EQO brings VOIP to BlackBerry

EQO Communications, a developer of platforms for mobilising VOIP, instant messaging and online social networks, has announced immediate support for RIM BlackBerry and Windows Mobile powered devices.

The addition of the BlackBerry Pearl and other powerful smartphones brings the number of EQO-supported handsets to more than 400 devices, according to a company statement on PRNewswire.

It adds BlackBerry users and Windows Mobile devices now are able to access EQO Mobile, an Internet communications platform that enables mobile VOIP calling and instant messenger services including AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, GoogleTalk, Jabber, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger and Skype.

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Major British bank Alliance & Leicester (A&L) will replace its telecommunications infrastructure with a single voice and data network as part of a major transformation project, according to VNUNet.

"The bank has signed a five-year deal with British Telecom to replace its disparate voice and data systems with a single converged network in a phased implementation throughout 2007," explains the article.

Darren McKenzie, the bank`s CTO, says the new network infrastructure will deliver significant benefits: "A converged voice and data infrastructure will allow us to be more responsive to organisational needs, significantly cut costs and enable new services across our whole enterprise".

Cisco Systems is broadening its unified communications portfolio with plans to acquire mobile software vendor Orative in a $31 million deal, writes CRN.Com.

Orative, a four-year-old California-based start-up, makes software that will enable customers to tie their cellular phones into their Cisco VOIP and unified communications deployments, said Alex Hadden-Boyd, director of mobile unified communications at Cisco.

Cisco customers will be able to use their cellphones to integrate with business communications applications, providing improved productivity, Hadden-Boyd added.

For example, a caller could access presence information for employees in the corporate directory, enabling them to see at a glance whether users are available to take calls or messages. They will also be able to see and access messages from Cisco`s Unity voicemail and unified messaging platform and interact with Cisco`s Unified MeetingPlace voice and Web conferencing line.