Gizmo Project Sets its Sights on Skype with Open SIP-based Network

The Gizmo Project, a free VoIP service developed by Michael Robertson and his team at SIPphone, released the first public beta of its consumer VoIP software. Robertson’s previous start-ups have included MP3.com, Linspire, SIPphone and most recently MP3tunes.com.

Unlike Skype, Gizmo is based on SIP and follows a standards-based approach to its network and directory. New users choose their username and then a SIP number is automatically assigned to the account. Gizmo can send/receive calls to over 100 other SIP networks, including some university networks and Asterisk-based networks. Regular phones could be attached to the service using an unlocked SIP analog-telephone-adapter.

Gizmo is offering its users unlimited free member-to-member calling worldwide, the ability to add U.S. or U.K. phone numbers to their account, and the ability to call the regular phone system for rates starting at 1.8 cents/min for U.S. phones, 10% less than Skype’s U.S. rate. Special Gizmo features include:

Free Voicemail
Call Recording, which could be used in podcasting
Call Mapping that shows the two points of the call on a world map
Call Hold with user selectable music
Call Blocking with user selectable message from polite, to firm, to “just rude”
Interactive Voice Applications, provided by Tellme (www.tellme.com), allow users to get real-time news, stock quotes, and weather…and games such as blackjack
Call Subject tells the person you are calling the purpose of your call before they answer, just like email
Realtime Call Quality Indicator works like the bars on your mobile phone, showing network issues that can affect call quality
Realtime IM presence indicator
Firewall traversal capability
No spyware and no adware

Gizmo, which is describing itself as a “Skype-killer”, said it because it does not operate on a pure P2P model, its members’ computer resources and bandwidth are never tapped to route calls, as they are with Skype. Gizmo is supporting a range of audio compression technologies including Global IP Sound, which is also used by Skype.

Gizmo Project is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. A Linux version is in alpha release now, and will be released for public beta in August.
http://www.gizmoproject.com

Peer-to-Peer
VoIP Services Need to Take a SIP

by
Jack Chang

Peer-to-Peer VoIP services have
proved to be very popular. Skype claims to have more than 10 million
users. However, Skype and other peer-to-peer providers use
proprietary technology to deliver their services. This results in
potential quality of service, security and reliability issues, as
there is no way to manage pure peer-to-peer routing. Additionally,
the ability to improve quality and provide new services through
collaboration is tough to come by in the pure peer-to-peer
environment. The limitations of peer-to-peer can be overcome through
the introduction of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Here
are some advantages and disadvantages to consider.