In June, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software developer Xten promised to bring its eyeBeam software to the Mac platform and today the company delivered. EyeBeam is a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) application that enables users to communicate with voice and video over IP-based networks. So-called “softphone” applications are gaining traction as an alternative to conventional land-based telephone lines, as users can send and receive calls like they can with a telephone anywhere they have Internet access, rather than requiring a dedicated chat service and often less expensively than with a landline or cell phone.
Xten makes the software available co-branded and private labeled for cable operators, carriers and VoIP service providers. The company says that it’s already deployed 500,000 SIP softphone endpoints, as it celebrates its second anniversary. The software is being demonstrated at this week’s Fall VON Conference & Expo at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass., in booth 833. Xten is using its presence at the show to also show off some new features in eyeBeam including instant messaging, and “presence awareness” using open standards like SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE). Earlier this year Xten released for Mac OS X a version of X-PRO, its audio-only softphone.