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IPEVO Moves Beyond Skype Roots

New VoIP devices will work with Avaya and other softphones.

Robert Poe on March 18, 2008

There was a good reason IPEVO Inc. gained notice for its Solo, a Skype desk phone that looks and performs like a high-quality traditional desk phone. The Solo, which plugs into any broadband port to connect to the Internet, was one of VoIP News' Top 25 Innovations of 2007. Its development was natural because IPEVO used to be a part of PChome Online, Taiwan's second most-popular Web portal and, since 2004, Skype Ltd.'s representative in Taiwan. This relationship gave IPEVO a precise sense of what Skype users want. But now that it's an independent company, IPEVO is moving beyond Skype-only products. At Spring 2008 VON.x this week, it is introducing several new products similarly focused on precise customer needs.

One of the products is a USB handset that works with both Skype service and Avaya Inc.'s IP telephony systems. It is based on the Skype-only USB handset that IPEVO CEO Royce Hong said was instrumental in Skype's success in Taiwan. Success in this case means 6.6 million registered subscribers out of Taiwan's total population of 23 million, or more than one of every four residents. Hong said the handsets, widely available in outlets such as convenience stores, helped transform Skype from an abstract concept into a product with a concrete existence. Because they were unlike any other handset around, they gave Skype a unique identity. They employed echo-cancellation technology to improve voice quality and were the direct predecessor to the Solo.

After its spinoff late last year, IPEVO was free to respond to outside requests for similar products. A big impetus to do so came when a major accounting firm bought 1,000 of the USB Skype handsets. Ironically, it didn't use them for Skype, because it was an Avaya shop. Instead, it simply used them to replace the standard headsets it had been using with the Avaya one-X softphone. Its employees found using a handset rather than a headset more convenient and professional looking when they were on client visits, where image matters. But the keys didn't work with that application, so it was still necessary to make calls through the PC interface.

IPEVO responded by writing Avaya drivers for the device. The result is the new "multi-vendor" USB handset that works with both Skype and Avaya one-X. The backlit display, which is optional, can display caller IDs and contact lists. The device also has built-in recording capability.

IPEVO is also introducing a VoIP conference phone and a universal VoIP handset, neither of which is restricted to Skype. The X1-N6 VoIP Conference Station connects to a computer via either a 3.5 mm audio jack or a USB port. It uses 16 KHz voice sampling and provides echo cancellation and full-duplex sound.

The ST-4RT.1 Universal Handset has only a 3.5 mm audio interface, and it also employs echo cancellation for improved voice quality. It has no numeric keypad, so it works only with softphones. As with the Avaya-capable handset, it provides something to hold onto for those who find headsets either inconvenient or not up to their professional image when they make their most important calls.