The FBI is reportedly forming a unit to develop new technologies for electronic surveillance, enabling the agency to expand monitoring capabilities for VoIP, wireless signals, and the Internet. According to Cnet, the Domestic Communications Assistance Center, located in Quantico, VA, will serve to intercept Skype conversations and analyze data received from a social network or carrier.
Comcast has made its Skype on Xfinity system available in Boston and Seattle in the first stage of a nationwide rollout. The previously leaked Skype camera allows users to perform video calls through the service, with instant messaging available while watching TV at the same time.
Boingo and Transit Wireless on Thursday announced a deal that will see New York City subway stations equipped with hotspots. The rollout will occur gradually over the next five years in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens stations. Users will need to have a Boingo account or access the hotspot network using their Skype, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon accounts.
PlayStation Vita owners got a major feature update Tuesday with the imminent release of Skype for PS Vita. The app lets the Sony console participate in both voice and video calls using either the front or back cameras. The app not only works both on 3G and Wi-Fi but truly runs in the background, making sure that gamers will catch an incoming call.
Skype picked an uncommon weekend introduction to post the finished version of its VoIP app for Windows Phone devices (Windows Phone Marketplace). The new version from Microsoft's recent acquisition adds some of the core features that had been missing in a preview version from February, including Skype Out calls to landlines, the ability to add and find contacts, and numerous improvements to performance. It could already make typical Skype-to-Skype calls and chats in an interface tailored to Windows Phone's Metro interface.
Nordic mobile operator TeliaSonera will begin charging its Spanish customers for VoIP services on top of the regular data charges, ArcticStartup reported. It will begin doing so within a month before expanding the practice to Sweden sometime this summer. The carrier's CEO, Lars Nyberg, stated early on this will be the case, so it shouldn't come as a surprise.
The Skype team is looking to bolster its ranks by posting a job listing which references the Xbox gaming console. Based in its London office, the position tells little about exactly how the video, voice, and text chat service will integrate into the platform hasn't been revealed. The Software Development Engineer will contribute to the development of experiences on Xbox, the listing reads.
Braven, which used to be called Spar, has just introduced a new Bluetooth speaker range that aims to differentiate itself from the others out there thanks to a couple of uncommon features. All three can be daisy-chained to provide stereo or surround sound, and they can also be used to charge phones or other portable devices through their USB ports. The wireless range is Bluetooth's typical 33 feet, and the auxiliary port also allows connecting other sources.
Microsoft appears to be considering a new version of Skype for web browsers, based on a job advert posted online. The Microsoft Careers website shows listings for developers based in London and Prague to help create a project named as “Skype for Browsers” based on HTML5.
New York City will install 250 web-connected 32-inch smart screens into 250 old phone booths across its five boroughs. Part of a pilot program, the tech will be free to access and include local neighborhood information such as traffic, safety alerts, restaurants and store listings, among others. According to New York Post, the project may eventually see all 12,800 outdoor payphones replaced with these screens.
Logitech has just unveiled its BCC950 ConferenceCam, meant for meetings. It's the first device to combine a 1080p webcam with a full-duplex speakerphone. The camera connects over USB and an included remote control or control pad lets users pan, tilt, and zoom the camera to focus on anyone or anything in the room.
Multiple job listings at Apple this week have hinted that Apple is getting ready to support Voice over LTE, or VoLTE. Telephony software engineer positions ask for experience with IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), the foundation for VoLTE's purely Internet-based calling. They're also asked to know related technology, such as the common VoIP protocol SIP as well as real-time transport (RTP).
Sharp this week started shipping the two higher tiers of its 2012 Aquos TVs. Both the 7-series and 8-series both revolve around SmartCentral, a new UI intended to make Internet features more accessible, including both quick access to favorites and a filtered system that makes it easier to find Internet music, video, game, and social sources such as Netflix and Skype.
Budget HDTV maker Vizio and VoIP video chat and Internet calling service provider Skype have just revealed that some of the former's upcoming Internet App TVs will be Skype-enabled out of the box. When a call comes in, users won't have to stop watching a show during a call, though we assume the TV audio will be muted in order to accommodate the call. The TVs will require a camera accessory that also contains four microphones that are capable of picking up a user's voice from up to sixteen feet away.
As one of the new divisions in Microsoft’s empire, Skype has been working overtime to finally deliver a mobile app for Redmond’s Windows Phone OS. Following an employees-only pre-release, Skype has announced that a free beta version of the app is now available in the Marketplace.
An earlier report of Windows Messenger Live Wave 5 getting web-based video chat has been confirmed thanks to a slip on Microsoft's MSDN blog. While the screenshot in question seems to have since been replaced, Liveside shared the original, which shows a testing version of SkyDrive. It contains a video icon beside the user's name (in this case Program Manager for SkyDrive apps Mike Torres), which matches up with a similar icon leaked back in August.
Cisco has posted a formal appeal of the EU approval for Microsoft's acquisition of Skype. The networking giant accepted the merger on a basic level, but it wanted the European Commission to have imposed interoperability requirements. Making Microsoft adhere to standards would prevent it from trying to "control the future of video communications," Cisco said.
Microsoft has made a version of Skype available for download from the Windows Phone Marketplace, though it's only for employees, The Verge reported. The app is still undergoing testing, and will reportedly be customized to resemble the Metro interface, with a two-column grid for contacts, similar to the photo here. The app won't integrate Windows Phone's People Hub, however, as that's due later in 2012 as part of Windows Phone 8.
Skype has released an update to its desktop software for Windows machines. Version 5.8 adds a number of new features, including 1080p video calling and support for Facebook audio and video calling. Users can also take advantage of group screen share, presenting an entire screen view or a single application window with up to 10 contacts.
Skype product VP Rick Osterloh in a chat (video below) at CES this week promised that Skype for Windows Phone was "coming out soon." He didn't say more, but confirmed that the app for new corporate parent Microsoft was in development. Skype had shown its VoIP app running on Windows Phone as far back as , but it has remained mostly silent until now.
Skype has released a new Skype for Mac beta, v5.5. The software includes a new and improved call interface. It also gives Mac users the option of accepting incoming calls with or without video, a feature already present in finished Windows versions of Skype.
Nuance Communications has unveiled Dragon TV, a voice and natural language understanding platform for TV, device and set-top box OEMs and digital service operators. Similar to Nuance's plain-language speech recognition encoded in Siri's Assistant feature, Dragon TV responds to voice commands in plain English. Viewers can find content by speaking channel numbers, station names, show and movie names. Searches by actor's name and genre are also possible.
Comcast is preparing its own webcam for Skype video calls that could bypass the usual computing link. Both an FCC filing noted by Wireless Goodness as well as a leak to Engadget have pointed to the camera, called Astro, attaching to a cable set-top box with an HDMI passthrough for other sources. It could work audio-only or with text and would support picture-in-picture to avoid completely interrupting an ongoing show.
A young company by the name of Tely Labs has just released a Skype-compatible HD video calling system for the living room. Its just-launched telyHD set-top has the ability to call Skype users on their smartphones, notebooks or desktop PCs. There are no monthly fees for this service, but users do need the set-top connected to their HDTV and have a free Skype account.
Cisco has stopped sales of its Umi video conferencing system Umi that has been price-dropped and re-branded for business use, SAI learned. While an official announcement to this effect hasn't been made by Cisco, a spokesperson confirmed to the source Cisco has stopped selling the system. When the system launched, it was expensive at $600 and included a 720p camera, controller and set-top box. In March, it was discounted to $400.
Following on its recent promotion to air travelers for free Wi-Fi during the past holiday week, Skype will be offering free Skype Wi-Fi for New Year's Eve and Day in New York City. For 24 hours, the VoIP provider will be letting revelers have general Internet access. The promotion runs from noon Saturday until noon on Sunday.
GM subsidiary OnStar has teased a revamped infotainment system that takes advantage of 4G LTE networks to expand the range of connected features. The company is currently teasing the new system, which will allow users to participate in video chats via Skype. The faster connection speeds also enables users to access streaming multimedia content.
Skype has released a new update for its Skype for Android app. The new release, Skype 2.6 for Android, lets users with mobile data plans send photos, videos and files over 3G and Wi-Fi networks (free, Android Market). The update also provides improvements for tablets running Tegra 2 processors.
European Union ministers has asked the European Commission and pan-European regulator BEREC to look into whether some ISPs are throttling some services in favor of others. According to a Tuesday Reuters report, the concern is that net neutrality may be hampered, with Internet calling services such as Skype possibly affected. BEREC will publish a joint report from regulators in the 27 EU member states in February that will summarize its findings.
Researchers have uncoveredwhat looks like a serious security flaw in Skype that could easily allow a hacker to track a user’s movements as well their P2P file-sharing activity. Scientists from New York University’s Polytechnic Institute monitored 10,000 random Skype users and 20 volunteers over a two-week period discovered the vulnerability. They found that callers using VoIP can obtain the IP address of another user simply by calling them allowing them to use geo-IP mapping services to determine their location and ISP.
Sony has detailed a software update to its Bravia Internet-connected HDTVs that will bring with it a number of new features. They include access to YouTube HD movies, Facebook photos and videos on the full screen, ticker-like Twitter updates while watching TV, and more. TrackID song search results can also be sent directly to Twitter.
Acting on a promise from July, Skype has rolled out new test versions for Macs and Windows that give both of the apps support for full Facebook video chat. Both an updated 5.4 beta for Mac and 5.7 beta for Windows let users make a call from their own Facebook accounts inside the app to others' without one or both having to go to the web. The only stipulation is having a Facebook account linked to Skype to get contacts.
Following an earlier investigation, Vdio has confirmed plans to launch as a direct competitor to Netflix and other major movie services. Created by Skype and Rdio creators Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the company told GigaOM that it would provide the "best in TV and movies, right now." Its teaser page includes TV shows such as Mad Men as well as movies like The Dark Knight, suggesting it had at least lined up deals with AMC, Fox, Showtime, Sony, and Warner Bros., among others.
Yesterday, Microsoft officially finalized its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype. Although the VoIP service provider is now a unique division within Microsoft, and the company reiterated it would stay platform agnostic, subtle changes are already taking place. Skype today released version 5.6 for Windows users (free, Skype), and it includes a noteworthy functional change. Google apps are no longer bundled in the installation package.
Microsoft late Thursday officially closed its acquisition of Skype. The $8.5 billion deal now sees Skype become an internal division of Microsoft, with its former CEO Tony Bates now reporting directly to Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. Although the company would be focused on Microsoft, Bates reiterated Microsoft's claims that Skype would stay platform-agnostic and support more than just Windows and Windows Phone.
UK carrier O2 today announced it plans to trial a VoIP service for its mobile phone customers. Called O2 Connect, the Skype-like service will allow smartphone users to use voice and text services over a Wi-Fi network from their mobile device, and call or send a message to any UK mobile or landline number. The app initially will be available on iOS devices and Android smartphones.
Microsoft's buyout of Skype could be formally completed in the US this week, multiple tips indicated Tuesday. They explained to AllThingsD that it was "likely" the deal would be done in the next few days. The agreement already has American and European approval and is likely just waiting on formalities.
Microsoft's $8.5 billion purchase of Skype has been approved on Friday by the European Commission. The software giant's largest-ever buy was announced in May and received the blessing of the US Federal Trade Commission back in June. The European Commission found that the two companies overlap in video communications and there are no competition concerns regarding the acquisition.
Verizon's second attempt to appeal the FCC's net neutrality rules has been met with a rebuttal from the FCC. The governing body is now arguing Verizon's lawsuit is not valid because it doesn't have the needed jurisdiction. The new rules are due to take place into November 20.
Skype has released a new version of its VoIP chat client for Android phones. Skype 2.5 (free, Market) adds video chat support for 14 Android devices, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (T-Mobile version), Acer Iconia Tablet (A500), Motorola Photon and Motorola Xoom. As with the latest client for Mac and iOS, Skype 2.5 for Android brings ads to the free version. Ads are not shown to users with Skype Credit or a subscription.
Skype added two of its more commonly requested features to its iOS apps. Both Skype for iPads (App Store) and for the iPhone (App Store) now have software-based anti-shake correction. The trick helps reduce the jitter effect from natural handholding and bumps, especially when walking.
A security researcher going by "Phil P" and running the Superevr security blog has found a serious scripting vulnerability in the chat messaging feature of Skype versions 3.01 and earlier for the iPhone and iPod Touch that could execute malicious Javascript code without the user being fully aware, giving the attacker access to file contents of any file that the Skype app would have access to -- such as a user's address book.
Skype caught Mac users up to their Windows equivalents quickly with the launch of the 5.4 for Mac beta. The new release gives users the first stages of Facebook integration with cross-platform text chat if they choose to connect. It's similarly possible to post Facebook status updates and view Facebook updates from others inside the app filtered by the originating network.
Qik users on Android were put back on par with their iOS counterparts Thursday with a Premium option in the app (Android Market). Paying for the extra service works with a companion desktop app to automatically sync videos and manage them when away from the phone. Some devices also get the option of recording videos in 3D and HD if the hardware allows for it.
Ending exploration and other speculation, Microsoft during a Tech Ed New Zealand session Thursday confirmed that Windows Phone 7 Mango has front camera support. While it had been suspected given digs into the SDK and very early reference hardware, it will now be available to any device that has the option. Microsoft's buyout of Skype will also pay off quickly as the WP7 app will support the front camera for video chat, the company said.
Microsoft's soon-to-be acquisition Skype on Sunday said it had itself bought GroupMe. The deal with the year-old startup gives it access to mobile group messaging. Skype has been quiet as to the exact intentions but plans to fold in the "best in class text-based communications."
Skype took a distinctive approach to using its credit Wednesday with the release of Skype WiFi for iOS devices (free, App Store). The app lets users load up the previously computer-only option on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod and get Wi-Fi access from third-party hotspot providers on a per-minute basis and without having to sign up for a separate account. It's intended for those who might need only a quick jump online, especially when traveling to a country where the language might be a barrier to using a hotspot.
Sony's Gamescom keynote on Tuesday saw it give future PSVita buyers a slew of social apps for when the console is ready. The handheld will have apps available on or near launch for Facebook, Foursquare, Skype, and Twitter. All will be free in the PlayStation Store.
Skype’s forthcoming Windows Phone app will integrate deeper than the Skype app for both the iPhone and Android devices. After its $8.5 billion acquisition by Microsoft is approved by European regulators (expected by the end of the year), the future Skype division of Microsoft has plans to make Skype functionality an integral component of the Windows Phone experience. Skype’s VP of products and marketing, Neil Stevens, says that Skype plans on creating a different kind of app, something that feels part of the phone.
There are new indications that Microsoft will be providing video chat capabilities into its Wave 5 release of Messenger within Windows Live. Liveside.net has posted Skype-like video icon images for Wave 5 Messenger. It is still not clear to what extent Microsoft will be able to incorporate video chat capabilities from Skype, which the company announced it was buying in May for $8.5 billion.
