voip

Noted VOIP client, Viber, which just submitted its beta 2.1 version for approval a few days ago, has already gotten a significant makeover that adds a bunch of features for Windows Phone 8. Most notably, version 2.2.2.0 adds free calling with HD sound quality, but it also adds Live Tile support. You can now pin conversations to the Start screen and receive lockscreen notifications.

A few days back is when we last had any information about Viber – the popular cross-platform VoIP service and Skype rival. At the time we heard an update for Windows Phone was coming ‘very soon’ and we speculated voice support was in the next update. Looks like that is indeed the case.

Microsoft is due to demonstrate integration between Skype and Lync next week at its Lync Conference held in San Diego.

Microsoft Lync is an enterprise-ready unified communications platform. A business version of Skype, if you will, that connects people everywhere, on Windows 8 and other devices, as part of their everyday productivity experience.

The integration will give Skype and Lync users that ability to contact each other, launch IM text sessions and communicate via audio calls. The integration should be delivered to customers in June with video conferencing integration coming later.

The popular mobile communication and social networking app WeChat has been updated to version 4.0. The Windows Phone client has been bumped to include further support for Windows Phone 8, Microsoft's latest mobile platform. Already available for Windows Phone 7.5, WeChat can now be utilised by those running new or legacy hardware.

We reported on the demise of Microsoft’s long serving Messenger instant chat and video calling service some time back. If you are already an existing user then you’ll have been greeted with pop up notices urging you to update to Skype over the last month or so.

Seems like Microsoft is now putting the word out in full, an official email was sent to users today explaining what you’ll need to do and how long the service will continue to work for.

This week is going to be big news for Windows 8, today Skype have released a post about the coming metro style Windows 8 app.

Set to release at the same time as Windows 8 on the 26th the app looks set to seamlessly integrate with the OS in the People hub and provide “always on” connectivity. On top of that, this looks like one of the prettiest Windows 8 apps we have seen, showing that the metro style when done right is simply gorgeous.

The popular VOIP service Viber has been a long time in the making for Windows Phone. The fist app was merely a preview beta that only had direct messaging but no voice capability. Then a few weeks ago we got word that the ‘HD’ version with full VOIP capability was headed to Nokia Lumia phones.

During that time though, a lot has happened including a very long delay, much to the surprise of the developer who had anticipated a quick releases. Due to Microsoft’s quirky (and backlogged) app submission process, Viber got lost in the shuffle and had to have some pushing before the Store could give birth.

Our audience is smart enough to know that no electronic system of communication is impervious to eavesdropping and there’s very little out there that’s near 100% secure. So it should come as no surprise that Skype is getting some publicity of its internal network restructuring that started occurring once Microsoft acquired the company last year.

The charge: Microsoft is reconfiguring the Skype network so that it Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) can have access to intercept calls over the network to aid in investigations.

The reality is of course convoluted with no concrete evidence but it’s worth mentioning what exactly is going on here. So head past the break to get the scoop.

Microsoft today announced the expansion of voice over telephony (VOIP) for Windows Phone 8, enabling the integration of Skype into the phone OS in addition to any other 3^rd party VOIP applications.

Come this fall users will be able to have Skype as well as any 3^rd party VOIP clients fully integrated into the Windows Phone dialer and contacts, giving a near seamless user experience. Background tasks and notifications will be handled by the OS allowing VOIP apps to manage calls across cellular and data connections. In addition, Bluetooth connectivity will also "just work" with Skype and other VOIP apps.

Developers will appreciate the array of new APIs that allow them to “plug in” to the Windows Phone 8 VOIP system while maintaining application and system stability.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Windows Phone 7 app update and should alleviate current user cmplaints about Skype's limitations on the platform, which we've detailed in the past.