covered Nimbuzz for the iPhone. The company now announced that they will also offer their service, even without available 3G or Wi-fi, after they closed a deal with Belgian service Voxbone. Thanks to the new offer from Nimbuzz, VOiP and Skype now also are available over 2G. The service will offer a local area number to call over 2G and then Skype contacts and VOiP is available. With the Skype application for iPhone you need to be connected to a Wi-fi network.

Nimbuzz is also available for several other smart phones such as the Nokia N97 and phones based on the Symbian platform.

Originally posted on June 22, 2009 @ 11:13 am

Over 15 billion minutes of voice delivered in Second Life

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Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, revealed that it has delivered over 15 billion minutes of voice services, demonstrating the rapid growth and broad adoption of VoIP in Second Life. The company also revealed its product roadmap for the remainder of 2009, such as introducing new features that will enhance the Second Life platform and provide unique monetization opportunities. With 700,000 unique users consuming more than a billion minutes a month, voice has become an integral component of the Second Life experience.

Over 50% of Second Life users, a group that includes a broad range of consumers, educators and large enterprises, use voice as part of their everyday inworld experience. In addition to making education, business meetings, simulations, training and casual conversations more meaningful, realistic and fluid, voice is also a key component of Linden Lab’s business model and strategy moving forward. With several key product launches scheduled for the latter half of 2009, Linden Lab expects this rapid adoption to continue while also adding several new revenue streams for the company.

In addition to revealing its roadmap for the rest of the year, Linden Lab is also introducing a new service called AvaLine that enables residents to receive voice calls inworld from an outside number. Greatly extending the reach of the Second Life experience, AvaLine lets friends, customers, colleagues and business associates connect to the Second Life viewer via a landline, cell phone or VoIP application.

Originally posted on May 26, 2009 @ 7:30 am

Skype appoints new COO

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Skype has named Scott Durchslag as its Chief Operating Officer. Scott brings 20 years of experience from Fortune 100 technology corporations, start-ups, and professional services to this newly created role. His post is effective immediately and he will report to Josh Silverman, Skype’s president who was recently appointed to the role March 24, 2008.

Scott was previously with Motorola where he spent 5 years on the top management team of the $25B Mobile Devices Business. Most recently, he was Corporate Vice-President of Global Product & Experience Invention, where he led product strategy, innovation, intellectual property, design, user interfaces, consumer experiences (music, video, imaging, productivity and mobile internet), partnerships, product marketing, and customer care.

Durchslag will have his hands full, together with Silverman, in convincing eBay that Skype remains a good buy, all worth of $2.6 billion.

Originally posted on July 1, 2008 @ 3:07 pm