The growth of Web real-time communications (WebRTC) has produced quite a bit so far, and while there's still quite a bit of room to grow yet in terms of getting more commercial projects out around the platform, there are also many products and companies making WebRTC known. Movirtu is one such firm looking to bring out viable commercial product around WebRTC, and its new CloudPhone platform is out to offer a powerful new communications tool for mobile users with tablets and laptops.
With Movirtu's CloudPhone, users can essentially take a tablet or a laptop and make it into what amounts to a virtual smartphone, letting users connect to Wi-Fi connections via these devices and place calls, using a currently existing mobile phone number. CloudPhone accomplishes this by, instead of using SIM cards, using what's called Virtual SIMs to do the job. Virtual SIMs have been seen before—usually to activate multiple phone numbers on one SIM card—but in this case, it's used to activate something similar within the platform itself. When used, a PIN code is sent to a mobile phone by means of SMS transmission, then the code is entered into a client itself, allowing the tablet or laptop to work in much the same fashion as a regular smartphone. Better yet, the resulting communications—even phone calls—are given a measure of encryption to protect the user.
While laptops and desktops get a clear edge here thanks to the WebRTC capabilities provided by Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, there are even client-side apps geared for Windows, Android and iOS that will allow users to put the smartphone to work as a smartphone, using a Wi-Fi connection to make calls. Those interested in seeing CloudPhone in action need only head to the Mobile World Congress event at the end of the month, where a host of products will be exhibited in the field of mobile technology.
There are those who believe there isn't much of a place for WebRTC apps thanks to services like Skype, which has already established a reputation for connecting voice or video between users. Indeed, Skype does do a sound job of it, but where WebRTC really comes into its own is in terms of its flexibility. Working with a variety of different platforms, and without the need for a dedicated app, WebRTC-based apps like CloudPhone get a real advantage by working in places where Skype necessarily wouldn't.
Throw in the growth of the small cell network—Cisco's Visual Networking Index for this year suggests that, by 2018, 52 percent of mobile traffic will be offloaded to Wi-Fi or the small cell network—and using WebRTC as a communications method may ultimately be preferred over many others.
Movirtu has made some impressive inroads with this new technology, and it's drawing interest on several fronts, particularly mobile providers who are looking for ways to distinguish the services offered from those offered by Skype. Bringing WebRTC into the picture with platforms like CloudPhone is a great first step to help companies make a mark on the market, and in turn, get a comparatively new but rapidly maturing technology into more users' hands.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
