June 2008

Dubbed a 'watch phone', the dual-band GSM 900/1800 MHz device will offer one and a half hours of continuous talk time and 80 hours of stand-by time at the flick of a wrist. The handset also supports voice activated dialling and includes a built-in phone book and 40 different polyphonic ring tones, and weighs in at under 80 grams. Measuring a minute 37.8 x 64 x 17.7 mm, the watch phone also offers support for GPRS Class 10, which should provide users with more than comfortable speed when using its WAP 1.2 browser.

Using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), T-Mobile has just waged what could become one of the fiercest price wars between telephone companies in years. Starting July 2nd, T-Mobile customers will have access to unlimited domestic calling from their regular home phone for the extremely low price of only $10 per month. Customers will need to have high-speed Internet access to use the service though because VoIP converts calls into digital signals that travel over the Internet.

Nowadays, people leave their country to live and work abroad. Some others spend their time traveling for business or leisure. They all spend a lot of money calling their family and friends back home. The European Commission reveals the tariffs of all mobile operators in the European Union's 25 member states. The Commission says the cost of using a mobile abroad "is hard to believe" and hopes that greater transparency will lead to lower charges. There is an answer to high roaming costs and expensive phone bills: roaming SIM cards.

Vopium, an emerging mobile VoIP service enables users to enjoy and save up to 40-90% on international calls and SMS.

Though Apple is having no problems winning over legions of customers with the return of Steve Jobs and the introduction of the highly popular iPhone, the company is putting plans in place to win over a widely untouched customer base-corporate America.

The House voted overwhelmingly on Friday to approve a new surveillance law to amend the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The majority 292 to 129 vote will further extend the government’s eavesdropping capabilities while shielding telecommunications companies from lawsuits as a result of cooperating with the Bush administration’s unwarranted wiretapping program.

The bill will proceed to the Senate next week where it is expected to pass; putting to rest a yearlong battle with President Bush.

It’s becoming well known that VoIP is the best way to make and receive cheap phone calls. Whether domestic or international, it saves more than 60% over traditional phone calls and in many cases it is even free. Though mobile VoIP applications are on the rise, it’s often not very convenient to use because of software downloads and registration requirements. However, one company, Jaxtr, Inc., offers a way to make free inbound VoIP calls from mobile phones easy.

Although the deal has not yet been approved, Verizon Wireless has agreed to purchase its competitor, Alltel, for a reported $28 billion. The buyout would add Alltel’s 13.2 million cellular customers to Verzon’s subscriber base making the wireless provider the largest in the US.