[Carolyn]

A new partnership with services company CSI, Inc. will enable VoIP provider Packet8 to offer customers of its Virtual Office hosted PBX on-site installation, configuration and tech support services.

Last week Polycom launched the new HDX 4000 Series desktop video conferencing system. With the footprint of a flat panel monitor, will the device make video conferencing finally take off?

Infonetics Research's latest report says that smartphone sales are growing rapidly, while WiFi phone sales dropped slightly. The report predicts that mobile phone revenues will drop between now and 2010, while dual-mode WiFi/cellular phone sales will grow about 30 percent annually during the same period. SpectraLink (Polycom) currently leads in single-mode WiFi phone revenue market share while Nokia leads in dual-mode WiFi/cellular.

Last week mobile solutions provider Bluesocket went shopping and bought open source SIP PBX company Pingtel. The synergy here is SIPexchange platform as the foundation for converged fixed-mobile enterprise communications.

As businesses take their communications mobile, figuring out what to do is as challenging as doing it. So today independent wireless company IMO launched its Business Solutions service that does the legwork for you and recommends the optimal plan, free of charge. Presumably you'll buy new equipment from them.

Sipera wants you to be afraid, be very afraid. At the Black Hat USA 2007 conference, the security company will demo a VoIP exploit that allows hackers to take control and delete or steal data from a laptop running an enterprise VoIP softphone.

Cisco says that Google's lobbying to mandate network neutrality for next year's FCC 700 MHz spectrum auction is unneeded market interference from "a $158 billion behemoth," according to Cassimir Medford at Red Herring. For an entertaining education on the issue, check out virtual journalist Bob Cringely.

It had to happen: The first book written on a mobile phone was published last week: Compagni di Viaggo by Robert Bernocco. Unsurprisingly, it was published digitally. Personally, I would be more interested in a book about a guy who writes a novel on a mobile phone than the book itself.