Small Business Tech

The rumor is that Google Voice, Google's voicemail service, will go live in the United States, today. At this time they are still only accepting requests for invitations. I have used the service that they purchased from GrandCentral for more than a year. If you have not seen it then you are in for a pleasant telephonic surprise.

Labels: Google Voice, Grand Central, VOIP

Google sent me an email that they have changed the name of Grand Central to Google Voice. If you are a Grand Central member you will be prompted on your login to tie Google Voice into your Google account. Google Voice is still a closed test, so you will need to wait to sign up unless your were a previous Grand Central customer.

The service looks much more like a Google application, and they have already added some features.

• Transcription of voice mail. You can optionally allow Google Voice to transcribe your voice mail and send it to you as a text or email.
• Access to Gmail contacts. You can optionally allow Google Voice to access your contact list in Gmail. It uses this to create group or individual customized outgoing messages.
• Outbound calls. You can choose a contact to call. Google will first call your phone, and then they will call your party. The system was surprisingly robust. A call was usually initiated in just a few seconds. United States calls are free while overseas calls are charged a small minute rate.
• Conference calling. I did not try the conference calling, but I would assume that it works as well as outbound calls.

Labels: Google Voice, Grand Central, VOIP

Nerdrobin left a comment regarding problems in syncing my Samsung t409 handset...

I saw that you mentioned issues with syncing with Outlook and that you also switched to the Nokia 6086. I have the same phone and have found a way to sync it directly with Outlook. You need to go to Nokia's website and download the Nokia PC Suite for the 6086 and get a Bluetooth adapter for your PC. After setting it all up, the Nokia PC Suite provides direct syncronization with Outlook through Bluetooth as well as many other nice features.

I actually had not switched to the Nokia, but my two sons do use the Nokia handsets. I am going to grab one and try this out. I must say that the Nokia phones are much more open than the Samsung handsets. They are able to easily load custom ringtones, while the Samsung prevents this entirely.

Labels: cell phone, Cellular, Nokia, Samsung, T-Mobile, VOIP, wireless

We have followed the travails of Vonage who seems to be sued by every other communications provider. Initial Suit...Vonage Response

According to Reuters, it appears that Vonage has lost a case with AT&T.

Read More....

Labels: VOIP, Vonage

First a bit of background about Skype. Skype is a software application for Windows, Linux, and other operating systems for making telephone and Skype-to-Skype calls via your computer. It was born and raised in Europe until it was purchased by Ebay in September 2005.

Initially business users were advised to steer clear of Skype. There were some security issues because of the method that Skype uses computers to relay telephone calls. Ebay promised early to address these business security concerns by releasing a business version of the software. Ebay has developed a business version along with a business-centric control panel where you can centralize and regulate user spending.

I have had a couple of months to test Skype for business and I have to give it a thumbs up for the small business community. It is convenient for general telephone calls and also to connect remote workers. I have used it as a video conferencing client as well as assisted others in using it as their sole business communications tool. It works nearly flawlessly it both capacities.

There are a few different ways that you can use Skype...
Skype-to-Skype. You can use the software to chat, video conference, and telephone other Skype users free of charge. How many Skype users exist? At this point, over 9,000,000 million people use Skype on business days. That number drops to half on weekends. Obviously business users are loving Skype. These type of calls are free.

Skype Out. You can use the Skype software to make low-cost telephone calls to anywhere in the world. Skype's rates really shine for international phone calls. It beats nearly any rate that I could negotiate with a conventional carrier. Depending on use, domestic callers can save money as well.

Skype In. For just $3.00 per month Skype can setup an inbound telephone number in most area codes in the United States. Skype also offers voicemail and the ability to forward telephone calls to your wireless phone.

Skype is relatively painless to setup. You first download the application from http://skype.com/business. Once you complete setup the software will walk you through setting up an account. Once your account is established you can then return to the business web site and create a business login with your Skype account. At that point, employees perform the download, install, and sign up routine. You discover their Skype identities and then add them to your business dashboard.

Once the employees are setup, you can than add funds to their accounts as well as manage Skype In numbers, voicemail, etc.

Some people do not want to be tied to their computer to make phone calls, though. This is where third-party providers and Skype have stepped up with solutions. Providers now offer Skype phones that range from just USB handsets that connect to your computer to wireless self-contained Skype phones. One stand-out solution is the Philips VOIP8411B dual line wireless phone. It is capable of connecting directly to Skype without a computer and using a traditional land line telephone connection.

Skype is great tool for just experimenting and trying because you never need to worry about a long-term contract. You literally spend just a few dollars a month at a time for features.

Those that tried early computer-telephone solutions might have some very bad memories. That is understandable based on the early experiments, but Skype like other VOIP providers have really improved call quality. In many cases they have even surpassed the quality of traditional telephone service.

Labels: Skype, VOIP

Day Three With T-Mobile HotSpot @Home

I tried the Sanford municipal wifi this morning. The phone attempted to connect, but there was no luck in making a connection. I am did not have my notebook computer with me, but I would guess that a terms and conditions page exists on the network. Many government wifi networks display a page of terms and conditions to which you must agree to connect to the network. I would not be out of question that the network also does not allow a VOIP usage of their network. I know that Seminole County government wifi outlets do not allow use of the Google Docs & Spreadsheets web site.

I have been attempting to use the online phone book feature on the my.t-mobile.com web site with some limited success. It has been difficult to transfer the correct telephone numbers from Outlook to the web site. I blame Outlook because the program has options for mobile phone and car phone numbers, and the T-Mobile web site does not know which the grab for a valid number. A little data clean up helped clear the situation. The value in uploading contact information to the web site is that it will synchronize with the handset and vice-a-versa the handset with the web site.

Labels: Cellular, HotSpot, T-Mobile, Telephone, VOIP

Day Two With T-Mobile HotSpot @Home

This was the first day using the service outside of the home. Really worked well. The wi-fi in the office worked as expected. We work in a concrete and steel building with just one wireless access point so coverage can be spotty. The phone seems to switch over to the T-Mobile network on a shorter radius than when a notebook computer or PDA indicates connection issues. I understand why the handset is eager to switch to the T-mobile network on the edge of wi-fi signals. Voice over the Internet requires a good, consistent access speed to work well. I would design it towards the conservative side for better customer performance as well.

I read that the handset would not connect to WPA secured access points besides the service included router, but that was proved false today. I have been on a WPA secured wireless network through out the day.

One problem that I need to research. I have a wireless email address which I forwarded to my soon-to-be-former Verizon handset and my T-Mobile phone. It sends messages triggered by my email server, because I need to know when certain people email me. The T-Mobile messages through the day have been very delayed a couple of times. I need to see if the server is delaying a send or if it is T-Mobile's problem.

I am going to attempt to use the Sanford municipal wireless network this evening or in the morning. Tomorrow evening we get to test T-Mobile's system capacity when we attend the Pepsi 400 NASCAR race at Daytona. In is usually impossible to call out at a Daytona feature race. I guess half of 250,000 fans holding their phones up when the cars pass overbooks the frequency spectrum.

Labels: Cellular, HotSpot, T-Mobile, Telephone, VOIP

Day One With T-Mobile HotSpot @Home

We opened the boxes this afternoon and got started with setting up the router. I setup the wireless router using the web interface using WAP encryption for the wireless signal. The only difference in the web interface was the different model number. Everything else is exactly the same in the WRT-54 family of wireless routers.

Next it was installing the handset battery and SIM card. Powered up and attempted to connect. I tried the single-button setup that is available on the front of the router, but that did not work. On the next attempt I setup the handset manually. I received an error message that there was an ISP/DNS error. I am impressed with the good descriptive error messages. This is where I ran into a couple of problems.

1. The T-Mobile router is in second place behind a Vonage branded Linksys router. For some reason, the T-Mobile router was unable to obtain an IP address from the Vonage router. This is strange because the T-Mobile router is replacing another wireless router. I setup the T-Mobile router with a static IP.
2. I had forgotten that I use a manual DNS address on my routers. I really like the OpenDNS service, so I needed to find and add those addresses.

The process seem to go much better after those small issues. The phone logged onto the wireless network without any issue. I did a couple of test calls by calling the home phone and then walking out of wireless network range. The switch was completely imperceptible by myself or the family member on the other end.

The Samsung T409 handset is very easy to use. For the first time in my life I was able to call someone, place them on hold, call a second party, and connected the two calls. I was then able to release one of the callers. I have never been able to figure this out on any cellular or home phone. The on screen directions on the T409 make it a very easy process. The only phone easier for conference calling is a Siemens' desktop Optipoint phone.

The my.T-mobile web site enabled me to upload all of my Outlook contacts into an online address book that was then transferred to the handset in a few minutes. A recommended addition that I would make would be the ability to tie the phone list into a Gmail or Yahoo contact list. Any changes to the phone address book in the future will automatically be transferred back to the site. Sadly, the changes cannot be synchronised back to Outlook.

Day one went well. I plan on trying the phone out on some different wireless networks such as the free municipal network here in Sanford in the coming days. I will update as we continue.

Previous posts about T-Mobile HotSpot @Home
Signed Up for T-Mobile HotSpot @Home
Vonage May Fall as Well

Labels: Cellular, HotSpot, T-Mobile, Telephone, VOIP

Signed up for T-Mobile HotSpot @Home Service

We are going to give it a try. The premise of this service is that our new wireless phones will operate on the normal T-Mobile network away from home. When we are at home they will connect with the T-Mobile branded Linksys wireless router to provide phone service via our Internet connection. I have seen some good reviews from a test of the system in Seattle, and I am excited to try it out. Supposedly the phones will connect to any wireless hot spot, but the free Linksys router is designed to reduce telephone battery usage.

The entire catalyst to change from Verizon Wireless has been the poor service that we get at home. We can only use our wireless telephones outside of our house. Even then we cannot stand on the north side of the house. I must admit that elsewhere the network is flawless. I have never been to any part of the country where I lost my Verizon signal entirely. I once stayed in a cabin in a deep valley at the edge of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and I still had five bars. We could actually see a cell tower out the back window. I assume that it was Verizon.

I hate to leave Verizon because we have been a customer since they bought our provider in the late 90's. Does anybody remember the Primeco character, Primetheus? We are probably going to cut back to just one Vonage line as well. Our total savings should be $25 per month, and we will end up with one extra telephone line in our home.

Delivery of our equipment is scheduled for this week. I will take you through setup and initial use. Incidentally, I only live about 4 miles from a T-Mobile corporate store, but I had the equipment shipped because my T-Mobile corporate rep saved me $70 on the activation fees.

Labels: Cellular, HotSpot, T-Mobile, Telephone, VOIP

Vonage has assembled a web site where their customers and supporters are encouraged to contact Verizon and sign a petition. They also have information about the pending patent infringement case.

On the Vonage freetocompete.com site, Vonage really comes out shooting. The pull quote at the top of this post is what appears at the top of the home page. The site has a certain edgy voice that makes Vonage sound scrappy. I think that it is a good voice to use - The poor innocent VOIP pioneer being fought by the big evil corporation.

There might be a couple hundred thousand hardcore Vonage fans who will utilize some of the services on this site. I doubt it will sway the case, but it does give Vonage a platform to tell their story.

Labels: Verizon, VOIP, Vonage