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Orange/Vodafone disable VoIP in Nokia N95by Tony Dennis Reports have been reaching Mobile Insight that that two of the UK's mobile network operators – Orange & Vodafone – have disabled the Internet telephony option inside the latest N95 cameraphone. A spokesman for Orange confirmed to Mobile Insight that his company had indeed requested that Nokia shouldn't preload the Internet telephony capability. He claimed that the move wasn't deliberately aimed at stopping Internet telephony, rather that there hadn't been sufficient time to test the application thoroughly. "It is not Orange's policy to remove VoIP functionality from devices. This a handset specific issue and in this particular instance Orange was asked by Nokia whether they wanted the VoIP functionality switched on or off, and Orange selected off." "We're always working to ensure the customer has the right experience," he maintained. He couldn't confirm whether the facility has been turned off with the Nokia E65 but it is available with the E60. James Tagg, a spokesperson for VoIP client software supplier, Truphone, told Mobile Insight, "Clearly this is deeply irritating for people who've often paid a large sum of money for a highly-specified phone that they've carefully chosen. Particularly if mobile internet telephony was one of the buying criteria." A Vodafone spokesperson said that the company, "Currently does not offer a VoIP proposition that would allow its customers to have universal access to telephony services. Vodafone believes that VoIP over mobile is not yet a mature service proposition, doesn't have guaranteed quality of service, and does not provide the customer experience demanded of any service we launch. This service would require in-depth testing, a solid end-to-end customer experience, billing integration and customer service support which is currently not available. There is a misleading perception that VoIP services are 'free'. This is, however, not the case when it comes to using VoIP over mobile where customers will need to use data connectivity to establish a service and may incur further charges. Vodafone feels responsible that customers should not incur unnecessary charges when competitive mobile rates are a cost-effective choice for customers. Lastly it's important to note that customers can download VoIP applications if they choose to do so or can use VoIP services via a laptop and data card." The crucial point is whether or not customers have not been told at point of sale about the removal of internet telephony capability. Various Internet forums are ablaze with postings on this issue. For those who want VoIP on their N95, the solution is to flash a completely different version of the handset's operating system. Of course, if you tried such a trick and failed, then you'd have a completely useless but expensive handset on your hands.See also ... Removal of VoIP functionality |
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