Line2

Last updated
Line2, Inc.
IndustryTelecom, VOIP
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
,
United States
Number of locations
US, Canada
Area served
Wi-Fi hot-spots, 4G/3G or Cellular enabled calls
ProductsLine2 Standard, Line2 Pro iPhone app Android app
ServicesDomestic & Long Distance, International VoIP Provider
Number of employees
40
Website line2.com

Line2 (formerly Toktumi) is a telecommunications company founded in San Francisco in 2008 by Peter Sisson. The company is best known for Line2 apps, which provides Wi-Fi support for mobile phones and multiple devices in lieu of using the service provider.

Contents

Line2

Line2 is a Virtual PBX phone service that allows companies to develop and maintain multiple internal phone lines to handle multiple external calls. Line2 uses cloud computing to allow one phone call to go to shared receivers, such as cell phones or fax machines, depending on which is more appropriate. Line2 allows for such transfers without any special equipment, performing the same function as many other standard office phone systems. Line2 is priced on a monthly or yearly basis, as well as a limited functionality Free version. [1]

Line2 works by providing a single number, used by the employer, which can then be used by the employees, avoiding higher rates by allowing them to use one number as opposed to many of them. This also allows employees to receive calls even when not in the workplace. [2]

Line2 Features

The Line2 (Formerly Toktumi Unlimited) service provides options that allow it to perform some functions similar to phone systems found in large businesses:

Mobile apps

Line2 also offers a mobile app for Apple iOS and Android phones called Line2. Line2 is a mobile VoIP app, which means that, although it is on a mobile device, it uses an Internet Protocol address to make calls. This results in cheaper, sometimes stronger service. It provides similar service to applications like Skype, which also allow users to place calls over the Internet for a smaller fee than using a regular phone line. Calls can be made over Wi-Fi, a 3G or 4G phone network, or cellular voice connections. [4]

Line2 also gives users two lines; one for business, the other for personal calls. It allows the user to choose between a data network or wi-fi hotspots to transmit calls. A user, for instance, could redirect an incoming call over to their second phone line without interrupting their current call. The app also allows for unlimited texting for all numbers including toll free numbers in Canada and the United States. [5]

Controversy

App store recall

The Line2 app was submitted to the Apple App Store on June 5, 2009. It was developed with the goal of providing users with two different phone lines. One would be a personal line, the other used for business. This would allow users to keep any personal numbers private, as well as applying professional business features to the other line. It pended approval until June 23, 2009, when Apple rejected the application. Apple later stated to the company that "the application had been rejected because it required people to pay through its website rather than Apple's subscription services that are integrated with the iPhone 3.0 update."[ citation needed ] Toktumi reported that Salesforce.com allowed sales of apps through the web, but changed the app to work with the App Store.

Toktumi resubmitted the app as a demo on July 13, 2009, when Apple told them to wait a few days for testing before it could be released. However, Apple soon pulled all apps related to Google Voice, giving the reason that Voice duplicated features offered by the iPhone. Line2 was included in this recall because its two-line setup was similar to Google Voice. It also included several features shared by the iPhone.

On September 2, 2009, Apple approved of the Line2 app, which was quickly added to the App Store almost three months after it was originally submitted. [6]

Hacking attempt

On March 24, 2010, David Pogue reviewed the Line2 app for the New York Times "State of the Art" column. Later on in the day, the app was removed from the App Store. After receiving complaints that the article alerted AT&T to the app, causing them to pull it, CEO Peter Sisson later revealed that Toktumi had suffered a DDoS attack. He pulled the app in order to prevent new customers from having a bad experience as well as taking down the free trial to prevent further problems. A week after the situation, the app was back up for $0.99 on the app store with the free trial reinstated. [7]

Related Research Articles

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet telephony, broadband telephony, and broadband phone service specifically refer to the provisioning of communications services over the Internet, rather than via the public switched telephone network (PSTN), also known as plain old telephone service (POTS).

Telephone call Connection between two or more people over a telephone network

A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network between the called party and the calling party.

Business telephone system Multiline telephone system typically used in business environments

A business telephone system is a multiline telephone system typically used in business environments, encompassing systems ranging in technology from the key telephone system (KTS) to the private branch exchange (PBX).

Tethering Sharing of a mobile devices Internet connection with other connected computers

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Sipgate, stylised as sipgate, is a European VoIP and mobile telephony operator.

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iPhone Line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc.

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Google Voice Telecommunications service by Google

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iCloud Cloud storage and cloud computing service by Apple

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FriendCaller

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Line (software) Instant communications software app

Line, styled LINE, is a freeware app for instant communications on electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and personal computers. Line users exchange texts, images, video and audio, and conduct free VoIP conversations and video conferences. In addition, Line is a platform providing various services including digital wallet as Line Pay, news stream as LINE Today, video on demand as Line TV, and digital comic distribution as Line Manga and Line Webtoon. The service is operated by Line Corporation, a Tokyo-based subsidiary of Softbank Group and the Seoul-based Naver Corporation.

Voiceserve Inc. is a Delaware, USA telecommunications and softswitch company headquartered in Middlesex, United Kingdom and incorporated December 9, 2005. The company offers VoIP, mobility, and IP-PBX software with management, administration, billing, mobility, hosted IP-PBX, and softphone functionality found among its services, VoipSwitch, Call-to-PBX, and Vippie.

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References

  1. ↑ "Line2 pricing options". Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ Mosca, Stefanie. "Toktumi PBX Offers Hosted Small Businesses VoIP Phone Systems" . Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  3. ↑ Blackwell, Gerry. "Review: Toktumi's Hosted IP PBX" . Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Line2 About Page". Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ Kooser, Amanda. "Line2 App Turns Your iPod into a Phone -- with Unlimited Calls and Texts" . Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  6. ↑ Kincaid, Jason. "Another Startup Falls Prey To The iPhone/Google Voice Crossfire". Techcrunch. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ Pogue, David (March 27, 2010). "Why the Line2 App is Up and Down". The New York Times . Retrieved March 5, 2012.

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