July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

After launching voice calls for Canadian iPhone users earlier this month, Facebook today began rolling out the feature for those in the U.S.

To send and receive voice calls, you’ll need to install Facebook’s standalone Messenger app for the iPhone. Then select a person to chat with, choose the “i” button in the top right of the screen, and select “Free voice call.” Unfortunately, Android users only have the capability to send voice messages, which also previously launched in Canada.

For Facebook users, voice calls are an added layer of convenience. Now you can get in touch with friends even if you don’t know their phone numbers, or if you’re somewhere with spotty cellular reception (but a steady Internet connection).

While a strangely quiet upgrade for Facebook, the move is no less significant. It pits the company squarely against popular Internet calling apps like Rebtel, Viber, and Skype. In the end, the less reason users have to leave the company’s apps, the better for Facebook.

While it’s somewhat awkward to use now since it requires a separate app, you can expect the voice calling feature to make its way into Facebook’s primary mobile app eventually.  We’ve already seen Facebook bring over features first found on its Messenger app. And once Facebook is confident in the voice calling feature, expect it to be prominently displayed, instead of hidden in an obscure menu.

Via The Verge

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

One of the biggest annoyances for Verizon Wireless and Sprint iPhone owners was the inability to access cellular data while making a voice call, thanks to a limitation in the CDMA network standard. Unfortunately, it looks like nothing has changed with Apple’s new iPhone 5.

Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint confirmed today that the iPhone 5 won’t be able to handle voice and data at the same time, reports the Verge. That’s something that’s always been possible on AT&T’s 3G network, and the carrier confirmed today that it’s still true for the iPhone 5 (though you won’t get LTE speeds while on a voice call).

“The iPhone 5 was designed to allow customers to place a voice call on the Verizon Wireless network, while letting customers access the Internet over the WiFi,”  a Verizon spokesperson told the Verge.

Improvements to LTE networks will finally allow for simultaneous voice and data in the next few years, but for now it’s up to device makers to come up with a fix. For example, Samsung included an extra antenna on the Galaxy S III to allow the use of data and voice together, AnandTech’s Anand Shimpi tells the New York Times.

So why did Apple avoid fixing this issue? Given the incredibly thin design of the iPhone 5, Apple likely didn’t have any way to include an extra antenna. And since it was a fix only necessary for Verizon and Sprint, the company opted for a thinner design for the majority of users around the world rather than compromising to appease a few consumers.

In the end, it’s much easier for Apple to forgo a seemingly simple feature like this, instead of designing and building unique models for Verizon and Sprint. At the same time, though, it’s clearly a situation where design trumps function.

I was very tempted to jump ship from AT&T to Verizon for the iPhone 5, but since I constantly take advantage of cellular data during voice calls, this news has me staying put.

Photo: Dean Takahashi/VentureBeat

Google launched calling to standard phones from the Gmail interface in August 2010 and has kept it as an option ever since. This past August, the company expanded calling from Gmail to support 38 languages and four payment currencies.

While domestic calls to people in the U.S. and Canada are free, international calls will cost, with pricing starting at $0.02 a minute. The most expensive rates in Google’s list for straight-up calling appear to be for Antarctica at $2 a minute. Callers, if they want, can also link this to a free Google Voice account to get inbound calls.

In light of Google adding voice calling to Google+ Hangouts just a few weeks ago, the move to keep free calling in Gmail isn’t terribly surprising. That new feature handily lets you rope a non-Google+ user into a Google+-powered meeting or conference call.