Jajah

2008 Year in Review: Me-too VoIP mob gets right-sized and diversified

Doug Mohney — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:17:42 -0500

It's almost fair to use the term "a gazillion" when estimating the number of VoIP startups that launched around 2004-2005 with almost the exact same characteristics/features, including:

A free download-able client that included IM, VoIP, presence, and (most of the time) video. Then later a web-based client.
Free client-to-client calls
Free phone number or numbers
Free features like visual voice mail, multi-line ring and call forwarding.
Really cheap long distance and international minutes

Net-net: A large number of companies trying to make a business on selling voice minutes for the cheapest rate, where the best rates literally vary by pennies and fractions of pennies, and everyone knows what their competitors are charging in near-real-time.

Leveraging VoIP to beat mobile rates soon came along, and the latest wave of the me-too mob has added "social networking" to the mix of buzzwords. But, at the core, it's still the same feature set and the same cheaper minutes play.

Smarter companies have diversified out of the me-too core in different ways. Ifbyphone has built a set of unique business toolkit of applications so you can't even call them a "me too." Jajah is now in the business of becoming a back-office/back-end provider for other VoIP services, including Gizmo, MOBIVOX and Yahoo. Truphone bought themselves a SIM roaming operator and hasn't been afraid to fight established cellular operators in court to get what they own.

Jangl was the most notable under-performing company to run out of venture money and die, as it eventually proved to be unable to generate enough cash flow to sustain operations. It also was helped along by Jajah poaching its technical talent.

We expect more of the me-too VoIP herd to thin out in 2009. There's just not room for a gazillion companies, no matter how big the market is.

FierceVoIP's Fierce 15 - 2008
EQO - Another mobile VoIP player bites the dust? - FierceVoIP
Jangl and TalkPlus On the Block - FierceVoIP
Fring cuts 20%, claims biz surging, blogger bashes
The Fallen - Crashed and struggling VoIP companies

VirtualPBX launches open-system VoIP peering

Pete Wylie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:46:00 -0500

VirtualPBX announced today that it is introducing native support for open-system VoIP peering, which will enable small businesses to select their optimal set-up for communications. Clients will be able to customize their telephony offering with the mix of VoIP services, traditional PSTN, softphones and handsets that best suits their individual needs.

VirtualPBX COO Greg Brashier said the company offered a mix of high-end products, useful features, extended capabilities and advanced technology that no one in the hosted PBX market could match.

"All along we've been agnostic as to platform," Brashier said. "Some of our customers want to reduce or eliminate their PSTN use, because of the cost savings of using a VoIP service. But others are more concerned about call quality over traditional copper, so we can facilitate either, or a mix of both for our customers."

Brashier stressed that the blended nature of VirtualPBX's offering was the greatest value driver for the end-user. He also noted that the lack of capital expenditures in a hosted PBX offering makes them even more attractive in the present climate, as businesses look to avoid unnecessary capital expense.

For more:
- see the VirtualPBX release here

Jajah, Top VoIP Company 2008: FierceVoIP, Fierce 15

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:22:05 -0500

Jajah

Where it's based: Mountain View, CA
When it was founded: 2006
Website: www.jajah.com

Why it's Fierce: Since its' last appearance on the VoIP Fierce 15, Jajah has moved out of the crowded me-to "I've got a free VoIP client with IM/I'm going to make money throw low-cost calls" quagmire with some Fierce business strategy. The company reinvented itself by becoming a backend/back-off VoIP provider for other services, including Gizmo5,MailVision, MOBIVOX, and Yahoo. It put a stake through the heart of Jangl by acquiring Jangl's senior management (OK, Jajah and Jangl had been working together for a while, so it might not be too surprising, but still--). It added a hosted SMB IP PBX offering, another cut above the me-too crowd.

Don't be impressed by Intel's venture investment; Intel throws money at anything that might remotely use its silicon. Be impressed by a ground-floor working relationship to leverage Intel's Remote Wake technology for making voice calls without having your PC turned on all the time. Getting your foot in the door to impact the next generations of PCs is Fierce.

EQO – Latest of the Voice/Phone 2.0 facing imminent disaster

Doug Mohney — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:10:46 -0400

Canadian-based EQO communications has cut back its staff from 35 to 12 employees. Is it the latest unfortunate canary in the coal mine?

EQO was/is a VoIP/social networking play offering a free application that provides free IM, cheap calling and cheap texting to your mobile phone. The problem is EQO was like about a dozen other companies on the market with the same business plan triangle of free client/cheap calls/on mobile phones, including Jangl, Jajah and TalkPlus.

EQO may have lasted longer than Jangl and TalkPlus to this point, because it managed to raise $13 million in venture capital to Jangl's $9 million and TalkPlus's $5.5 million. Jajah, on the other hand, figured out it is better to play with the big boys by providing outsourced VoIP services to the likes of Yahoo and others.

For many start-ups - VoIP and others - tightening credit markets translate to swim (make money) or die. Regrettably, many VoIP start-ups lost sight of the prime lesson out of the dot.com/dot.bomb era: Cash flow positive is not a luxury. EQO won't be the last company yielding to the ax over the next quarter.

For more:
- Techvibes reports on EQO staff cuts
- GigaOm speculates on what might happen to EQO and other VoIP startups

SPOTLIGHT: iPod Touch finally VoIP-able

Pete Wylie — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:04:45 -0400

Clever hardware buffs have found a pathway to enable VoIP calls on the newly released iPod Touch and Classic. Apple enabled the headphone jack to accept external microphones, with the intention of letting clients record voice memos on the devices. But with the right application, users could manipulate the external microphone capability to enable VoIP calls over WiFi through clients like Jajah and Skype.

Apple has yet to clarlify on its stance on VoIP calls over WiFi; the company expressly forbids VoIP calls using either the EDGE of 3G networks.

For more:
- see the blog post on macrumors.com

Nokia drops VoIP on new N-Series

Pete Wylie — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:57:01 -0400

Without a formal announcement, Nokia has ceased to offer VoIP capabilities on some of its new handset models, such as the N78. The N-series phones previously had come equipped with a VoIP client that enabled users to access services such as JaJah, Truphone and Fring. None of these services now function on new N-Series phones, according to gigaom.com. The move away from pre-loaded VoIP clients is a culture change for the company, which has been quite open-source and VoIP friendly of late.

The older N-series phones 80, 81, 82 and 95 all continue to offer VoIP capabilities, according to Nokia's website.

Analysts have speculated that the move away from VoIP on new N-Series phones could be a result of carrier influence, with mobile long distance calling revenues getting shredded by VoIP bypass schemes.

For more:
- gigaom.com dishes on Nokia VoIP bailout

SPOTLIGHT: Arnold Handicaps VoIP Service Platforms

Doug Mohney — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:41:18 -0400

Over at TMCnet, Jon Arnold discusses Ribbit, Jajah and Ifbyphone and how they fit into the broader VoIP service platform arena. His discussion of Jajah is timely given the company's latest-and-greatest deal with Intel using Remote Wake technology, but pondering Ifbyphone's future is also relevant, given that Jajah seems to be wrapping up the big play deals.

For more:
- Arnold's Ribbit-Jajah-Ifbyphone blog piece

Related Articles
Intel and JaJah provide remote access VoIP calls
BT Spears Ribbit

Intel and JaJah provide remote access VoIP calls

Pete Wylie — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:58:53 -0400

Intel has partnered with Jajah to enable VoIP calls on PCs in sleep mode using Intel's Remote Wake technology.

Remote Wake is a new feature incorporated into Intel's latest motherboard and expected to appear in newly shipping desktop computers over the next few weeks. The technology allows applications and users to remotely "wake up" a computer in an energy-conserving sleep state, so a PC could be powered down and wake up to accept an inbound VoIP call. Any USB-enabled/connected handset could receive VoIP calls while a PC is in sleep mode.

Jajah, funded by Intel Capital, is supplying an initial VoIP software stack; it will be incorporated into certain PCs so users don't have to download software to make VoIP calls. However, Intel points out that Remote Wake is open and there's a SDK that can be tapped into by other VoIP developers.

A variety of applications are being written to tap into Remote Wake. Other announced applications tapping into it include online content services for downloading music, voice, and video during off-peak hours. Remote backup and security updates are also potential uses.

For more:
- News.com blogs on Sleep Mode VoIP

Jajah Launches SMB Hosted IP PBX

Doug Mohney — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:48:47 -0400

Not content in simply running the running the back-end VoIP infrastructure for Yahoo and a number of other companies, Jajah has launched a hosted IP PBX service for SMBs.

Jajah's SMB Solution Suite includes a fully functional PBX, with the set of services allowing SMBs to add IP to their existing phone systems and make VoIP calls to over 200 countries. The company already claims it has customers from "local Greek restaurants ... to Logitech."

Features of Jajah's SMB suite include the ability to make or receive calls via mobile, land and softphones with specific plug-ins for Blackberry and Windows Mobile. Productivity tools include the ability to embed telephony within office apps, including support for Microsoft office and Google Enterprise Apps and including a centralized address book, data base, and directory look up services. There's also support for presence, visual voice mail, SMS, conference calls, schedule calls, call logging and address book synchronization.

Available through www.jajahsmb.com, the platform will support companies with up to 5,000 staff--a little bit bigger than the typical variable definition of an SMB (anywhere from 50 to 500 users, depending upon vendor). Jajah will announce a global indirect channel partner in the coming quarter.

For more:
- Jajah announces SMB hosted IP PBX solution

Related articles:
Jajah Adds Gizmo to Customer List
Budgets drive N. American SMEs to hosted IP telephony

iPhone VoIP Options

Doug Mohney — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:45:12 -0400

How many ways can iPhone owners do VoIP on their most-beloved device? VoIP News counts them along with detailing how each package handles long distance calling.

Each iPhone VoIP solution has its pros and cons. Truphone's application will connect with other Truphone clients though WiFi but there's no connection to the cellular world. Packet8 MobileTalk uses a web portal that mimics the iPhone dialer and the app causes the iPhone to dial a local Packet8 access number to access the company's VoIP network.

Jajah's iPhone VoIP app is awaiting the official blessing of Apple before users can download it through Apple's App Store. The app should allow an iPhone to make calls that travel over 3G, EDGE or WiFi data networks to reach Jajah's VoIP network. A call can go over a data network if the link quality is good or if the users says it should use the network regardless of link quality, otherwise Jajah will do a callback using an external network to link the iPhone and an overseas number.

In beta, iCall also uses WiFi links to make a VoIP call, but the app supposedly also can switch from cellular to WiFi without interrupting a conversation in a seamless fashion.

For more:
- VoIP News talks iPhone VoIP flavors

Related articles:
VoIP developers fire up for iPhone
A fring fling on iPhone

Jajah Opens Up Eastern European Service

Doug Mohney — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:00:41 -0400

Not content to snap up Gizmo5, Jajah has launched direct service in four Eastern European countries, adding the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

The Jajah Direct service enables callers to make low cost international calls from any phone, providing a local number to dial in order to avoid long distance charges. The first time, a call is made to a centralized number into a gateway. After the call is completed, Jajah sends back a text message with a unique local phone number for the person that has been called; alternatively, local phone numbers can be generated through Jajah's website. Phone calls are piped through the Internet and don't require computers or soft clients.

Jajah's expansion marks the latest move for the company to expand both services and clients. In June Gnome5 and MailVision signed up to outsource their VoIP calling and billing infrastructure to Jajah, joining Yahoo.

For more:
- VoIP Monitor's report of Jajah's Eastern European Launch

Related articles:
Jajah Adds Gizmo to Customer List
AOL opens up, Yahoo outsources PSTN interfaces

Jajah Adds Gizmo to Customer List

Doug Mohney — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 23:01:29 -0400

Gizmo5 has signed up with Jajah, making it the third VoIP player to turn over their VoIP-PSTN interconnect infrastructure to the company.

Jajah will handle all call termination for Gizmo5, as well as additional services including customer care and billing. Gizmo5, formerly known as the Gizmo Project, was founded by tech maverick Michael Robertson and uses open standards such as SIP and Jabber along with a dash of P2P to connect VoIP calls. Calls between clients are free, but in and outbound calls are billable. According to Gizmo, they have "millions of users" doing calling and IM; outsourcing to Jajah should save them money and give them a better deal on calling rates.

Gizmo5 joins Yahoo and MailVision in farming out their call handing to Jajah, boosting Jajah's standing as the place to go for managed VoIP services when it comes to soft phones. Yahoo turned over its VoIP operations to Jajah at the end of April while MailVision signed up last week.

For more
- Jajah announces GizmoPhone win

Related articles:
AOL opens up, Yahoo outsources PSTN interfaces
Jangl and TalkPlus On the Block

Live Universe Snaps Up Jangl Leftovers

Doug Mohney — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:19:42 -0400

Live Universe has agreed to acquire Jangl's assets and remaining staff. Last week, Jangl's founders and five engineers split to Jajah after the company failed to find a buyer and its board was unwilling to raise more capital.

Live Universe is an online entertainment network lead by the founder of MySpace and the company operates websites across "core verticals" of video, social networking, and music. With a network reach of 56 million unique visitors in June 2007 (Comscore) and sites high in the 16-36 demographic and Jangl's emphasis on adding voice to social networking, it would appear that the two companies are a good fit. There's also some interest in what might happen to Jangl's existing deals with social networking sites Facebook, Bebo, Match.com, Frendster, and others now that Live is taking over.

Jangle's tale of woe started last fall when its board said it wasn't going to raise more venture money and management needed to find a buyer. A deal to be acquired by WhitePages.com fell through and founder Michael Cerda announced his departure through a personal blog posting on May 7.

For more:
- TechCrunch's blog on Live Universe Buying Jangl leftovers

Related articles:
Jangl and TalkPlus On the Block
Michael Cerda's blog on Jangl and Jajah

Jangl and TalkPlus On the Block

Doug Mohney — Sun, 11 May 2008 19:33:54 -0400

VoIP companies Jangl and TalkPlus are for sale, reports Om Malik. The VC community isn't interested in further funding the ventures, so it's time to close shop.

Jangl first offered anonymized online calling and then developed click-to-call VoIP widgets for social networking sites. The company raised around $9 million in venture funding, but the only way Jangl made money was through online dating sites; people will apparently pay to make anonymous phone calls to avoid psychos and stalkers. Jangl's senior management got snapped up by Jajah last week, so game over.

TalkPlus had raised $5.5 million in 2006. The company had provided a mixture of mobile UC functionality and low-cost long-distance calling, so you could call your mistress in Taipei using one virtual identity, the wife with another one, and use a third number for work purposes; a voice drop feature enabled the ability to make an MP3 voice through a phone number and then email it. There was also the ability to generate throwaway numbers a la AOL Phoneline.

Both companies have developed interesting technology, but the question becomes who might acquire it and how much someone might be willing to pay for it.

For more:
- GigaOm reports on Jangl and TalkPlus for sale.
- Michael Cerda's blog on Jangl and Jajah

Related articles:
Jangl rolls out ad-based VoIP widget
AOL Opens Up, Yahoo Outsources PSTN interfaces

AOL opens up, Yahoo outsources PSTN interfaces

Thu, 01 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

AOL has introduced Open Voice APIs to allow third-party developers and VoIP device manufactures to integrate the AIM Call Out service into softphones, SIP-enabled hardware and cell phones with WiFi connectivity. Meanwhile, Yahoo was outsourcing its PSTN interworkings to Jajah.

AIM Call Out is a pay-as-you go outbound voice calling service built into AIM that lets users make calls to landlines and cell phones, with call credits purchased for as little as $5. The service complements the freebie PC-to-PC AIM Talk voice service. AOL hopes to facilitate real-time communications and rack up a few dollars in voice minutes.

Yahoo Messenger voice calls that touch the PSTN--either inbound or outbound--will now be handled by Jajah. Yahoo is closing down its in-house infrastructure and Jajah will now provide the services for Yahoo's for-pay "Phone In" and "Phone Out" features starting in the third quarter of 2008. Jajah will be responsible for the network infrastructure, providing customer support, and processing the payments.

Jajah brags it has 10 million users and will gain access to a potential audience of 97 million Yahoo Messenger users. The company also announced it is opening up its voice platform and offering strategic managed service solutions.

For more:
- AOL talks about AOL Open Voice APIs
- CNET blog on Jajah taking over Yahoo's PSTN infrastructure

AOL Opens Up, Yahoo Outsources PSTN interfaces

Doug Mohney — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:23:40 -0400

AOL has introduced Open Voice APIs to allow third-party developers and VoIP device manufactures to integrate the AIM Call Out service into softphones, SIP-enabled hardware and cell phones with Wi-Fi connectivity. Meanwhile, Yahoo was outsourcing its PSTN interworkings to Jajah.

AIM Call Out is a pay-as-you go outbound voice calling service built into AIM that lets users make calls to landline and cell phones, with call credits purchased for as little as $5. The service complements the freebie PC-to-PC AIM Talk voice service. AOL hopes to facilitate real-time communications and rack up a few dollars in voice minutes.

Yahoo Messenger voice calls that touch the PSTN - - either inbound or outbound – will now be handled by Jajah. Yahoo is closing down its in-house infrastructure and Jajah will now provide the services for Yahoo’s for-pay “Phone In” and “Phone Out” features starting in the third quarter of 2008. Jajah will be responsible for the network infrastructure, providing customer support, and processing the payments.

For more:
- AOL talks about AOL Open Voice APIs
- CNET blog on Jajah taking over Yahoo’s PSTN infrastructure

iPhone, iVoIP, iUC

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

The iPhone's next killer applications will be VoIP and videoconferencing, according to an opinion piece on TG Daily. Christian Zibreg believes Apple's unified communications solution could merge mobile communication with VoIP, PCs, Macs, iPhones, and Apple TVs. The prediction is keyed on the release of iPhone 2.0 software scheduled to occur by the end of June.

While Apple will put a block on VoIP calls over the cellular network, it won't do so with calls made over WiFi networks, adding still more value for Starbucks and AT&T's network deal. Is Apple developing its own VoIP application? Does anyone need Apple's app with third-party solutions being developed by Jajah and others? Speculation ranges far and wide.

Apple TV is brought into the picture through a patent filing that revealed the development of an iChat software widget on Apple TV, a development that could, in theory, enable iPhones to place voice or video calls to Apple TV users watching TV. The iChat widget ported to the iPhone is painted as the glue brining everyone together through IM, voice, and video.

For more:
- Read the full TG Daily iPhone piece.
- Read the Starbucks/AT&T WiFi announcement.

Related articles:
VoIP developers fire up for iPhone
Talkety turns iPhone into VoIP device
Truphone to demonstrate first VoIP-over-WiFi call on Apple's iPhone

ALSO NOTED: Jajah developing VoIP for iPhone; Enterprises cutting the landline cord; and much more...

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:59:52 -0400

> Jajah developing iPhone VoIP for summer debut. Release

> Enterprises cutting the cord to landlines. Article

> EQO slashes mobile roaming costs. Release

VoIP Inc. launches pay-per-call ad network

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

VoIP Inc. has launched its pay-per-call advanced VoIP ad network product called RazrClick. The company claimed eBay and Google had signed up to use the technology which enables users to call by simply clicking on a web link. VoIP Inc. markets its products through its subsidiary VoiceOne communications, a provider of an array of VoIP services.

VoIP Inc. recently retained lawyers to enforce its patents over its pay-per-call technology. Google experimented with its own pay-per-call advertising two years ago, but did not pursue it. VoIP Inc. claims advertisers pay an average of $8 to $10 per call and that Kelsey Research has estimated the U.S. pay-per-call advertising market will rise to $4 billion by end of 2009. That is the same size as the entire U.S. paid-search market that Google dominates--and that Microsoft so desperately wants to be a major player in.

The technology is still largely unproven from an advertiser ROI perspective and at least one leading VoIP blogger, Garrett Smith, remains a skeptic. I suspect pay-per-call will have its real utility in the mobile space when users are using their smartphone's data services. And if--as Gartner predicts--smartphones do start to take pre-eminence over laptops, that could provide a very useful platform for the distribution of pay-per-call advertising networks.

It was little noticed Google's admitted some of its Q4 revenue softness had been caused by lower click-through rates for its ubiquitous text ads. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen has argued strongly for 10 years that eye-tracking technology shows web users almost never look at anything that looks like an ad. The only exception: those fake dialog boxes with "OK" and "Cancel" buttons.

For more:
- Pay-per-click ad RazrClick network launched Release
- Google puts a hold on pay-per-call ads Article
- Pay-per-call advertising: Is anyone calling? Blog

Related articles:
Jangl rolls out ad-based VoIP widget Report
VoIP Inc. threatens patent action Report

Jangl rolls out ad-based VoIP widget

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

One VoIP provider seeking to leverage off the social networking boom is Jangl which has rolled out an advertising supported voice application on the large free Canadian based dating site, Plentyoffish. The application enables users to communicate by text, voice or voice mails without users having to share their phone numbers.

The application is a joint development with Jajah which last year signed an agreement to jointly market and develop web based applications. Jajah has telephony infrastructure with long distance and click-to-call features while Jangl has been developing various voice based social applications. Jajah has been providing click to call services for dating site eHarmony and has teamed up with ad network Oridian to promote its voice based ad services.

The Plentyoffish application is a test for the ad based model with text based ads being placed along side the widget. If successful it could provide a significant revenue component that has been missing from many VoIP business plans and will be keenly watched by industry observers. Adcalls has also been promoting a free calling card service which is supported by voice based advertising.

For more:
- Jangl partners with Plentyoffish Article

Related articles:
Jajah and Jangl join forces in voice 2.0 battle Report
Jajah: Top 10 VoIP leaders Report
Jangl's one-caller-only phone number Report