What Windows applet to use?

[DaveD]

There's a clear need for a simple Windows extension

applet that takes very little desktop space, and provides
both making and taking calls, as well as IMs, voicemail

and shows presence for all extensions.

 

SnomONE has apparently deprecated the UCClient that

provided most or all of these features. And although the
client Web login provides several of these features,

it is bulky and not suited for use as a full-time desk applet.

 

What should we use as a desktop phone instead? Can a
softphone such as CounterPath Bria [at $50 a pop] do this?

Is there a multiplatform / Android app that will work? Dave

[Vodia PBX]

Well, Bria is an answer. It is supported on a lot of platforms.

 

If you only want to make outbound calls, you can as well just use Chrome. Just log in as a user on the PBX, and then you can use the WebRTC feature of the browser to make calls. We don't support receiving calls yet, but that's a question of time. But you can see the presence of the other extensions, see if you have VM and even see and schedule conferences.

[DaveD]

Thanks for your answer!

 

Bria is now $50 a pop--that's a lot. Will it support
the features I mentioned?

 

I had already logged in as a user, with Chrome.

But (as I said) that takes up much of the screen;
it's not a compact elegant applet in the corner

like UCClient (which I can't get to register.) It's

not suitable for a full-time desktop app. And
(as you said), it's not fully implemented. Dave

[Vodia PBX]

Bria will give you essentially only the talk functionality.

[DaveD]

Um--got it!

 

So doesn't that indicate a clear need for
an app that fills this essential purpose? Dave

[Vodia PBX]

Well, this is a difficult topic.

 

First of all, 50 USD seems to be the price for a good soft phone (market price). Don't expect to get something better for a lower price.

 

We addressed the problem with the UCClient that runs on Windows. However, the revenue a vendor like Vodia can make from that application is honestly quiet limited. The volume is just very low. Windows might be still the #1 platform for PC and laptops; however if you are following the news around Microsoft and the IT industry, there are a lot of things changing right now. Using the web browser might look clunky today; however keep in mind that web browsers run practically anywhere; the software written for the web browser has a far better reach than a "hard coded" application for Windows. And recent developments like websocket and WebRTC show that web-based technology is a good investment into the future.

[DaveD]

Thanks for a good discussion! And of course I respect
the need for revenue from development time expended.

 

We didn't ever address the UCClient for Windows problem;
it doesn't work--at least not here; it won't even register. And

you say you won't support it any more.

 

Yes: I read a lot about this industry; of course there is change,

and vendors are jockeying for the best position. Even so, we

are still stuck with messy, incompatible legacy SIP 'solutions';

even the basics haven't been fully resolved. And whether

WebRTC is an industry tie-breaker is unknown.

 

Frankly, a user doesn't care how the code is delivered; if

(for example) you can deliver a frameless Web applet that's
locked into a small window [visually like the UCClient], that

would be just fine. That would leverage WebRTC or any

other browser-based code you prefer.

 

But yes: this Web browser is clunky--it's close to unusable--

simply because it takes up far too much screen space and

is functionally incomplete. Theres a clear need for a Windows-

based feature-rich app; the market only wants a good answer--

they don't care how it's done. Dave

 

PS: For an Android smartphone, I use CSipSimple; it's free and

works well. [Yes: it's open-source.] And CounterPoint used to
have a free limited version of Bria until they got greedy. For PBX

users, the maker beginning with a '3' has a free full-featured

Windows softphone with roaming integration to the PBX,

presence and a synchronized phone book. All of these are

compact, visually appealing and useful.