Voip Comparison - Voip Service Offering Knowledge Base

Voip Service Offering Knowledge Base

Which VOIP service offers the cheapest reliable calls from Philippines to Italy or the US? I've check out VOIPStunt. They offer free trial call is it true that it's really free or will it be charged to my phone because it was asking for my phone number aside from the destination phone. Also it claims that if I buy the 10 Euro credit I could call unlimited (no time limit) to the free destination listed (Italy and US were included) for 120 days. Has anyone tried this? I just want to be sure there isn't any other conditions or fine lines I've missed. Thanks for any information that may help.

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

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.

how do i get a chinese phone number for my voip service? i want to be able to give my frineds and colleagues in China a local phone number that will ring my VoIP phone in the US. This is basically the reverse of Yahoo's Phone in service where Yahoo offers US phone numbers to domestic and international callers via VoIP.

Which VOIP service offers a real local number that appears on caller IDs? From what I heard, Vonage offers this. Which other companies offer this, and which ones are recommended? I would prefer one hopefully that I can switch to either calling/answering calls using a cordless phone, and then to the computer when Im out of the house. thanks!

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

How can I get a VoIP service, how much does the phone costs,and what are the companies who offer that service?

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?

who offers the best voip service with pay as you other than skype?

VOIP- Canada ? Free local calls within Canada? anyone offering that service? I would like to know if there is a company, which offers free VOIP calls within canada? without paying anything for installation or signing up? i know skype used to offer, not anymore.. Please help.. PC to Phone calls...

If you Could Pay $200 For a Year of VoIP Home Phone Service Would You!?!? Great Voip Service that offers an ANNUAL Plan where you $200 upfront and forget you home phone bill for the year! UNLIMITED Local and LONg Distance!! Also Offers a VIDEO PHONE with great quality!! www.CWhoURCalling.net Also Free Customer to Customer calling.

Does any VoIP services offer fax to email? I'm a sunrocket customer who is now looking for new service. Does any VoIP service providers offer fax to email? I would prefer one company rather than setting up an efax account along with a VoIP account. Thanks,

I need to take a wireless connection and use it with the VOIP service, is this possible? I'm moving into an apartment and they are only offering me a wireless internet connection, I use a VOIP service for my phone and am wondering if there is some way I can still use it?

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?

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

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.

Do you know voip website offer "BYOD" service with instant activation ?

Do you know any VoIP alternatives to Skype? I've been using Skype for years, but I've become increasingly dissatisfied with Skype's poor -- or more appropriately, non-existent -- customer support and ridiculous payment ("credit") system. What other reputable VoIP services would you recommend? Please recommend a few so I can make comparisons. Skype is the only famous VoIP I know of. I want a VoIP that also offer mobile service and in-home devices that can act as a home phone.

What is the best VOIP service to go with.? I have just gotten Roadrunner internet and am inking of moving my phone service to VOIP. I know VONAGE is the largest but does not offer local numbers where I live.

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

Can anyone find a firm that offers local VOIP numbers in Ukraine? I have relatives in Ukraine ad calling is expensive. In many countries you can get a local phone number through a VOIP service provider and call international just like calling locally. I would love to get a number for Sevastopol, but almost any city VOIP number is likely to be less expensive than calling direct. Thanks!

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.

How does VOIP works in this sense...? Some companies offer VOIP product- you can have a ph number in another country so people from that country can call you locally and the call will be transfer to your ph of choice here in States. I think that since this service is VOIP they should offer the service in any city of that country but they don't. I would like to learn why not.. I used to work with telecom and I remember that sometimes we need to connect with cities that have hubs- but this was pre-VOIP era.... What's the deal here?

Who offers VOIP services? I know about Vonage, but who else is recommended?

Do you know a IP or VoIP telephone service provider (skype alike)? Do you know a good IP or VoIP telephone service provider(skype alike) that is available for canadian citizens, I mean that offers canadian telehone numbers? because for now , there is no telephone numbers offered by Skype so ... do you have any ideas ? Thank you answer to Adrian: Can you give me some company names and I'll check them Thank you

Why can I not find Voice over IP carriers in Iowa? Does Vonage have a monopoly in Iowa? I have searched a TON of sites offering very affordable voice over IP (VOIP) service, however, all of them seem to offer service in in the ENTIRE USA except Iowa. What gives? Why won't these companies touch Iowa? The only people offering VOIP in Iowa seems to be Qwest, MediaCom, and Vonage. Is there some monopoly they have here or what? I can get service from just about anybody in Nowheresville, Montanna or BuFu Wyoming but not in IA and its making me mad. If you can explain this unusual absence of service provision I would appreciate it. Thanks!

Best VoIP Phone Service? Has anyone tried a BuzzBox ( http://buzzbox411.com/ )? I ordered their phone service because it's $19.99 (cheaper than vonage) and offer similiar services. Has anyone tried BuzzBox411.com But I am looking for a stand alone device which would work with the Mac. Skype doesn't have a computer-less solution.

VONAGE.COM voip phone service DEAL OR DUD? I'm thinking of switching from Dallas TX - ATT.COM to VONAGE VOIP. However, vonage seems tooo good to be true. Do you or do you know anyone that actually has vonage voip? If so, would you or they recommend the service to others. Word of mouth is more important to me vs. any website or commercial they can offer. Thanks in advance for taking the time to reply!! Bren

Similar VoIP service? I like how Phone Power offers the plan which basically gives you two lines, in one. Two people can be using the phone on the same line. Do you know of a service which allows me to do something similar but pay a MONTHLY FEE, not a yearly fee?

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.

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?

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?

Are there any truly free VOIP services? Any website that actually offer 100% free Voip, from your computer? No credit card required, no fees of any kind?

How do I set up a small VOIP business? Hi, I'm an intern with a small company who's contract with a VOIP provider has ended. We're looking into setting up our own VOIP systems because our VOIP provider has been giving us less than proper service. As an intern, I'm given the task of finding out how to achieve this, but I have absolutely no idea where and how to start. The net doesn't really offer anything except adverts on VOIP business plans on VONAGE, which is completely irrelevant... What do you need to set up your own VOIP system to offer for commerical use to the public? Some kind of server? What about softwares? Any help, will be greatly appreciated.

Former Vonage Users: Can you port your number from Vonage to another service? I like my Vonage service... but I don't like the fact that I'm on a contract. Nor the fact that Anonymous Call Rejection (ACR), a feature which I waited two years for (and still didn't get it). I seen other VoIP companies offering this and would change, but the one thing I don't like is the fact that I have to change numbers. So, are there any former Vonage users that had problems porting their phone number?

How to get USA VOIP number on a indian mobile number ??? How to get USA VOIP number on a indian mobile number ??? Is there any option like this.... Rebtel is offering this service but only between 2 numbers....

Free Long Distance to landlines in Canada without using VOIP? US has several services that offer free long distance calls by dialing toll-free numbers and listening to some ads. Does Canada have something similar?

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?

Can I get a VOIP phone in US from India? You guys must have heard of Vonage and other service providers which offer a US local number in India. Is it possible to get such a service other way round? I mean, can I get an Indian local number in US?

What do I need to set up an Asterisk service? I've got a rather in-depth request for anyone who has jumped through all the hoops. What do we need to make and receive calls to/from VoIP & PSTN phones worldwide, and what would the cost be? We intend to use our existing Cisco 7940 / 7960 IP phones. What specs should the server have for good call quality? we will have 5 offices with 8 users (perhaps 4 concurrent), and 1 with 20 users (perhaps 10 concurrent). With the server located in one site and all our IP phones/stations located throughout the United States, what kind of internet will be needed at both the server and IP phone ends? (asymmetric/symemetric? need packet prioritization via the switch to ensure voice call quality? will cable internet be ok?) Do we need to pay a service to convert our IP calls to/from the regular PSTN network? what about long-distance PSTN? What support, installation, troubleshooting, fixing solutions does Digium offer and how much does it run? We need to ensure that we won't lose service.

Voip? Few questions? My Wireless IP, is offering Voip now $30 a month for unlimitaed service. Does that slow you internet down when you take or make a call? And is it reliable?

VOIP services that record calls? Are there any hardware VOIP services (i.e., services like Vonage that use a dedicated router, not ones like Skype that run through your PC) that can record all of the conversations on a line and offer downloads of each digitized call?

Cheapest VOIP to India? Currently tpad.com is offering 0.065$ to India. They even allow Break-in calls using which even from India anybody can call us by calling a Mumbai number and then followed by our tpad account number. No need of a computer for this. Is there any other cheapest VOIP providers available? Don't need betamax clones, they are real cheaters. Lost so much Euros and they don't have customer service at all.

How Soon will Fiber Optic service for TV and Internet be common? Will the bundle of services be competitive? How quickly will companies like Verizon and ATT be able to roll out their products, 2-3 years? Will they offer bundles of TV, Internet, VOIP and wireless?

Why is YAHOO attaching advertisements to my e-mails without my autherization? People recieving my mail cannot open my attachements but are getting a YAHOO POP-UP advertising VOIP telephone service offered by YAHOO - I gave no one autherization, many times mails are no not being recieved because they are blocked by recievers fire wall, etc - what can I do to stop YAHOO from doing this???????????????????????????

Does Verizon has a monopoly on land phone lines other that Voip? Does verizon own the copper. Are they the only option when you want to have a phone line that's not Voip? I am very unhappy with their service, but If I go to Voip by Cablevision, they want me to get the triple play for the discount. But I don't need cable TV. I just need phone and internet. I guess the double play is not offered any more? AT&T is not available where I live. It looks like my only option is Optimum, but they only have the triple play at the right price. It is a Verizon monopoly after all!!

How VoIP is cheaper then ISD calls? For example Some private Internet Service Providers offers ISD calls in just 2 to 3 rupees/min (Indian money)... While we making through ISD it will be 15 to 20 rupees/min, How does VoIP is cheaper then ISD?

What is the difference between Skype, Google talk and Yahoo voice? -What is the difference between Skype, Google talk and Yahoo voice? -why is there some other companys that offers you international numbering (like dd world wide)? Do we need it? -Is there other companies offering the same kind of VoIP service? Thank you for all your answers! What about Gizmo project ? do you know about this one....

Is there any PC to landline phone/software service that offers free phone calls? When I say free, I mean absolutely free like by watching ads or something. Skype and Voip??? I think they charge after an inital trial.

Any VOIP software with free calls to China mobile phones? Hi, in the past software like Voipbuster or voipcheap used to offer free calls to chinese landlines and mobile phone, but none of them offer that service anymore. Do you know any software which offers them? Why mos of services do not offer this feature? thanks

Is there a service provider that offers cable through broadband? I currently pay for Cablevisions IO triple play package. It costs 29.95\month for all three services (cable, internet, and phone). My setup is a 42" LCD TV with surround sound hooked up directly to my computer with an RGB cable. My cable comes through the regular cable input. So it's easy for me to watch streamed content from places like hulu, youtube, and such without needing any extra pc card or splitters. What I want to do is cut costs of my services. I can buy broadband from another carrier (AT&T costs 19.99\month) buy a Magic Jack for my phone (39 and change\year). Is there a cable company that streams channels over broadband like the companies that use voip over the phone (magicjack/vonage)? I'm not looking for anything for free, just cheaper with no equipment to buy with a good range of channels. Does anyone know of such a service? Thanks in advance.

Is there a good free VOIP that provides Caller ID? I use Skype and really like it for free PC to Phone calls, but many people won't answer the phone if they don't know who's calling, and Skype calls show up as either unknown or 01234...or something like that. Does anybody know of another free telephony service that's good, but offers a Caller ID option? Yes, I forgot to add that Skype will start charging for PC to Phone calls to the U.S. and Canada, as of today, but if you pay for a year before Jan 18th--I think--it's only $15, instead of $30. Well worth it, but I thought that even with the Skype-In no. you still don't have a Caller ID option. I'll check on it again. Thanks for the info.

Yahoo! Messenger Voice Out is overcharging me! Why? When I call out for international calls Yahoo! Voice charges me when the phone is just ringing or I am waiting for the ringing to begin. Any other voip service only charges from the time the otr person answers the phone. Why is Yahoo! ripping me off ike this? I have asked for help at customer service and they state that it is agnst their policy to offer me a refund. Poor service indeed.

unlimited VOIP calling plan from USA to Bangladesh cellular? I am currently living in Bellevue, WA and I am looking for a plan that offers unlimited calling to Bangladesh cellular (to warid network specifically). I can see Joi phone offers a “worldwide premium” service plan but that only gives me 800/month to Bangladesh cellular. Vonage for example has unlimited calling plan to Bangladesh (Dhaka, Ctg) land lines but so far I haven’t seen any plans for unlimited BD cellular. So, if anyone know of such a plan please email me with the details. I have Comcast broadband. thanks, Hasan

help i have no idea wat this means some body explain in short text 10 points best answer in plain explantion? it is a question

following on from previous question lol? the whole companys management structure is based on people with degrees for instance i have 6 years telecoms experience with voip tvoip broadband and telephone yet my latest manager has a degree in economics and local government so that instantly makes him more qualified than me although he dont know the first thing about our company he saw the huge salary and thought i'll have a bit of that and my stupid company hired him we are degree obsessed most managers in my centre have no idea how to manage people and run departments they have no idea about the products or services we offer yet because they have a piece of paper they are experts new labour has a lot to do with it but when are companies going to realise that degrees dont make good managers hard work and experience makes good managers well im not writing a letter its just a forum if you want caps and full stops go to wikipedia instead of picking apart my question your obviously a manager at my place coz instead of looking at your own work you pick apart somebody elses needlessly get a life

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.

Is 30 GB per month download limit a lot or a little? I am looking at setting up an internet account in Portugal, Sapo offer 8Mb for 35 euros with 30 GB international traffic, and unlimited national traffic. I thought that the whole point of the internet was there there were no international boundries. Is 30 GB enough, as most of my sites will be uk based. Also I want to use VOIP telephone services

Broadband Phone & Broadband Internet? I want broadband phone service and broadband internet service all from the same company that way i receive just 1 bill. I don't want to get a broadband phone from a different company and to keep staying with my ATT net service because i don't want to receive two different bills every month. Is there any companies out there that offer broadband Phone ( VoiP ) and Broadband Internet in a package?

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?

small business idea... feedback would be nice.? I would like to start up a small business for extra sidecash while im doing tafe (or college for you americans =) ). It would be a home networking business (i do network engineering at tafe). Offering anything from setting up peoples broadband to integrating voip and multimedia into thier home network. Do you think this would be successful? would you know anyone or would you yourselves use a service like this? Im just trying to decide if its feasable to make money off this, if people would use it or not what materials? what hourly rate? its just myself. I will charge them for everything they need. no i would be simply plugging in cables and configuring rotuers etc for silly people who dont know how to use comptuers. I am not selling programs etc.

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