Archaic Telecom

OnSIP Evaluates Gingerbread’s SIPness

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OnSIP, the cloud-based PBX startup, has reviewed the native SIP capabilities of Gingerbread (Android 2.3).

Within the fine print of Google’s Gingerbread announcement last month was a reference to Internet calling using an onboard SIP stack. So the crew at onSIP got their mitts on a Nexus S and tried it against their own servers.

You can read the evaluation in their blog post. They note that you can’t enter a SIP address directly on the virtual numeric keypad: you first have to add it to the Nexus’s contacts app.  And the Nexus apparently blocks SIP calls that terminate on the PSTN.

It all points to Google’s ambivalent relationship with the carriers.

Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from downloading your own SIP client, say Sipdroid, and calling away without feeding the cell phone provider piggy bank.

There are some other annoyances that are listed in the post. For example, Nexus S doesn’t allow you to configure a separate user name and SIP authorization name, which prevents it from registering with OnSIP and presumably other SIP service providers.

I am slowly getting used to the idea that vendors have tweaked Android for their own purposes.  Now add to this each vendor’s own take on the SIP RFCs.

As I’ve been saying, openness, at least the way it’s being practiced, has its own evil side.

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2 Comments

  1. curmudgeonly troll

    Just tried 2.3.4 which was recently posted, and SIP works OK with OnSIP, am able to make outgoing calls as well as receive them.

    I see there is also an optional field , which I am not using, presumably since I only have one login / phone number.

    So as far as I can see the issues previously mentioned may have been resolved. I look forward to further updates.

    (tried to post under the blog posting at OnSIP, didn’t seem to be accepting comments)

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