VoIP SDK comes to iPhone, Wi-Fi only- no 3G support

Global IP Solutions, which is a major player in the world of IP communication services, has launched an SDK aimed at providing developers the tools to create innovative VoIP applications for the iPhone. As you may have guessed, the new-found VoIP services can only be used over a Wi-Fi connection and not via AT&T’s 3G network as some may have hoped.
According to CNet, developers can utilize Global IP’s platform, dubbed VoiceEngine Mobile, to create real-time VoIP applications. This could include games, social-networking applications, and of course, apps for making calls to regular phone lines using the internet. Global IP claims that its voice engine platforms have been downloaded and used more so than any other similar platform worldwide, and gives credit to the fact that its voice engines enable consumers and businesses to enjoy affordable, high-quality, IP-based communications, under even the most adverse network conditions.
Global IP was a suitable choice in the race to bring VoIP to the iPhone simply because they were the ones that developed the popular "iLBC codec standard," which is currently already implemented in the iPhone itself. iLBC, or internet Low Bit Rate Codec, in it’s simplest form is a royalty-free, narrowband speech codec that is the heart and soul of VoIP applications, streaming audio, archiving, and messaging. By building on what it already knew, Global IP was easily able to create an SDK for iPhone developers to be as creative as possible.
The only thing missing, especially on a device like the iPhone, is the lack of support to use any VoIP app via your 3G connection. I understand why AT&T would want to prohibit this, with long distance service a part of their business, but if AT&T could leverage the technology properly, it might even become beneficial to them. Maybe it will all change in the future, but for now, 3G connections are so spotty in some places anyway, it might remain difficult to get a reliable enough connection to use VoIP apps. Then again, coverage in large metro areas is more than adequate to handle the load. I guess we’ll have to see what the future holds.

SPIRIT DSP Enables Apple's New iPhone 3G with the Wideband VoIP

MOSCOW, Aug 11, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SPIRIT DSP, the world's leading provider of voice and video software engines, announced today that its innovative award-winning TeamSpirit(R) 3.0 Voice Engine Mobile enables high quality wideband VoIP applications on Apple's iPhone 3G.
VoIP has already significantly reduced the costs associated with traditional telephony. Now the voice quality becomes a major differentiator both for end-users and as a consequence for service providers. This offers VoIP applications developers a strong incentive to go wideband and iPhone 3G enhanced data transfer capabilities lay a solid foundation for the wideband VoIP quality.
TeamSpirit Voice Engine Mobile gives iPhone 3G applications developers an exciting possibility to create wideband VoIP applications and offers iPhone users the highest multimedia and social networking experience.
SPIRIT is the only vendor who has voice and video engines that span all communication devices and all market segments (PC, mobile, IPTV/set-top) and has a great experience in delivering high quality, real-time voice and video on mobile devices over 3G and IP networks.
SPIRIT's proprietary IP-optimized patent-free wideband voice codec IP-MR(TM) (IP Multi-Rate) has been developed specifically to provide superior voice quality in packet networks and has already brought VoIP functionality for a wide range of platforms: PC, mobile, desktop, etc. SPIRIT Voice Engine Mobile also supports a dozen of standard narrow- and wideband codecs (GSM AMR NB and WB, G.729 etc) for interoperability. World leading OEMs, including HTC, Quanta Computers, Arima, Compal Communications, etc. have already implemented SPIRIT voice and video processing solutions. SPIRIT mobile OEM customers jointly exceed 60% of today's worldwide smartphone shipments.
"We are happy that our innovative, complete and easy-to-integrate Voice Engine Mobile enables wideband VoIP on Apple's iPhone 3G," said Slava Borilin, VP Products at SPIRIT. "Wideband voice in VoIP applications is the ultimate benefit for end-users simply because voice quality is noticeably better as wideband doubles the bandwidth. While other software vendors offer narrowband VoIP solutions only, SPIRIT supplies iPhone 3G applications developers with the wideband Voice Engine already deployed on a number of mobile platforms and delivering the highest voice quality over IP and 3G networks."
TeamSpirit 3.0 Voice&Video Engine Mobile includes a set of components to provide customers with rich voice and video experience, backed up by unprecedented quality and reliability. TeamSpirit is a complete solution which includes speech enhancement algorithms for superior voice quality, network optimizing functionality to handle varying delay (jitter) and packet loss, a library of highly optimized, low-MIPS consuming speech and video codecs and voice&video synchronization. TeamSpirit includes Automatic AEC, which can be automatically configured for quick and painless deployment and flawless voice quality. TeamSpirit CPU load control module constantly monitors the processor load level and dynamically adjusts the video codec's resource consumption to prevent CPU overload and keep the video quality at the highest.

VoIP comes to iPhone, gingerly

Global IP Solutions, a company well recognized for its media-processing expertise in IP communications, announced on Monday its SDK, which enables Voice over IP applications to be made for Apple's iPhone.
This means that developers can now use GIPS' VoiceEngine Mobile, to create real-time VoIP applications, such as games, social-networking applications, and, of course, applications for making calls to regular phone lines over the Internet. Soon enough, you will be able to use instant messenger to voice chat with friends on the iPhone, just like you've been doing on your computer for ages now.
Though this is exciting news indeed, GIPS VoiceEngine Mobile will only work with iPhone's Wi-Fi connection and will not take advantage of the new iPhone's 3G connection. This is because Apple has always blocked the use of VoIP on the carriers' data connection; and AT&T, understandably, wouldn't be too happy about supporting something that potentially costs them long distance phone business. We can only hope this will change in the future. For now, in my experience, AT&T's 3G coverage is still too patchy and unreliable to be a platform for VoIP calls, anyway.
Being the inventors of the popular iLBC codec standard (which got approved by IETF in late 2004 and is currently implemented in the iPhone), GIPS' decision today seems a natural move, considering the popularity of the iPhone. According to Apple, more than one million iPhone 3Gs were purchased over the launch weekend; and exactly one month later--today--you can still find people waiting in line outside some Apple stores for the device.
So far, GIPS claims that its voice engines have been downloaded and used more widely than any other voice engine worldwide. GIPS' voice engines enable consumers and businesses to enjoy affordable, high-quality, IP-based communications, even under adverse network conditions.