Make Free Video Calls with VoipNow on Android Smartphones
Linphone is an open source SIP client with video support. It lets you make SIP/VoIP calls from your Android device. It can be found in the Android market or alternatively it can be downloaded here.
Once Linphone is installed and properly configured, you’ll be able to make or receive calls over WiFi, 3G or EDGE connections. If you choose to make VoIP calls over 3G, check if there are any contractual impediments and make sure that your mobile phone carrier doesn’t block outgoing connections to port 5060. Even then, you can still make calls over 3G by following these instructions.
Video call support is available only on ARMv7 devices. The following codecs can be used: VP8, mpeg4 and H264. Audio codecs available are: speex (narrow band and wide-band), iLBC, G711, GSM, G722
After you successfully installed Linphone on your Android device, the next step is to start the application from the phone’s menu by tapping on the Linphone icon.
After the application starts, tap on the Settings button from the bottom of the screen in order to add your VoipNow extension account.
Create a new profile and enter the required credentials for registering your extension number.
These credentials are:
- Username: Your phone terminal login
- Password: Your phone terminal password
- Domain: the IP address or FQDN of your VoipNow server.
For this example we are using extension number 0003*001 and server IP address 192.168.14.72
Preferences
There are other settings that may be edited by the user for various purposes. For example if you want Linphone to start at boot time you will have to switch “Start at boot time” to “enabled”.
As we want to make video calls from this device, we have to activate the “Enable Video” option, which is disabled by default and optionally “Initiate video calls”.
As mentioned previously, the following codecs can be used: VP8, mpeg4 and H264. To make video calls through a VoipNow server you have to enable the H264 codec. The proper codecs have to be enabled on the VoipNow server as well. Otherwise you will not be able to make video calls. More information about how to enable these codecs can be found here.
After the profile was saved and the registration process succeeded, we can make the first call from our Andriod device by using the newly created account.
And now we will let our friends BooBoo and Yogi test video calls from Android smartphones. Good friends have always something interesting to share. 
Enjoy!
Join 4PSA at TelecomExpo 2011
Next month we will be present at TelecomExpo 2011, the leading tradeshow for telco professionals. Now at its eight edition, the event will take place on the 7th and 8th of December in Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Netherlands.
TelecomExpo provides telecom professionals with valuable insights on the latest industry trends. It is the meeting place for ISPs, Carriers, Managed Service Providers, MVNOs, VoIP providers and more! More traditional companies as WAN and LAN providers will also be present, as well as consultants, distributors, resellers and system integrators.
Stop by booth no. C.045 / Hall 9 to learn more about our beautiful products and get to know our team! For tickets just email sales@4psa.nl.
We are big fans of AR.Drones, so our TelecomExpo booth will have a fleet of drones flying around, looking for their future pilots. Attention! You might get lost in the Cloud with our AR.Drones, but never with VoipNow Cloud Instance
We look forward to meeting you at TelecomExpo 2011!
How to Make Free Calls on iPhone with VoipNow
CounterPath’s softphone for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad allows you to make calls through WiFi or 3G, using your VoipNow account. You can download the softphone from the iTunes website.
System requirements: iPhone 3GS or 4 running iOS 4.0 or later, iPod Touch (3rd Generation or later). It’s not recommended to use Bria on iPhone 3G, iPod 2nd generation or older devices.
The first thing you should do is to start Bria from your device’s menu.
Before you can start making calls, you will need to register your VoipNow account.
- Display as: Your VoipNow extension number
- Username: Your VoipNow extension number
- Password: Your VoipNow extension password.
- Domain: IP address or hostname of your server
Once you have entered all the necessary information, select “Register”. After the account has been registered, go to “User Preferences”
The most important feature from User preferences is ‘Allow 3G Calls’. To allow VoIP calls over 3G you need to change it to ‘ON’. However some mobile phone carriers may block outbound port 5060. Even then, you can still use 3G by following these instructions.
From here you can also update your preferences for incoming calls.
If are connected to the internet through 3G, but you forgot to enable the ‘Allow 3G Calls’ option on your phone, you will receive this error message when you try to make a call:
After all the changes were made you can go back to Settings and select ‘Advanced Settings.’
Here you can enable ‘Narrow-Band Codecs’ by putting the switch to ‘ON’. This option will enable GSM codes. Tap on “Apply changes” to save your modification.
Other audio codecs available are G.711, G.722 and ILBC.
Another thing you can do from Settings is to purchase ‘Premium Features’. To do that go back to the ‘Settings’ area and select Premium Features. From here you can purchase the ‘G729 Audio Codec’ or a module for ‘Presence and Messaging’. Note that the G.729 codec requires additional licensing on your VoipNow server.
When the configuration is saved you can start using Bria Softphone for iPhone.
Free Calls Using 3G and WiFi on Android with VoipNow
SipDroid is an open source SIP client that allows you to make calls via SIP/VOIP on an Android device. SipDroid can be found in the Android Market or alternatively you can download it here.
Once installed and properly configured, you’ll be able to make or receive calls over WiFi, 3G or EDGE connections. SipDroid allows you to choose the network from WiFi, 3G or EDGE. If you want to make VoIP calls over 3G, check whether there is no contractual limitation and make sure that your mobile phone carrier does not block connection to port 5060. When this is the case, you can still use 3G if you just follow these instructions.
From the system requirements point of view, you will need at least Android 1.5 in order to install SipDroid.
Installing SipDroid
Download and install SipDroid on your Android device, open the application and go to SIP Account Settings.
In the Account settings window you should enter the credentials and the IP address or hostname of your VoipNow server.
- Authorization User Name – the usename of your extension from VoipNow server. In this example, 0003*001 is used.
- Password – the password of your VoipNow extension account.
- Server – the IP address or hostname of the server. In this example, 192.168.14.72 is used.
- Port – 5060
- Protocol – UDP
Save the changes and you can go to codecs configuration.
G711-ALaw and G711-uLaw codecs are available and they are perfect if you want to make calls over WiFi only. G722 and GSM codecs are present as an option. However, G.722 requires a little more processing power than its G711 ALaw, uLaw and GSM counterparts and may not be suited for all Android phones.
Making Calls
The preferred call type can be selected in Settings. This is used when clicking a “Call” tab of a contact. When clicking the “Text” tab of a contact, you’ll get a menu like this:
When entering a phone number in the dialer, add a “+” sign to toggle call type. If your preferred call type is SipDroid, adding a “+” behind the number will send calls over Phone.
Enjoy your calls!
The Human Steve
Everyone praises SJ for his technological achievements. Some say that he was the greatest CEO of our times. The saddest thing in death is that everyone seems to admire you after passing away. 
It’s not a secret that I am great admirer of SJ work, although I am not particularly a Mac fan. Steve did a lot for our industry. Not only that he brought technology closer to humans, but he simplified many people’s life. He truly understood what people like and how they want to fell. His vision was exceptional.
But what have always impressed me more was his power to execute, (re)(re)(re)re-start from scratch and never give up. It’s impossible to really know what was inside Steve’s brain, but at least this book will tell you some history.
This video captured in 1997 speaks about Steve’s extraordinary vision and passion.
This is a very sad day. Thank you Steve!
Our Planet – You Have to See This
I’ve read a lot of articles lately debating climate change and the reasons it happens now, in such a visible manner. Everyone seems to have a strong opinion on the matter. Conspiracy theories everywhere you look 
.
Environmental activists say it’s the overuse of fossil fuel, dumb consumption and big worldwide consortia that fight against the adoption of clean energy only because they are greedy.
Anti-nuke activists are blaming nuclear power for the sky rocketing growth of cancer in troubled areas.
Animal rights fighters say humans’ carelessness leads to extinction of many animal species and dangerous shrinking of others. As a result, the entire eco-system is changing and not for the better.
Of course, there is one more category, unfortunately the most numerous of all, of those who do not care. Or just pretend to care, but don’t do anything about it.
And last, but never least, there are people who are trying to make a change, as little and insignificant as it might look. But they still do it: by turning off the TV when they’re not watching, by putting solar cells on their roof to warm their household water, by walking to the store that is 5 minutes away instead of driving there, and many other such tiny things that added together can mean a lot.
In business, such examples are even more relevant:
- The adoption of Cloud computing leads to shrinking of the carbon footprint as resources are used more efficiently in the Cloud than within normal infrastructures.
- Unified Communications reduces the traveling needs.
- Scalable, distributed and multi-tenant software solutions mean less hardware with more power.
This is our way to show we care. We love our Blue Planet and wish to keep it beautiful!
Sit back, relax and enjoy the beautiful late summer
Fly in the Cloud with 4PSA at HostingCon
We keep bringing you closer to the Cloud. This time, we’ve given up on servers, wires and services and went for a more entertaining approach.
If you’re stopping by at HostingCon 2011 in San Diego this month, be sure to enter the contest held by Parallels together with their APS Partners! 4PSA puts up two prizes for Tuesday and Wednesday: AR.Drone quadricopter & 90-day VoipNow Cloud Instance!
We all know what a VoipNow Cloud Instance is. But what’s an AR.Drone?
Simply said: one of the coolest multi-media gadget ever! You can communicate with this quadricopter from your smartphone, iPod touch or iPad through Wi-Fi. Since we promote sharing all the way, you should know that thanks to its own generated Wi-Fi network, AR.Drone flyers can create a game party where others players can join and play against each other. The multi-player game named AR.PURSUIT makes it possible to have a real battle in the Cloud! Its built-in cameras (front and below) make the flying experience all the more realistic.
To get a chance of winning, all you have to do is:
- tweet using both #APSPartner and #4PSA
- or take a flyer from one of the 4PSA representatives and scan our QR code with your smartphone.
It’s easy to spot 4PSA team members, they’re orange and they are flying around the hall.
Unified Communications is the future! Fly in the Cloud with 4PSA .
Developers Wiki on 4PSA
Not so long ago, we celebrated 5 years of VoipNow. We appreciate the feedback we received from our customers and partners, whether it was by email, phone or on social networks. We do build Unified Communications solutions after all, so we greatly value having such diverse means of communication. However, in some cases, it’s important to provide a central, accessible resource where all documentation and feedback can be gathered.
For this exact reason we’ve launched a new collaboration website that includes a lot of useful resources for our fellow developers who are interested in integrating cloud services (such as UC) in their products. The 4PSA Developers Zone is available at http://wiki.4psa.com.
There are tons of useful stuff there. For starters, you’ll have access to documentation regarding the VoipNow’s and DNS Manager’s APIs :
- CallAPI – REST API used for controlling phone calls and getting info about them
- SystemAPI – SOAP API used to control the VoipNow System (add/modify/delete users, charging plans etc.)
- Business Zone API – a REST API used for accessing 4PSA licensing and services automation (will be released shortly and is reserved for partners)
- DNS Manager SystemAPI – same functionality as the one for VoipNow
- CLI utils for both DNS Manager and VoipNow – tools for managing specific aspects of the systems from the command line
In the same Developers Zone you will be able find demos on how to make a web softphone, a Facebook application, a simple visual conference initiator and much more. There’s documentation on how to make plug-ins for the VoipNow interface or translate VoipNow in your own language through a step-by-step example.
Naturally, no true collaboration site can work without… well, collaboration . That’s why you are welcome to ask questions or make suggestions by either adding comments or filling the feedback form.
We’ll let you discover the rest on your own, but if you run across anything especially interesting, share it on Twitter or like it on Facebook. Let’s communicate!
Gotta Share? Join The Social Unified Communications Group!
I’m a socially active user. I have a LinkedIn account for my business connections, Facebook for friends, and Twitter to stay updated with interesting news. Sometimes, I even write blog articles and torment my friends with them . But this does not stop me from sending emails, having voice calls or using the chat.
The social web has become a way of keeping in touch with friends, a hobby or even an addiction to some. Not to me! I can live for a few hours without checking the latest tweets, honestly… Social networking is all about sharing and communicating your ideas, learning from others and, of course, having fun. But this is no longer the Next Big Thing! It’s now part of our Web experience as much as search engines!
Unified Communications as of today is not complete because it misses one important component: social communication. Unified Communications will go through important changes in the next period, we know it for sure
Watch this presentation delivered by 4PSA’s CEO at WorldHostingDays 2011 to find out what we are preparing on the VoipNow Communications Hub – just a few, but important ideas.
Also, I invite you to join our LinkedIn network, The Social Unified Communications Group. The group is focused on the evolution of UC and it’s the perfect place for specialists and enthusiasts to share ideas, provide and receive advice, get insight, and stay informed.
It’s all about communicating and we gotta share. Don’t you?
Coffee Art à la 4PSA
It’s summer in Bucharest and it’s kinda hot. Although this might sound weird, the best drink in such a warm day is a hot liquid. Some of my colleagues will choose a hot tea, but many of us will go with a delicious cup of steamy coffee. You can smell that unique fragrance of fresh coffee from the moment you step into the office in the morning and until late in the afternoon.
But something funny happened today. One of our colleagues from the software devel noticed that we do not have any process for making coffee, so she wrote the algorithm . It looks like this:
function makeCoffee(qty) {
washFilter();
washPot();
addWater(qty);
addCoffeePowder();
pressPowerButton();
}
getCoffee(self.drinkCup);
try {
if ( coffeePot.coffee.size() < 50ML)
if (currenttime.hour < MIDDAY)
makeCoffee(coffeePot.size());
else
makeCoffee(coffeePot.size()/4);
} catch (CoffeeSupplyException e) {
sendSupplyNotification(e.getMessage());
}
work();
I thought it might be good to put this Open Source.
Next version: Devel is working at the coffee pot integration with Twitter and Facebook. The first tweet/post in the morning will turn on the pot, so coffee will be available even before people come in the office. Unified Coffee (in the Cloud, of course) should be available soon. Stay tuned and follow @4PSA on Twitter and Facebook!
Enjoy a good coffee with Edmundo Ros & his orchestra and The Coffee Song .
#coffee #social #cloud #unifiedcommunications #uc #ucom #voip
Loading ...