Dispatch from the VoIP Front: OBihai Keeps Rolling Out Features

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While Ashton Kutcher’s high-end Ooma gets all the sexy VoIP publicity and some people remain intrigued by the incomprehensible magicJack, for those looking to seriously leverage telephone calls using voice over IP, the OBi110 and OBi100 adapters from Obihai Technology continue to impress with their feature range and flexibility.

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Of particular interest to Apple’s Mac and iOS device users, OBihai recently began supporting native configuration of Google Voice accounts, which effectively permits landline replacement with a Google Voice number, a neat trick highlighted by this spot on Techzilla TV.

The Techzilla reviewer is a little off in noting that the OBihai devices don’t support e911 services, however. While the devices themselves are not e911 equipped, they do support configuration of 2 concurrent VoIP accounts, one of which could be any of a number of commercial services that do support e911–and which could be designated as the ‘trunk’ for any 911 call made from the OBihai device.

With OBihai’s OBiON iOS app, iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches can be used to make and receive direct telephone calls from anywhere in the world using an OBi100 or OBi110 as a gateway. And with Apple’s excellent built-in echo cancellation, call quality using the OBiON app is reportedly far superior on iOS devices than on any Android device.

The OBi110 and OBi100 are currently the #1 and #2 selling VoIP devices on Amazon and have even begun to make waves in Amazon’s more inclusive telephone category.

OBihai spokesman Sherman Scholten said “there’s lots more in the pipeline, too,” with new multiport devices and wifi capabilities rolling out soon to support the company’s growing small business initiatives.

VoIP has long been confined largely to geeky do-it-yourselfers and business enterprises with the funds and IT staffs necessary to implement the technology’s savings and call flexibility. OBihai continues to bring VoIP’s disruptive influence within reach of just about anyone with $45 and the curiosity to give it a try.

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