Vapps Enables Outlook Users to Plug Into HD Conferencing

Written by Channel
July 2, 2008

Vapps Inc. has released the HiDefConferencing.com plug-in for Microsoft Outlook. With the new plug-in, two buttons link the Outlook client to the HiDefConferencing.com service and its functions:
• “Schedule HiDef Conference” opens up a regular Outlook meeting invitation. From this familiar interface, users can see in-company contacts’ availability; select attendees from in-company and Outlook Contact lists; select other attendees; set the meeting time; and send invitations with automatically entered meeting details.

• “Manage HiDef Account” opens up the www.hidefconferencing.com Web site in which HiDef Conferencing plans can be chosen, payments made and conferencing preferences chosen. During the meeting, the moderator has full use of conferencing controls and preferences via the HiDef Conferencing Web site. These include such choices as mute/unmute and record, and whether conferences should remain open after the moderator has left.

Meeting details typically include both Skype and PSTN conference numbers for attendees to call, since Vapps’ service conferences in both PSTN and Skype endpoints. Those attending via Skype utilize the Vapps platform’s wideband connectivity, transmitting a frequency range of 16KHz, more than four times richer than the 3.⁵ kHz of traditional PSTN copper wiring.

Vapps’ fees for an unlimited number of conferences and conference minutes start at a fixed $25 per month for 10 attendees and scale with the number of participants.

Vapps markets its services directly over the Internet and through direct sales and also indirectly through channel partners. Vapps also works with large enterprise and service provider customers, tailoring custom audio conferencing solutions for their internal use and for re-sale.