July 17 - 11:05am EDT   Xnet Communications has updated iSoftPhone 2.3, its Mac-based phone emulator that provides desktop telephony services. The new version adds SMS and IM chat, with Growl support, to give the software smartphone abilities. The new SMS features allow users to chat with mobile phone users, sending and receiving SMS communications directly to and from the iSoftPhone interface. The IM (instant messaging) support allows IM conversations with users of iSoftPhone and desktop IM software. In addition, Growl support adds the ability to answer callers from Growl notifications. Version 2.3 is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and later, and is available now for $35. [full story]

April 29 - 4:50pm EDT   Parliant has published another update for PhoneValet, its virtual call management software. The application automatically screens, identifies, records and transfers calls, with further options such as automatic dialing and VoIP integration. Using the Anywhere add-on owners can check voicemail via the web, including through a special client for the iPhone and iPod touch. [full story]

April 15 - 9:10pm EDT   Xnet Communications today unveiled iSoftPhone 2.2 for Mac, a free update to its telephony application that allows users to place phone calls over the internet, introducing a few new features and bug fixes. The new version uses a new Dock icon that indicates when a call was missed, and also prompts users before quitting. A major crash was resolved for Mac OS X 10.4 users, which occurred when calling from the iSP address book. iSoftPhone 2.2 sells for $35 for new users. [full story]

April 4 - 12:40am EDT   Jajah today announced it is in the process of expanding its iPhone call-back service into a full-blown global Voice over IP application, in addition to its current web-only client. According to Pocket-lint.co.uk, the iPhone application will be available in the summer, following shortly after the impending iPhone 2.0 firmware version and the app store. The VoIP application will allow both incoming and outgoing calls over WiFi, and will be either free or a low-cost service, depending on the call destination or source. [full story]

March 21 - 7:50pm EDT   Hamburg-based Xnet Communications recently unveiled iSoftphone 2.1, an update to its internet telephony software, which features vastly revamped code and several new features. Xnet has reprogrammed several of the key features, giving the application enhanced performance and functionality, and also laying the groundwork for future implementations. The update is free for all users with Upgrade Protection, while new users can pay $50 for a license. [full story]

February 27 - 4:40pm EST   Nuvio today announced that is has filed a trademark infringement suit against Garmin International in the U.S. District Court of Kansas. Nuvio claims that Garmin's recently announced Nuvifone infringes upon a prior Nuvio tradmark that the company uses on phones as well as its own telephony services. Nuvio attempted to reach a "mutually satisfactory resolution" with Garmin, but no resolution was reached. That led to Nuvio filing a legal complaint against Garmin to protect its rights. [full story]

February 1 - 10:45am EST   Parliant has released the v1.1 update to PhoneValet Home Edition, its Mac telephony program. The program acts like a complex switchbox, screening telemarketers, announcing callers out loud, and playing unique ringtones. The program can also dial outgoing calls, and distribute incoming voicemail messages to individual people through e-mail. The last feature has been improved in v1.1, and now uses better compression for cleaner audio and smaller file sizes when listening on an iPhone or iPod touch. [full story]