Windows Mobile Gets Tango, Skype Holds up the Wall

So much for making quick use of your $8.5 billion dollar investment Steve.

Today Tango, one of the fastest growing communication services ever, announced that its service will be the first mobile video calling service available for the upcoming Windows Phone update “Mango” beating out Microsoft’s own mobile video calling service Skype.

Not that this should come as a surprise. After all Microsoft has a track record of botching acquisition integrations and given that Tango is still a start-up, they’re afforded the benefit of not having to deal with Skype’s massive daily operations (nor the Microsoft bureaucracy).

But adding fuel, or at the very least press release fodder, to a fast growing competitor is never a good thing.

Given the rising interest in consumer and business video calling one has to wonder if Tango, who now has the platform trifecta of iPhone, Andriod and Windows Phone, won’t soon become the front runner in mobile video calling. With video quickly becoming as pervasive as voice it would be a mammoth position to be in.

Thanks to a few month head start on each platform, a laser focus and a boatload of cash, Microsoft’s Skype could have a very real competitor for the first time. The disruptor becomes the disrupted.

Sounds pretty familiar, huh Microsoft?

Polycom SoundStation Duo

Polycom SoundStation Duo

File this one under why didn’t this exist already.

Today Polycom announced their latest conference phone offering, the SoundStation Duo, which marries VoIP and PSTN calling capabilities into one device.

Polycom SoundStation Overview

The Polycom Duo comes packed with all the industry leading features that you’ve come to expect from Polycom such as:

• SIP based, with support for today’s leading IP PBX platforms
• Killer voice quality through Polycom HDVoice
• Full dial pad and four softkeys
• White scale LCD
• Power over Ethernet through a single RJ45
• Single FXO port

Plus…

• Automatic failover from IP to analog in case your network goes down
• Applications port for connecting a mobile phone when an analog line isn’t available

Polycom SoundStation Duo is a Win-Win

This dual-mode conference phone is a smart move by the folks at Polycom.

With analog line revenues decreasing, but still representing a large chunk of their conferencing business, the Polycom Duo will allow Polycom to merge their legacy SoundStation into their current IP offerings. This will give Polycom them the ability to painlessly phase out their analog offerings without losing revenues to those behind the times.

All while ensuring the market laggards are future proofed for when they final make the switch.

The Polycom SoundStation Duo is now available through certified Polycom partners like VoIP Supply with a list price of $849 USD.

You, the Market and the Manufacturer

Everyone sees the world through a different lens.

At no time has this fact struck me harder then at a recent partner event. The event was designed to bring channel partners from around the world into one room to learn and discuss the future of manufacturer’s product direction.

Now any time you get folks from all parts the of the world into a room there’s bound to be differences of opinion, but I was shocked by the reality distortion of some individuals when it came to certain topics, like product roadmaps.

This not to say that their reality was distorted negatively; it’s just that many failed to see that there is no such thing as one size fits all or one way to please them all. An especially vexing position for a manufacturer to be in, considering they have to attempt to serve many masters.
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The Channel’s Problem Child

This is the third in a series on the VoIP equipment channel designed to educate, bring transparency and inspire change for the good of all channel members. You can read part one here and part two here.

Wild Wild West.

Or is it the world wide web? Eight years ago they were one in the same.

At least for the VoIP equipment channel.

While our service brethren were busy disrupting Telecommunications industry using the Internet as a new transportation mechanism for voice, the equipment channel itself was going through the same exact disruption lead by a number of young guns who thought of distribution in an entirely new way.

At its core equipment distribution is similar to any other form of distribution; whether it be knowledge or media. And just like the Internet disrupted and transformed the way in which we both find and consume knowledge and media, the Internet proved to be a capable medium driving awareness and access to equipment for this new market.
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Hello, hello is anyone home?

That echo you hear is caused by the lack of posting.

I haven’t been writing for a long time (unless copy, plans and emails count).

Call it burnout (3,200 posts in four years). Call it lack of inspiration (lack of industry innovation). Call it what you want.

I took a lengthy break.

Now after a year of less than frequent posting I’m knocking the cob webs off this site.

There’s a lot going on in the space. Things are picking up in many areas.

And I’ve got things to say.

So stay tuned…more to come soon.

Cisco UMI: Coming to a business near you

Month’s ago most pundits torched UMI, Cisco’s high-end home telepresence offering.

They said it was too expensive. They said no-one would pay $24.95/month for video calling.

Oh and who were they supposed to call?

Yesterday, while flushing Flip down the toilet Cisco announced that UMI would be rolled into their business telepresence unit. I guess the pundits were  right.

Or were they?
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Hosted VoIP’s Worst Nightmare

The recent news of AT&T’s acquisition offer for T-Mobile USA got me thinking (and talking) about the small business voice space.

The small business space is very unique. It’s very unique because every single business is different and is looking for different things out of their voice service.

Two trends that have definitely emerged within space – regardless of the type of small business – is the need for flexibility and greater accessibility of voice service.
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