Sony is going to shut down its VoIP Go!Messenger service for the PSP March 31. Sony launched the free service in Europe last year. Go!Messenger was supposed to be a four-year partnership between Sony and wireless network operator BT. PSP users were able to talk directly via video chat, as well as send videos, voice recordings and text messages; video was enabled through a PSP Go!Cam add-on. Why pull the plug? "Although Go!Messenger brought innovative communications features to the PSP community, the service has not developed the base of users that we were hoping for," Sony is quoted as saying. Sony Europe says there no direct jobs to Go!Messenger linked to the service, so there aren't any downsizing measures (at Sony) taking place from the shutdown. It's not clear if Sony is thinking about developing other applications for the Go!Cam or it has more [+]

High-def seems to be the buzz word for VoIP and teleconferencing. First we had VoIP-HD. Now we have high-def conferencing. Better sound translates to a better experience, at a time when reducing company overhead and travel costs is paramount. Citrix Online is "launching" the HiDef audio conferencing services it acquired when it bought Vapps back in November. The flat-priced, monthly-billed service will support up to 500 participants, with larger companies able to get integrated management functions on a per-minute basis. HiDef's biggest hook is the ability to support wideband codecs for 16kHz sound; a typical standard PSTN phone call has an 8kHz range, so wideband brings in a richer experience. The offering provides a self-service option that includes free recording and integration with Microsoft Outlook and Skype, as well as Citrix's GoToMeeting service. Conferences can either be started by [+]

Is cable triple play taking customers from Vonage? This is a tough market and expenses make families find a 'comfort zone' above which they don't want to spend more. Consider what happens if you have no Internet service, but rely on Vonage for phone service. On the other hand, if you contract with your cable company for triple play - cable, internet, and telephone - you might sacrifice one without giving up the other. Vonage reported a mixed bag of results in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 earnings report. The company had its first year of generating positive cash flow from operations, seeing a revenue increase of 9 percent to $900 million for the year. However, the company reported a net decline in subscribers, losing a net of 14,700 customers for the quarter. The net decline in customers says [+]

JAJAH, a mobile VoIP company based in Mountain View, Calif., announced the launch of new white-label VoIP services for Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Symbian mobile operating systems Thursday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The solutions will enable VoIP calls over WiFi and cellular networks, and they are being pitched to carriers who can offer the services under their own brand. JAJAH has already rolled out its platform for the iPod Touch and the iPhone, and the addition of these mobile operating systems dramatically expands the solution's potential reach. JAJAH is touting the white-label solutions as end-to-end applications that carriers can brand and launch with very little development expense. "Every carrier faces pressure to develop new services to keep hold of their subscriber base," JAJAH CEO Trevor Healy said. "JAJAH gives carriers the ability to roll out these proven, simple to [+]

On Thursday, the FreeSWITCH programming team announced the release of version 1.0.3. Most of the 127 items in the new version are "bug fixes, tweaks and improvements," but there are some new things in the latest version as well. New features include a module for real-time debiting of cash/credits while calls are in progress, a least-cost-routing module that can operate as a true dialplan or a dialplan application from a command line, and implementation of the Opal open phone abstraction library. The Opal module supports H.323 and IAX2. [+]

The day before the Hub VoIP phone hits the shelves at more than 2,500 stores throughout the land, Verizon Wireless has announced pricing on both the gear and the supporting VoIP plan. The company says the phone will work with any broadband service. Will Verizon honor net neutrality in that case? A VoIP calling plan through Verizon Wireless will cost around $35 per month and includes unlimited calling in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories and Canada, plus unlimited messaging to and from Verizon Wireless phones with Unlimited Messaging. The Hub will cost $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two year agreement. Yes, you have to sign up for two years of VoIP service and pay $200 for the gear. Additional DECT cordless handsets are available for $79.99 each. [+]

Unlike many other VoIP service providers, 8x8 managed to add some cash to its bottom line last quarter. The company announced its operating results for its Q3 quarter ending on December 31, 2008. Revenues were down slightly compared to last quarter, but up on a year-by-year comparison and the company added nearly a thousand new customers. Revenues for Q3 FY 2009 were $16.2 million, compared to $15.8 million for the same period last year and $16.4 million for the previous quarter. Business services revenue now makes up 66 percent of total revenue for 8x8, as compared to 48 percent in Q3 2008 and 60 percent last quarter. [+]

Digium has rolled out a seriously hot upgrade to Switchvox in Miami for ITEXPO. The new version includes integrated faxing, video calling support, and XMPP open source IM/chat/presence, along with a bunch of other goodies including introductory API support, IMAP integration for voicemail, a new Windows desktop client, IP phone autoconfig for snom and Polycom phones, and BRI support. "This release, is jam-packed with big things," said Digium's Tristan Degenhardt. "We can attribute to the fact we have more developers and we're working on the same stuff...fax is finally going in, finally, at long last. We have wonderful wonderful fax integration, video calling support with H.263 and H.263, and we also have chat built in. I would say those were the three things we were lacking, and now they are in." [+]