Voip Comparison

what is the best VOIP service in terms of minute rates/charge for international calls? what is the best VOIP service in terms of minute rates/charge for international calls?

Which VOIP service offers free minutes to Pakistan? I was using Low Rate VOIP but it is no more offering free minutes for Pakistan.

I am searching for a paid voip service to call Brazil (cheaper than Skype+same quality). Any suggestions? I am searching for a cheap VOIP rate for calls to Brazil that offers the same or superior quality of Skype. As a student, the 0.054 cents Skype fee + 3.9 cents fee per call is getting expensive by the end of the month. However, I would prefer a VOIP service that allows me to continue to call landlines from my pc.

What is the tax rate for VoIP phone service in Florida? Can anybody tell me what the monthly taxes are for VoIP (Vonage)?

I have decided to buy a VOIP phone service : http://www.gotolingo.com -Anyone used it before or have feedback? www.GotoLingo.com seems to be the best VOIP service provider out there, in terms of their monthly cost and the services/rates they offer. However, I wish to know real-user experiences from people who have subscribed to this service and are using it. Thanks in advance for your answers. -Sid

What VOIP service offers the cheapest rate to call Mexico (mobile/cell)? Preferably a service that can accept Solo debit card or Paypal payments. Thanks.

Would you like to upgrade to VoIP phone service and waive your phone bill altogether? I work for a company called Liberty International which is a new company who specializes in VoIP phone service. Check them out. They offer all of the same features as Von@ge with a competitive rate. The only difference is with Liberty International, if you refer three others to the service, your monthly phone bill will be waived! www.voipchasen.com www.libertyinternational.net/67163

msn or skype? which voip service offers best call quality & rates?

Voip Service? I currently have service with Voip.com & I'm either going to have to make a decision of dropping it or get a divorce. The service is really bad I must agree, dropped call, no tech support & just a laundry list of problems. I enjoy the savings especially in these tuff economic times. I live in Tennessee & would like to port my number can someone give me advise on a popular & reliable VOIP service? I see Vonage has a good rating but they don't have a local number for me.

Has anyone used Qwest VoIP service for home phone? I just saw that Qwest is offering a VoIP service for residential customers. $39.99 flat rate for local and unlimited LD. Not sure what the big draw to this is, as you can get $29.99 home phone w/ VM, Caller-ID, Call Waiting, and can add unlimited LD for $5-$20 depending on the bundling discount. Shouldn't VoIP service be much cheaper? Heck, T-Mobile offers it for $10 and Vonage for $25. Why choose Qwest? Does anyone know?

The 19th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey VoIP services, HDTVs, satellite radio services, Internet Service Pr The 19th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey - Part 2 09.20.06 Last Month you told us all about you desktops, notebooks, and printers. Now you tell us about everything else. Here's Part 2 of our annual reader satisfaction survey. You—the die-hard PC Magazine subscriber and PCMag.com member—share your experiences with several thousand digital cameras, cell phones, cell phone services, VoIP services, HDTVs, satellite radio services, Internet Service Providers, network routers, and MP3 players. If it's a digital must-have, you rate it—and the company that sells it. How reliable is it? Is tech support up to snuff when things go wrong? Would you buy it again? It's all here, and quite a read, if we do say so ourselves.—next: ISPs Survey > •ISPs •Cell Phones & Service Providers •Satellite Radio •VoIP •Digital Cameras •HDTV •MP3 Players •Network Routers •Online Extra: Cell Phone Surveys Check out more of our Reader Satisfaction Survey http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2017617,00.asp

VOIP phone service - do you use it? Not Comcast, smaller companies...? It looks like there's a lot of small companies on the web offering VOIP for rediculously cheap rates like CallCentric and Lingo. Other than Comcast or other major companies, do you use VOIP for your phone? Comments welcome. Feel free to elaborate - I wanna hear pros and cons.

VoIP service providers? I'm looking for an unlimited plan for a small business, I work from home as a call center agent and I don't want to run into an issue with a company freaking out if I go with a residential plan. I am also hoping to find a plan that includes unlimited calls to Europe. Any suggestions on a company that has good rates and excellent sound quality would be apprciated. I have read people who used their phone alot had the company contact them and accuse them of using a residential line for business purposes, even if they weren't. One man said that his kids were on the phone pretty much 24-7 and they started billing him all these extra charges when he had unlimited calling.... I don't want to run into that myself.

why does the VOIP providers give cheaper services as compared to a normal telephone service provider? voip business...ppl give their phones at a cheaper rate why??? maintenance or the intial startup costs or the operational costs are less????

Best rate VoIP or Callincards, to make international calls? Everybody talks about the great rates of VoIP calls and the service of these call providers like SkYpE, but my cousing in New York bougth at some store an international Calling card (Super Clean Card i think) with better rates than the VoIP ones, no hiden charges and with great connection, and whats more she did not have to find a Pc to make the call, so really, whats best for an inmigrant to call his family or frind at si homeland?

Voip Reseller Business? i just wanna ask can i start voip online business or bcome agent of any voip service wid gud rates 4 pakistan. Right now i m living in UAE (Dubai). Actually i just wanna start online business n i think right now this option is very best from UAE to Pakistan. so, plz if some one can suggest or guide me. thanx

what do I need to start a VoIP bussiness? I have seen how VoIP providers spread out all around the world offering not the best quality service although very good rates for those who call internationally a lots. What equipment is requiered and how to start a bussiness like this?

How I will recharge JustVoip from Qatar? Presently i am not getting the credit from resellers and whoever is having the credit are selling on a higher rate for all the VoIP services.

Switching over to Voip need help? Hello everybody, I am planning on switching my phone service to one the voip service. I make long distance calls within United States and also to India. I looked on http://www.compareandcall.com/ It provded some good comparison and reviews of many providers and rate. I am leaning towards lingo and Joiphone. Can someone let me know how the service is from Joiphone or Lingo

Are there any other PC2Phone reliable services like VoIP Raider? Lets leave out Skype. I am more concered about good rates in International Calling, specifically Asia. Also, VoIPRaider has this feature where you can even do a phone to phone call at an extra 1/cent per call. So, I was wondering if anyone knows about any more services like these. Help greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Freecall VOIP - Feedback? Has anybody used VoIP services from Freecall. If yes, would you suggest using to make calls to India from the Netherlands. Is there any other VoIP service provider who offers much cheaper rates than Freecall?

Who is offering very low VoIP calls to Gulf countries? say below 7INR (0.15USD approx.)? There are several VoIP service providers offer very low calling rates to countries like USA, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, China etc. But any VoIP service provider is not offering these type of low calling rates to Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar. Does anybody breaks this boundary line?

how much do call centers in the Philippines pay for their phone service? Looking for a range of rates from POTS lines to VoIP.

Cheap and high-quality calls to Thailand from US? I'm trying desperately to find the best way to call Thailand from the US at a very cheap rate and yet with high call quality. I've tried a number of VoIP services that offer low international rates, but their international calling quality is mediocre at best. Any recommendations? I have tried a ridiculous number of different phone cards, and I have yet to find one with respectable voice quality. So, I will not be going down that route again.

Any experience with VoIP in Canada, other than Vonage? I'm thinking of switching from Bell residential service to VoIP but I'm not impressed with Vonage's rates in Canada: $39.99 vs $24.99 in the US. Has anyone had any experience with Sunrise, ZingoTel, VoiceStick, VoicePulse, Rogers, or any other VoIP service in Canada? Not calling Canada from the US, but VoIP calling FROM Canada. Any issues? Did you need a US address and credit card in order to get the equipment? What about support and fax? I've read that VoIP can be problematic for faxing.

I wish to create a voip billing system where I can use various voip sip providers. Is there such a platform? I want to use various providers to set up my own provider service. Some providers offer better prices to certain areas than others so I wish to combine these to get the over all best rates to resell. Is there a platform, pref OS, to do this?

What phone/internet service should I choose? I am starting a small business.....HELP!!!? I have researched every service that I can think of including: Qwest Cox Verizon Cingular AT&T I only need a cell phone, a business phone, or a VoIP phone. I also need at least 512 Kbps bandwidth on the internet. I need to know if the software works on Mac and Windows. I also want to know if the service is good. If you have experience please let me know. I would like to know if they treat you nicely when you have questions, and whether their tech support knows what they are talking about. I also need to know if the company has good rates, and why you think so, (please give me a comparison).......

VOIP - phonepower.com - anyone currently with phonepower...? Anyone currently with phonepower.com? How do you like their services? Is it good? How is the sound quality? How do you rate below services (1 worst, 5 best)? Sound Quality Reliability Customer Service phonepower.com Please help. I want to find out before I signup with them. Thanks

What is the CHEAPEST Flat-Rate Land-Line Phone Service with Unlimited Local & Long-Distance Calls? I recently got a 30 day free trial of MagicJack service & 2 MJ devices (but I'll probably order more!) I'm trying to lower the costs of land-line & cell phone service but still keep it for basic service & emergencies. I'm in the process of applying for "telecommuting" call-center jobs, but as their systems don't work with cell phones or VoIP, (which MagicJack technically is) & as MJ is not compatible with alarm systems, satellite etc.,& MJ recommends an emergency backup for 911, I'll still need to keep the land-line phone. But all the landline plans are minimum $40-$50 monthly, as they all include features like call waiting, caller ID, etc. which the jobs I need it for, don't even allow. As I'll be using MJ for all non-work calls, I just need the CHEAPEST basic service with a flat rate unlimited local & long-distance calls (for work). No frills or fancies. I'm in metro-Detroit. Anyone know the CHEAPEST land-line plans for $30 or under - just for work & emergencies??

Can I use a universal "power supply adaptor" for my electronics device? I am using a GOLDSTREAM HandyTone 496 VOIP adaptor for my IP telephone service. The unit's power supply has somehow failed, which rendered the unit dead and unusable. The Unit's power adaptor reads 5 volts, 1200 mA, 6 watts. To solve the problem, I purchased a GE (General Electrics) universal adaptor which is rated at 1000 mA, and set it to 4.5 volts (and at the correct polarity); which means that it would be supplying 4.5 watts of power to my unit. The unit is now 100% functional. However, the IP provider will not approve the use of another adaptor than the one provided (I asked them) as it would void the warranty of the unit. Instead, they want to send me a new adaptor (which at the end of the line would cost me $75 to ship, because I'm currently living in Mexico). My question is... is there ANY REASON why using a universal adaptor (which is delivering 4.5 watts of power instead of the rated 6 watts) would DAMAGE my unit?

How should I get 1800# which works in overseas? is it possible to get 1800# on any mobile phone? I'm in export / import business having office overseas. Most of the time I want to receive direct calls from my customers to whom I can give immediate response as such Is there anyway I can get 1800# USA phone # whose ring directly goes to other overseas country? Like most of Indian Call Centre at Banglor India are using this facility? I want to get an economical 1800 # land line or mobile # so that anytime my customers / client may keep in direct touch with me for some significant issues. Which mobil / land line phone service provider gives the most economical rates for international calls to INDIA, BANGLADEH, PAKISTAN, does anyone has some info about a New York based company called 9278 communication apparently i've heard they're good in providing international calling cards / international calling plans. Anyway thanks for your search? Also can any one help me about ROUTING, OR VOIP (internet based interational calling plans i.e. NET2PHONE? how this plann work? sound & quality wise

Question about airtel data service Mobile Office? 1) Does it support Moto Razr (Motorola v3) 2) Can i use this service to access internet via PC. 3) Can i make sip call (voip), using this connection? Does it block port 5060? 4) Data transfer rate / price / limit 5) Is this service available through EDGE also, if then its data rate

Anyone used a Magicjack VoIP? Anyone used a Magicjack? How is the service, voice quality and ease to use? Any other VoIP you would recommend that is as cheap as a MagicJack... How would you review/rate this product... I am seriously thinking to buy it solely looking at the price... $40/yr for the first year and then $20/yr... I looks unbeatable right now...

Can yahoo voice call land phones(regular phones) in any region/city of the following countries? Countries i want to call using yahoo voice to take advantage of low voip rates: 1. United States 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Canada 4. Japan 5. Malaysia 6. Australia 7. United Kingdom 8. Kuwait 9. Italy 10. Nigeria -What im particularly concerned about is does the yahoo voice service allow me to call any regular phone in any region/city of the given countries? -The rates are good but is the coverage complete? Please help me out....

Does anybody here use voip.com? The rates look really good I was just wondering if the service is good, anybody out there use it and if so what are your thoughts on it. (This is not Vonage, the site is www.voip.com)

Poor VOIP quality due to jitter? I am trying to determine why I have, at times, such poor quality VOIP. I ran a test at http://myvoipspeed.visualware.com/index.html and determined that my problem is a high rate of jitter. Here is the data: Jitter: you --> server: 8.0 ms Jitter: server --> you: 3.6 ms Here is the rest of the data: Speed test statistics --------------------- Download speed: 4905832 bps Upload speed: 368960 bps Quality of service: 97 % Download test type: socket Upload test type: socket Maximum download pause: 118 ms Average download pause: 2 ms Minimum round trip time to server: 30 ms Average round trip time to server: 65 ms VoIP test statistics -------------------- Jitter: you --> server: 8.0 ms Jitter: server --> you: 3.6 ms Packet loss: you --> server: 0.0 % Packet loss: server --> you: 0.0 % Packet discards: 0.0 % Packets out of order: 0.0 % Number of supported VoIP lines: 6 Estimated MOS score: 3.9 What can I do to help correct the jitter? Config: Cable Modem then VOIP Modem then Router

would u like to connect any one,anywhere through voip? We are Offering Best rates, Providing VoIP services/wholesale termination, having excellent working creditability. High quailty and capacity of direct-white routes are available Any interested party can get in touch with us We work only with prepay customers Add my msn id: noc@callbizcenter.com Email me at: javaria.callbizcenter@gmail.com

Can DSL be used with out an active phone line? Okay, so before a bunch of you tell me I am stupid, I realize that DSL uses a phone line. But my question is, do I have to have active phone service on that line to have DSL? I want to use VOIP (because the rates to the US from Canada are less than great on my current provider) but I love the speed of my DSL (500 kbps) and obviously need some type of an internet connection. I have heard of "naked DSL" and "open DSL" as terms for this, but I always thought that I needed an active phone line to have DSL.

Experience with VoIP provider nonoh.net? Has anyone here had experience with the VoIP provider www.nonoh.net. They offer cheaper rates than jajah.com and once you buy credit they offer 120 days of free calls to selected destinations, which are limited to 200 minutes per week. What was your experience with the service?

Going to Europe next month, need advice on long distance calls? This will be like 75 percent business and 25 percent pleasure. I need some good calling cards or even voip for a month or so. Getting a plan is out of the question because I don't want to be tied up if I find the service bad or anything. Maybe buying a sim card is a good option if the rates for cell phone in Europe calling US and Asia is good.

Best calling rate to a mexico cell phone? What is the best calling rate I can get to call a Mexican cell phone from USA. Specifically a cell phone in Tijuana but, your answer can be for Mexico City instead. I'm looking for anything. VoIP service, landline, calling card, cell phone, 10-10 number, using a Mexican cell phone in America. Anything that will give me the lowest calling rate.

Can you recommend a good VoIP / SIP or other phone solution for my small business? I run a small services business and our major overhead is the telephone. We are looking to make a major step and move into a serviced office building with secure Cisco networks, and I am looking to avoid their huge monthly telephony costs by putting in place a good VoIP solution to give us a more professional image. There are 4 of us ... we want to someone to be able to dial a main company number and be greeted by a company introduction message, and then presented with options on who they would like to be directed to. We want this solution to have all the normall business things you would expect like voicemail, call forwarding, message indicator, etc. Up to now I have been looking at the following solutions: Skype (obviously too basic for proper business purposes), SIP (like sipgate and voipfone ... these look pretty good to me) and Primus Telecom. Taking into account the functions we are looking for coupled with good value call rates what would you recommned?

Could in home, or "land" telephone lines ever go away? What about rotary dialing? I read a story today that in home land telephone lines are disappearing at a rate of 10% a year, give or take. Of the remaining lines, many are digital VoiP services like Skype, etc... I have a wonderful old Western Electric rotary dial candlestick phone from the 30's I use on weekends, when I'm home, just calling friends and family to shoot the breeze. It's so much warmer and nostalgic than my cell phone, a little piece of history for fun. This phone needs actual, analog phone service like Verizon, AT&T, etc provide. It will not work with digital VoiP as the digital service does not recognize the clicks, which in reality is just about simple analog voltage changes. There are still some people without cell phones, albeit few... I wonder if phone comapnies will drop land lines in a few years. I hope not. My antique, restored, candlestick phone will become a worthless paperweight.

losing internet connection? I lose my internet connection a couple of times per day.This has happened since i switched service providers from Tiscali to Talktalk. I cannot get help from talktalk unless I phone thier premium rate help line and they just keep you hanging on the phone for hours. I am using a netgear DG834g v2 router and have a pc and 2 wireless laptops connected as well as a Voip phone from Vonage. The problem seems to be independant of how many and which computers are switched on. The connection just disappears and says server not found even though the status lights on the router say all is fine. I reboot the router and even after it has finished rebooting it still takes 9.5 minutes to reconnect to the internet. I have tried flushing and renewing my ipconfig settings with no success and I have performed speed tests immediately after reconnecting and acheived results well over 2 mbps. The Vonage phone is disconnected whilst the problem occurs as well. Any ideas are most welcome

What phone/internet service should I choose? I am starting a small business.....HELP!!!? I have researched every service that I can think of including: Qwest Cox Verizon Cingular AT&T I only need a cell phone, a business phone, or a VoIP phone. I also need at least 512 Kbps bandwidth on the internet. I need to know if the software works on Mac and Windows. I also want to know if the service is good. If you have experience please let me know. I would like to know if they treat you nicely when you have questions, and whether their tech support knows what they are talking about. I also need to know if the company has good rates, and why you think so, (please give me a comparison).......

Calling US numbers at local rates from India? I heard from my relatives that they are able to call US numbers at local call rates with the help of a special gadget that their son bought them. Since they aren't much technical, I couldn't ask for more info and I presume they are talking about VOIP/Skype phones. Is there any way that you can call a US number from India at local call rate (may be 1 Re per min or so) using a VOIP phone without any service providers? Also how much does Skype charge for this service? Is this service available across India or only in select states? Thanks in advance! Regards, Yogaesh

I want to connect ip phones with the hardware listed below.? Earlier i had posted a question on YQ. I am wondering if there is a solution where I can use IP phones on the modem listed below. We presently use the NERA SATLINK 1000 (specifications listed below). Can I implement good VOIP with IP Phones on my Satellite connection with the hardware listed below? Again will appreciate your response. Thanks very much. ----KEY FEATURES are:-------UP TO 4 MBPS IP THROUGHPUT, ------ RETURN LINK BIT RATES FROM 128 KBPS TO 2 MBPS, ------ DVB-RCS COMPLIANT,[- Compliant with version V1.3.1 of the DVB-RCS standard ETSI EN 301 790, - Supports ATM and MPEG options on return link, - Supports Turbo coding FEC on the return link], ------ MULTICAST SUPPORT [- Enabling of forward link, -multicast streams to the LAN via IGMP, - Support for routing LAN multicast streams to the return link], ------ QOS [ - Supports classification of return link traffic into different quality of service classes based on IP addresses, protocol types, DSCP/TOS, and port numbers of the IP packets to be transmitted, ------ CAN BE MANAGED FROM THE HUB OR FROM LOCAL LAN VIA [- Web interface, - Telnet, - SNMP (option), EASY TO UPGRADE SW [- By administrative user via TFTP, - From the Hub via TFTP or Multicast, ------ INDUSTRY STANDARD IP STACK [- IP, ARP, ICMP, TCP, IGMP, TFTP client, Telnet server, DHCP Server on local LAN, - Options for SNMP management, NAT, and GRE tunnels on the Air Interface., ------ PREPARED TO INTERFACE WITH INDUSTRY STANDARD LNBS AND TRANSMITTERS [ - Enhanced DiSEqC support enabling very accurate control of the ODU output power, when used together with the integrated power detector in the Nera SatLink 3000 transmitter, ------ COMPACT DESIGN (size of a lap-top) I got a very good answer from SGT Rock. I appreciate that. I would like to stay away from another router. Want to keep the LAN implementation simple as many of the guys in my company are aircraft technicians.

cheapest call to india mobile from US? No skype or voip jus direct call system as per you go without service and calling charge . No calling cards. Wats the best and cheapest way to call india free. or minimum rate??

can u pls tell me lowest rate for calling pakistan? right now i am using web to phone named (lowrate voip) its giving me 0.03 euro per min and i am a student i can not even afford this pls tell me and help me out in this matter so that i can find ma self at the safest corner. and more over pls do tell me if there is any web to phone service that is offering 1pence per min.

Skype vs Vonage: International calls between UAE and US? I'm moving to UAE temporarily and I want to be able to call and recieve calls between UAE and the US. I know I need a VPN in UAE to make Voip calls and I just wanted to know what service is best for this, skype or vonage. Skype seems to be cheaper and also available on some wi-fi cell phones. I also want to have a US number so people calling me aren't charged international rates. Can any of you tech gurus out there help me with the pros and cons of both services in this particular situation. Thanks

what is the best VOIP service in terms of minute rates/charge for international calls? what is the best VOIP service in terms of minute rates/charge for international calls?

What phone/internet service should I choose? I am starting a small business.....HELP!!!? I have researched every service that I can think of including: Qwest Cox Verizon Cingular AT&T I only need a cell phone, a business phone, or a VoIP phone. I also need at least 512 Kbps bandwidth on the internet. I need to know if the software works on Mac and Windows. I also want to know if the service is good. If you have experience please let me know. I would like to know if they treat you nicely when you have questions, and whether their tech support knows what they are talking about. I also need to know if the company has good rates, and why you think so, (please give me a comparison).......

Who ever is getting an iPhone here is your information!!!? The iPhone is a multimedia, Internet-enabled mobile phone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It has a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons. The iPhone's functions include those of a camera phone and a portable media player ("iPod"), in addition to text messaging and visual voicemail. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. It is a quad-band mobile phone that uses the GSM standard, hence has international capability. It supports the Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology for higher speed and reliability. Following the success of iPod, Apple first introduced the iPhone on June 29, 2007 in the United States with much media frenzy. The introduction was preceded by month-long rumors and speculations. It was named Time magazine's "Invention Of the Year" in 2007. [5] Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Features 2.1 Multimedia 2.2 Web connectivity 2.3 E-mail 2.4 Others 3 Interface 3.1 Text input 4 Hardware 5 Software 5.1 Applications 5.2 Software updates 6 Specifications 7 Intellectual property 8 Criticisms 8.1 Headphone socket 8.2 Sim lock 8.3 Application support 9 See also 10 References 11 External links History Main article: History of the iPhone The genesis of the iPhone began with Apple CEO Steve Jobs's direction that Apple engineers investigate touch-screens. At the time he had been considering having Apple work on tablet PCs.[6] Comments made by Jobs in April 2003 at the "D: All Things Digital" executive conference expressed his belief that tablet PCs and traditional PDAs were not good choices as high-demand markets for Apple to enter, despite many requests made to him that Apple create another PDA. He did believe that cell phones were going to become important devices for portable information access. On January 9, 2007, Jobs announced the iPhone at the Macworld convention, receiving substantial media attention,[7] and on June 11, 2007 announced at the Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference that the iPhone would support third-party applications using the Safari engine on the device. Third-parties would create the Web 2.0 applications and users would access them via the Internet.[8] On October 17, 2007 Apple announced that an iPhone software development kit would be made available in February 2008.[9][10] Spanish mobile operator Telefónica announced on their technology blog that they expect to be shipping 3G iPhones by May 2008.[11] The iPhone normally prevents access to its media player and web features unless it has also been activated as a phone with an authorized carrier. On July 3, 2007, Jon Lech Johansen reported on his blog that he had successfully bypassed this requirement and unlocked the iPhone's other features with a combination of custom software and modification of the iTunes binary. He published the software and offsets for others to use.[12] On November 21, 2007, T-Mobile announced that in Germany, it will sell the phone "unlocked" and without a T-Mobile contract for €999 (US$1,478) at its stores. This is due to litigation commenced against T-Mobile by their competitor Vodafone, which resulted in a preliminary injunction preventing T-Mobile from locking the SIM card to itself in Germany. The sale of the iPhone in this configuration will last until the court renders a decision.[13] Apple announced in their 2007 Q3 sales report and conference call that they sold 270,000 iPhones in the first 30 hours on launch weekend.[14] AT&T reported 146,000 iPhones activated in the same time period.[15] Apple anticipated selling their millionth iPhone in the first full quarter of availability,[16] and 10 million by the end of fiscal 2008.[17] On September 10, 2007, Apple announced sales of 1 million iPhones.[18] This was followed by Apple's Q4 announcement on October 22, 2007 which put total iPhone sales at 1.39 million (Apple having sold 1.12 million in their 4th Quarter).[19] Features The iPhone allows conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. For example, a playing song fades out when the user receives a call. Once the call is ended the music fades back in. Voice dialing is not supported by the iPhone. The iPhone includes a Visual Voicemail feature allowing users to view a list of current voicemail messages on-screen without having to call into their voicemail. Unlike most other systems, messages can be listened to and deleted in a non-chronological order by choosing any message from an on-screen list. AT&T modified their voicemail infrastructure to accommodate this new feature designed by Apple. A ringtone feature, introduced in the United States on September 5, 2007, but not yet available in all countries where the iPhone has been released, allows users to create custom ringtones from their purchased iTunes music for an additional fee, the same price of a song. The ringtones can be from 3 to 30 seconds in length of any part of a song, can include fading in and out, can pause from half a second to five seconds when looped, and never expire. All customizing can be done in iTunes, and the synced ringtones can also be used for alarms on the iPhone. Apple has released a video explaining many of iPhone's features through a series of demonstrations.[20] Multimedia When music is played on the iPhone, album art is shown on most of the screen, with play controls beneath.The layout of the music library differs from previous iPods, with the sections divided more clearly alphabetically, and with a larger font. Similar to previous iPods, the iPhone can sort its media library by songs, artists, albums, videos, playlists, genres, composers, podcasts, audiobooks, and compilations. Cover Flow, like that on iTunes, shows the different album covers in a scroll-through photo library. Scrolling is achieved by swiping a finger across the screen. Like the fifth generation iPods introduced in 2005, the iPhone can play video, allowing users to watch TV shows and films. Unlike other image-related content, video on the iPhone plays only in the landscape orientation, when the phone is turned sideways. Double tapping switches between wide-screen and fullscreen video playback. The iPhone allows users to purchase and download songs from the iTunes Store directly to their iPhone over Wi-Fi, but not over the cellular data network.[21] Web connectivity Wikipedia on the iPhone's Safari web browser.The iPhone is able to access the World Wide Web via a modified version of the Safari web browser when connected to a Wi-Fi or an EDGE network. It is not able to utilize AT&T's 3G or AT&T's HSDPA network. Steve Jobs has stated 3G would need to become more widespread and much more energy efficient before it's included in the iPhone.[22][23] By default, the iPhone will ask to join newly discovered Wi-Fi networks and prompt for the password when required, while also supporting manually joining closed Wi-Fi networks.[24] When Wi-Fi is active, it will automatically switch from the EDGE network to any nearby previously approved Wi-Fi network.[25] Before the launch, some reviewers found the EDGE network "excruciatingly slow," with the iPhone taking as long as 100 seconds to download the Yahoo! home page for the first time.[26] Immediately before the launch the observed speed of the network increased to almost 200 kbit/s.[27] This is probably due to the new "Fine EDGE" upgrades AT&T has been making to their network prior to the launch.[28] The EDGE network does benefit iPhone users by providing greater availability than 3G, as 3G continues its expansion to most major cities in the United States.[29] Some countries other than the U.S. have very little EDGE infrastructure in place. For example, the United Kingdom's EDGE infrastructure amount to less that 30-percent. As a result, many users outside major cities will have to browse the Internet on GPRS. The web browser displays full web pages as opposed to simplified pages as on most non-smartphones. The iPhone does not support Flash or Java technology.[30][31] Web pages may be viewed in portrait or landscape mode and supports automatic zooming by pinching together or spreading apart fingertips on the screen, or by double-tapping text or images.[32] Apple developed an iPhone application for accessing Google's maps service in map or satellite form, a list of search results, or directions between two locations, while providing optional real-time traffic information. During the product's announcement, Jobs demonstrated this feature by searching for nearby Starbucks locations and then placing a prank call to one with a single tap.[6][33] Though Flash isn't supported in Safari on the iPhone, Apple also developed a separate application to view YouTube videos on the iPhone. E-mail The iPhone also features an e-mail program that supports HTML e-mail, which enables the user to embed photos in an e-mail message. PDF, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel attachments to mail messages can be viewed on the phone.[34] Yahoo! is currently the only e-mail provider offering a free Push-IMAP e-mail service similar to that on a BlackBerry for the iPhone; IMAP and POP3 mail standards are also supported, including Microsoft Exchange[35] and Kerio MailServer.[36] However, there is currently no search support. The iPhone will sync e-mail account settings over from Apple's own Mail application, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Entourage, or can be manually configured using the device's Settings tool. With the correct settings, the e-mail program can check many IMAP or POP3-enabled web based accounts such as Gmail, .Mac mail, and AOL.[37] Others A picture of an iphone taking a picture of an iphone pictureThe iPhone features a built in 2.0 megapixel camera, without a flash, located on the back for still digital photos, but does not support video recording. It also includes software that allows the user to upload, view, and e-mail photos. The user zooms in and out of photos by "unpinching" and "pinching" them through the multi-touch interface. The software interacts with iPhoto on the Mac and Photoshop in Windows. The built-in Bluetooth 2.x+EDR supports wireless earpieces (which requires the HSP profile), but notably does not support stereo audio (requires A2DP), laptop tethering (requires DUN and SPP), or the OBEX file transfer protocol (requires FTP, GOEP, and OPP). Text messages are presented chronologically in a mailbox format similar to Mail, which places all text from recipients together with replies. Text messages are displayed in speech bubbles (similar to iChat) under each recipient's name. The iPhone does not support message forwarding, drafts, delivery reports, instant messaging, MMS, multi-recipient SMS, or copy/cut/paste capability.[38] Interface The display responds to three sensors: a proximity sensor that shuts off the display and touchscreen when the iPhone is brought near the face to save battery power and to prevent spurious inputs from the user's face and ears, an ambient light sensor that adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power, and a 3-axis accelerometer,[39] which senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly. Web browsing and music playing support three orientations, while videos play in only one widescreen orientation. A single "home" hardware button below the display brings up the main menu. Subselections are made via the touchscreen. The iPhone utilizes a full-paged display, with context-specific submenus at the top and/or bottom of each page, sometimes depending on screen orientation. Detail pages display the equivalent of a "Back" button to go up one menu. The iPhone has three physical switches on its sides: wake/sleep, volume up/down, and ringer on/off. All other multimedia and phone operations are done via the touch screen. The iPhone interface enables the user to move the content itself up or down by a touch-drag motion of the finger, much as one would freely slide or flick a playing card across a table with a finger. Similarly, scrolling through a long list in a menu works as if the list is pasted on the outer surface of a wheel: the wheel can be "spun" by sliding a finger over the display from bottom to top (or vice versa). In either case, the object continues to move based on the flicking motion of the finger, slowly decelerating as if affected by friction. In this way, the interface simulates the physics of 3D objects, giving it a real world feel. The photo album and web page magnifications are examples of multi-touch sensing. It is possible to zoom in and out of web pages and photos by placing two fingers (e.g. thumb and forefinger) on the screen and spreading them farther apart or closer together, as if stretching or squeezing the image. As can be expected from multi-touch sensing, the two fingers don't have to be from the same hand. Text input For text input, the device implements a virtual keyboard on the touchscreen. It has automatic spell checking and correction, predictive word capabilities, and a dynamic dictionary that learns new words. The predictive word capabilities have been integrated with the dynamic virtual keyboard so that users will not have to be extremely accurate when typing—i.e. touching the edges of the desired letter or nearby letters on the keyboard will be predictively corrected when possible. The keys are somewhat larger and spaced further apart when in landscape mode (currently, only using Safari). Not focusing more on texting has been considered a chief weakness of the iPhone, while at the same time the virtual keyboard is a bold step and a worthwhile risk.[30] David Pogue of The New York Times and Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal both tested the iPhone for two weeks and found learning to use it initially difficult, although eventually usable. Pogue stated use was "frustrating" at first, but "once you stop stressing about each individual letter and just plow ahead, speed and accuracy pick up considerably." After five days of use, Mossberg "was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years," and considered the keyboard a "nonissue." Both found that the typo-correcting feature of the iPhone was the key to using the virtual keyboard successfully.[26][40] Hardware Rear viewAccording to The Wall Street Journal, the iPhone is manufactured on contract in the Shenzhen factory of the Taiwanese company Hon Hai.[41] Touch screen The 3.5 in liquid crystal display (320×480 px at 160 ppi) HVGA touch screen topped with optical-quality, scratch-resistant glass[42] is specifically created for use with a finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing. Because the screen is a capacitive touch screen, no stylus is needed, nor can one be used.[43][22] Bare skin is a requirement; users wearing gloves would have to remove them to use the touchpad,[44] unless they are wearing electrically conductive gloves.[45] The user interface also features other visual effects, such as horizontally sliding sub-selections and co-selections from right and left, vertically sliding system menus from the bottom (e.g. favorites, keyboard), and menus and widgets that turn around to allow settings to be configured on their back sides. Audio The iPhone's headphones are similar to those of current iPods, but also incorporate a microphone. Calls can be answered and ended by squeezing a bud, toggling the microphone. The 3.5 mm TRS connector for the headphones is located on the top left corner (as seen from front upright). Wireless earpieces that use Bluetooth technology to communicate with the iPhone are sold separately. The loudspeaker is used both for handsfree operations and media playback, but does not support voice recording. With the iPhone firmware update 1.1.1, released in late September 2007, video can be output from the headset jack using a three-way jack plug. Component video at up to 576i and stereo audio can also be output from the dock connector using the Apple Component AV Cable.[46] Battery The iPhone features a built-in rechargeable battery that is not intended to be user-replaceable, similar to existing iPods. If the battery prematurely reaches the end of its life time, the phone can be returned to Apple and replaced for free while still in warranty,[47] one year at purchase and extended to two years with AppleCare. The cost of having Apple provide a new battery and replace it when the iPhone is out of warranty is US$79 and US$6.95 for shipping.[48] The battery is stated to be capable of providing up to seven hours of video, six hours of web browsing, or eight hours of talk time (depending on configuration). The battery life for music playing is stated to be 24 hours.[42] The battery also allows for up to 250 hours of standby time. Apple's site says that the battery life "is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles,"[49] which turns out to be the same as for the iPod batteries. When the battery reaches only 80% capacity, it would be providing approximately 5.6 hours of video, 4.8 hours of web browsing, 6.4 hours of talk time, or 19.2 hours of music playing, depending on configuration. The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, a consumer advocate group, has sent a complaint to Apple and AT&T over the fee that consumers have to pay to get the battery replaced.[50] Though the battery replacement service and its pricing was not made known to buyers until the day the product was launched,[50][51] a similar service had been well established for the iPods by Apple and various third party service providers. The iPhone's SIM card slot having been ejected.SIM card The SIM card is located in a slot at the top of the device,[20] and the device is activated through iTunes.[52] The iPhone does not contain a memory card slot. Software An optimized version of the OS X operating system (without unnecessary components) runs on the iPhone, although differences between the operating system running on Macs and the iPhone have not been officially explained in detail. The iPhone's version of OS X includes the software component "Core Animation" from Mac OS X v10.5 which is responsible for the smooth animations used in its user interface. The operating system takes up considerably less than half a GB of the device's total 8 GB storage.[53] It will be capable of supporting bundled and future applications from Apple. The iPhone is managed with iTunes version 7.3 or later, which is compatible with Mac OS X version 10.4.10 or later, and 32-bit Windows XP or Vista.[54] The iPhone's CPU is an ARM-based processor instead of the x86 and PowerPC processors used in Apple's computers. This means applications can not simply be copied from Mac OS X and have to be written and compiled specifically for the iPhone. Additionally, the Safari web browser supports web applications written with AJAX, which, by design, are cross-platform applications. Applications There are several applications located on the "Home" screen: Text (SMS messaging), Calendar, Photos, Camera, YouTube, Stocks, Maps (Google Maps), Weather, Clock, Calculator, Notes, Settings, and iTunes. Four other applications delineate the iPhone's main purposes: Phone, Mail, Safari, and iPod.[55] The YouTube application streams videos over Wi-Fi and/or EDGE after encoding them using QuickTime's H.264 codec, to which YouTube has converted about 10,000 videos. They are expected to convert the entire catalog by the third quarter of 2007. As a result, the YouTube application on iPhone can currently only view a certain selection of videos from the site.[56] Also, because YouTube displays videos using Flash, the iPhone can only view videos through the YouTube application as opposed to accessing the YouTube website using Safari. At WWDC 2007 on June 11, 2007 Apple announced that the iPhone will support third-party "applications" via the Safari web browser that share the look and feel of the iPhone interface. The applications must be created in Ajax or JavaScript to maintain device security.[57] The iPhone cannot officially install full programs from anyone but Apple,[58] although Steve Jobs has hinted that future third-party applications are in development.[59][60] Dozens of homebrew applications are now available[61], although they are completely unsupported by Apple. Such applications could be broken by any software update, but Apple will not design software updates specifically to break native applications other than applications that perform SIM unlocking.[62] On October 17, 2007, Steve Jobs, in an open letter posted to Apple's "Hot News" weblog, announced that a software development kit (SDK) would be made available to third-party developers in February 2008. Due to security concerns and Jobs's praise of Nokia's digital signature system, it is suggested that Apple will adopt a similar method. The SDK will also allow application development for the iPod touch.[63] Software updates Apple provides updates to the iPhone's operating system through iTunes, in a similar fashion to the way that iPods are updated, and touts this as an advantage compared to other cell phones.[64] Security patches as well as new and improved features, such as a mobile chat client, Flash support, and voice recording, may be released in this fashion.[65] The first iPhone software update, 1.0.1, was released on July 31, 2007[66] to patch an exploit, discovered on July 23, 2007. It allowed hackers to take complete control of the iPhone via Wi-Fi connection or by luring a person to a website with that included malicious code. Once the hacker had control of the iPhone they could download the entire content of the iPhone, make phone calls, or turn the phone into a covert listening device.[67] The first full update, 1.1.1, was released on September 27, 2007. In addition to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, this update also adds home button shortcuts and other features previously released in the iPod touch.[68] The update significantly changed the iPhone's software and improved stability of its applications. Unsurprisingly, such significant changes also made it incompatible with previous unsupported hacks for modifying the system software or installing third party applications. The updates that have been released are: 1.0.1 Safari security update 1.0.2 Fixed Bugs 1.1.1 iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store Louder speakerphone and receiver volume Home button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls Spacebar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape modes Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be reordered Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar Support for TV out Preferences to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally New Passcode lock time intervals Adjustable alert volume 1.1.2 Battery charge level shown in iTunes International language & keyboard support Patched the TIFF exploit Adds custom ringtone field Fixed Bugs Specifications Size comparison between a first generation iPod nano, the iPhone, and a fourth generation iPod, from top to bottom.The specifications as listed on Apple's website are:[69] Screen size: 8.9 cm (3.5 in) Screen resolution: 320×480 pixels at 160 ppi Input method: Multi-touch screen interface (the "Home" button is the iPhone's only physical front panel button) Operating System: OS X Storage: 8 GB flash memory (originally: 4 or 8 GB choice) Quad band GSM (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900) Wi-Fi (802.11g), EDGE and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR 2 megapixel camera Built-in rechargeable, non-removable battery with up to 8 hours of talk, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and up to 24 hours of audio playback, lasting over 250 hours on standby.[42] Size: 115×61×11.6 mm (4.5×2.4×0.46 in) Weight: 135 g (4.8 oz) Digital SAR of 0.974 W/kg[70][71] An analysis of the iPhone's firmware has revealed that the main Samsung chip (designated S5L8900) contains an ARM 1176 processor, together with a PowerVR MBX 3D graphics co-processor.[72] Intellectual property Apple has filed more than 300 patents related to the technology behind the iPhone.[73][74] LG Electronics claimed the iPhone's design was copied from the LG Prada. Woo-Young Kwak, head of LG Mobile Handset R&D Center, said at a press conference, “We consider that Apple copied Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006.”[75] On September 3, 1993, Infogear filed for the U.S. trademark "I PHONE"[76] and on March 20, 1996 applied for the trademark "IPhone".[77] "I Phone" was registered in March 1998,[76] and "IPhone" was registered in 1999.[77] Since then, the I PHONE mark has been abandoned.[76] Infogear's trademarks cover "communications terminals comprising computer hardware and software providing integrated telephone, data communications and personal computer functions" (1993 filing),[76] and "computer hardware and software for providing integrated telephone communication with computerized global information networks" (1996 filing).[78] Infogear released a telephone with an integrated web browser under the name iPhone in 1998.[79] In 2000, Infogear won an infringement claim against the owners of the iphones.com domain name.[80] In June 2000, Cisco Systems acquired Infogear, including the iPhone trademark.[81] On December 18, 2006 they released a range of re-branded Voice over IP (VoIP) sets under the name iPhone.[82] In October 2002, Apple applied for the "iPhone" trademark in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and the European Union. A Canadian application followed in October 2004 and a New Zealand application in September 2006. As of October 2006 only the Singapore and Australian applications had been granted. In September 2006, a company called Ocean Telecom Services applied for an "iPhone" trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and Hong Kong, following a filing in Trinidad and Tobago.[83] As the Ocean Telecom trademark applications use exactly the same wording as Apple's New Zealand application, it is assumed that Ocean Telecom is applying on behalf of Apple.[84] The Canadian application was opposed in August 2005 by a Canadian company called Comwave who themselves applied for the trademark three months later. Comwave have been selling VoIP devices called iPhone since 2004.[81] Shortly after Steve Jobs' January 9, 2007 announcement that Apple would be selling a product called iPhone in June 2007, Cisco issued a statement that it had been negotiating trademark licensing with Apple and expected Apple to agree to the final documents that had been submitted the night before.[85] On January 10, 2007 Cisco announced it had filed a lawsuit against Apple over the infringement of the trademark iPhone, seeking an injunction in federal court to prohibit Apple from using the name.[86] More recently, Cisco claimed that the trademark lawsuit was a "minor skirmish" that was not about money, but about interoperability.[87] On February 2, 2007, Apple and Cisco announced that they had agreed to temporarily suspend litigation while they hold settlement talks,[88] and subsequently announced on February 20, 2007 that they had reached an agreement. Both companies will be allowed to use the "iPhone" name[89] in exchange for "exploring interoperability" between their security, consumer, and business communications products.[90] The iPhone's touch interface has been compared by some media to the HTC Touch,[91][92][93][94] which also features a touchscreen designed for fingers, although it can also be used with a stylus and lacks multi-touch. Another product that has been compared to the iPhone is the MyOrigo MyDevice, which was released in 2003, and like the iPhone, featured a touchscreen and accelerometer.[95] Criticisms Headphone socket The headphone socket on the iPhone is recessed into the casing, making it incompatible with some headphones. Sim lock The iPhone, like many other phones on contract, are locked to their service provider, such as AT&T, Orange or T-Mobile. Vodafone, for example, complained to the German courts that T-Mobile was being uncompetitive by locking the iPhone to the T-Mobile network. T-Mobile argued that it was the only service provider with EDGE in Germany, but the courts will still force T-Mobile to sell iPhones unlocked and available without a contract.[96] Application support At the launch, Apple outright refused to allow outside developers access to the iPhone. Even Java was not available. As such, many programs became available to sidetrack the software protections to allow the installation of non-Apple applications. Apple has later said that APIs will be available in February 2008