You don’t have to listen too closely to hear voip and other tech bloggers talk about how for the consumer market, services and applications have to be “dead simple”. Well here’s something embarrassing…for me. 

I’m not an IT pro, but I’m not a novice pc user either. I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop, which I love. I’ve had it since last June. When I started demo-ing voip applications for this blog, especially web click-to-call, and pc phone applications, I was using one of two headset/microphones. I mean my laptop has two clearly marked jacks for audio in/audio out. I futz about with these headsets on a regular basis, plugging in, unplugging, trying different things. My husband and I share them you see. So one time I was trying to find my headset and get it plugged in in time to answer an incoming Skype call.

“You know,” my husband says, “Your Dell probably has a built in mic.” Nope, I’d already checked that out. I looked for one, a label, a little pinhole that might be it. I even looked on through the Dell stuff they sent me. I don’t think it has one. Meanwhile, Skype is bleeping away.

“Well you know,” my husband says, “A laptop that new, it’s probably got a built in mic.”

I answer the call. Yes, my laptop has a built in mic. Okay, I’m a dope.

So even if it’s “dead simple”, even if it’s “built in” for crying out loud, for some of us that just isn’t enough.

It’s been about a year since I bought my Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop and I’ve really loved it, except for one little thing that’s become a big annoying problem. When I have a headset plugged in, I quite often hear squealch-like static that renders the conversation inaudible. Calls I’ve had on SightSpeed and Skype have been plagued by this problem, and until now I always put it down to cheap headset hardware. Instead it turns out to be a Dell design flaw.  My searches on the Dell forums indicate that it’s been more than just me experiencing this static and the culprit seems to be a wonky bit of wiring in the headset jack.

So, I’ve broke up with analog headsets  forever and purchased a Plantronics DSP-400 folding USB headset. So far so good. It’s a wired headset and costs about $100.

Some wireless headsets worth a look if you’re having a similiar Dell moment is the Plantronics CS-50 USB Wireless Headset, Plantronics Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset, or the Plantronics Audio 910 Bluetooth headset. All are pricey but going wireless may be worth it.

The intrepid Tom Keating reviews two headsets here:

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/gadgets/plantronics-voyager-510usb-bluetooth-headset-review.asp

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/headsets/plantronics-audio-910-headset.asp

I’ve had a Skype account for awhile, but haven’t used it much because I’d decided to go with Vonage. Now that I’ve cancelled my Vonage service, I’m ready to really put Skype through its paces.

At the time of writing, Skype is up to release 2.5.0.137 so I’ve had to upgrade my Skype software. NOt a problem. Their websit and download instructions are clear enough.

You are prompted to close the existing Skype version if it is running, click the Download button and then the Run button when prompted, and follow the rest of the installation prompts. That’s it.

I recently upgraded my desktop to a Dell laptop, and I had a  headset kicking around. A huge Plantronics thing (a) that must have been originally for my husband’s gaming, but works OK for my purposes. Another way to go is to get just  a microphone (b) and use the speakers on the computer for sound, like a speakerphone. The third nifty piece of hardware I’d like to show you is a “dongle” (c)that allows you to switch between headset mode (in which all sound is piped through your headset), and regular speaker mode. Since I don’t plan on having my headset on all the time, it’s convenient to toggle between the two modes at the push of a button. This gizmo costs less than $15. Go see your local Radio Shack.

(a) (b)  (c)

Today BridgePort Networks announced the commercial availability of MobileSTICK, a USB device that transforms your PC or laptop into an extension of your cell phone. When you plug MobileSTICK into a PC or laptop with a fixed line or Wi-Fi broadband connection, the device launches a PC softphone, secured by a SIM card that utilizes the your existing mobile phone number to make and receive phone calls, SMS messages and multimedia (MMS) messages. Your existing mobile remains active and continues to utilize its existing SIM.

Ken Camp had the opportunity a few months ago to do a podcast with BridgPort’s Sanjay Jhawar that explains the MobileSTICK technology in detail. It’s really good and worth a listen.

I’m a few days behind on this one (see VoIP Watch and VoIP and Gadgets), but Laptop magazine is giving away a few Skype Wi-Fi phones and router bundles. To qualify you’ve got to tell them the craziest place you want to set up a Wi-Fi connection and make a Skype call.  Sign up here…

I’m a bit slower than the other bloggers trying out the Nokia N80i, but that’s typical me. I like to process things a little.

Overall, there’s not much I don’t like about this phone. It’s got a good feel in my hand, not too small but not to heavy either. It takes better than expected pictures, and the video recorder is great for the kids’ spontaneous slapstick routines. The music player is a real bonus for me. I don’t bother with an mp3 player when I’m out and about because it means carrying around another gadget. But now that the player is in the phone, I’m really enjoying using it. I know these features aren’t unique, but the N80i implements them really well. One-button access to the camera, video and music player makes these features super easy to use.

However, I had a few hiccups during the setup. The first was installing GizmoVoIP, which I couldn’t find anywhere on the phone. It is supposed to be available from the Downloads folder but in my case it wasn’t there, at least at first. It only appeared after refreshing the list several times over the span of several hours.

The second problem I had was installing PC Suite, the Nokia driver software and applications for the PC. In my case the drivers did not install, despite many uninstall/reinstall combinations. No drivers means no way for laptop and phone to communicate, no way to download music to the phone from the PC, synchronise contact lists,  etc.

The error I received was: “There is no available connection type. The connection to phone cannot be established.”

Ultimately, my solution was to uninstall EVERYTHING Nokia N80 from the Control Panel/AddRemove Programs. This includes PC Suite AND the Nokia PC Connectivity package. For some reason, there were two PC Connectivity packages installed instead of one which probably caused all the grief. I then downloaded the most recent PC Suite from the support web site, and reinstalled.

The PC Suite on the CD that came with the phone was out of date but the autoupdater that updated the sofware when I installed the first time, clearly didn’t do a very good job. I think this is why I ended up with two sets of drivers that didn’t like living in the same house.

The third thing I did, and this is more of a user problem, is that I connected the cable to my laptop first, before popping in the CD. Predictably, the Found New Hardware wizard prompted me for the CD that contains the drivers. When I inserted the CD, of course nothing happened because PC Suite installs the applications and drivers all at once. But since I didn’t realize this at first and there wasn’t anything in the documentation, I spent a bit of time hunting through the packaging looking for another CD that I may have missed.

Who knows if many users have the same issue, but an easy fix would be for Nokia to add more accurate labeling and instructions to the CD itself.

Anyway, all is fine and dandy now.

I’ve been fiddling for the last few days with my Nokia N80i. I know I should be homing in on the on-board mobile VOIP capabilities, but I’m too distracted by all the other things this device can do. You have to understand that I’m a basic cell phone person. I’ve never held too much with phones that try to manage your life. I use my mobile to make calls. That’s pretty much it. (C’mon Leanne, get with the program here). So now that I’ve tried the N80i, I realize how boring I’ve been all this time. 

So far, I’m delightfully dazzled by the camera, the video recorder and the music player. These three things I never thought would have interested me and now I can see using them daily…oh yeah, and making calls…that’s four things.

However, I had a few bumps installing the software (GizmoVoIP), for Internet calling, and the phone drivers on my laptop. Tell ya about that later.

You may already know that I’m a relatively new PhoneGnome user, but so far I’ve been quite impressed with what this playing card-sized box gives me. When I spoke with David Beckenmeyer a few weeks ago he hinted that some great updates were in the pipe designed to really expand the PhoneGnome community. Ta-da…introducing PhoneGnome 2.0.

Today PhoneGnome 2.0 is available and I encourage you to read all about it on the PhoneGnome Blog page. Here, David works through what he and his team found were the biggest objections to PhoneGnome and how the company overcomes them.

Here’s a summary of what PhoneGnome 2.0 offers:

-Web activated calling: PhoneGnome uses your web browser to set up calls between two phones so there’s no software, microphones, headsets or other devices required. To use web activated calling, you must be a registered PhoneGnome user. Reigistration on the PG site is free and calls to other registered users are also free.

-Free PhoneGnome software: Download free software to use your PC or laptop as a fully-functioning telephone. Headset/speakers and microphone required.

-Original PhoneGnome box now a new lower price: a great deal at $59.00.

 

I’m not offering up answers here, I’m asking! 

I’ve been rereading the May 9th press release from Jajah announcing their investment funding from Intel. No doubt this is a huge affirmation for the Mountainview CA/Luxembourg company. About a year ago, I remember messing around with their beta and the free five-minute call anywhere deal. But now I need help drilling through the finance-speak to get to what Intel really means for Jajah current and future customers.

Jajah will now have “access to [Intel’s] extensive community of product dealers, OEM customers and developers, to further their reach into global development communities. As an Intel Capital portfolio company, Jajah will also be able to participate in Intel Capital’s IP Access Program, which will give Jajah access to Intel’s extensive VoIP patent portfolio.” And Trevor Healy, Jajah CEO says “JAJAH can be embedded into Intel solutions”.

So, what will embedded Jajah do for me as a consumer? In the future, will I be buying a laptop powered by Intel with Jajah on board?

Let me know your thoughts please!

(BTW, does anyone else have trouble typing “Jajah”, or is it just me? I get jajaj, Jahjaj…)

Laptop magazine has a review of Fring, Talkster, Nimbuzz and Barablu. These four apps turn your good old cell phone into an internet phone and more. Of the four, Nimbuzz is new to me and Barablu I haven’t tried yet. Fring and Talkster I’ve used and quite like, although I think having a great handset makes all the difference. I wouldn’t bother with any of these if I didn’t have the Nokia N80i to test with.

The review does a good job of capturing the typical setup process for all applications, and gives both the pros and cons of usability, call quality and the like. Author Joanna Stern points out that “regardless of which mobile VoIP service you use, you’re going to need an unlimited data plan, which costs anywhere from $5.99 per month (T-Mobile) to $24.99 (Cingular)”.

Edited May 17, 2007:

James Wanless of Talkster clarified for me that their service in fact does not require a data plan:

Thanks James