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Move over, Skype. Watch your back, Line2. Good news, iPad and iPod Touch users. The new MagicJack app lets you make unlimited free calls to the U.S. and Canada, no strings attached, no credit card required. 

That means if you're a heavy gabber, you could theoretically drop to the cheapest available iPhone voice plan--and keep on gabbing. Of course, it also gives iPad and fourth-generation iPod Touch users an option for totally free phone service.

The first time you run the app, you get three choices. If you already have one of the famed MagicJack voice-over-IP gizmos, you can sign into your account, use your existing number, and access all of your associated contacts. That effectively gives you a second phone line for your iPhone--complete with its own voice mailbox.

If you're not already a MagicJack customer, you can quickly sign up for an account, and get a new phone number (sort of) in the process. That "number" is actually a 10-digit code that callers need to punch in after calling a main MagicJack number--a fairly major hassle, and a fact that's not explained anywhere within the app. (Nor is the number listed; it's 305-848-TALK.)

Alternately, you can skip both options and just start making calls. That's how I started my MagicJack testing, though later I linked the app to an inactive (but still operational) MagicJack account.… Read more

The Invoxia NVX 610 is for people who think their iPhones are too dainty and miss the heft of a nice solid landline.

It's not too late. You can still turn back the clock to those go-go days of the '90s--and make yourself feel like a high-level executive while you're doing it.

The NVX 610 features a sleek, clean-cut design made with glass and stainless steel. Dock your iPhone on one end and then revel in the corded handset. The system can be expanded with cordless handsets if cords don't get you excited. … Read more

A lawsuit filed last week by software company Droplets takes aim at Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and YouTube for infringing on its patented Web technology.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, the Droplets suit alleges that the group of tech giants infringe on one or more of two patents it holds "for developing and delivering highly functional and scalable applications over the Internet." The company seeks damages as well as future royalties on the use of those patents.

The two patents in question are United States Patent No. … Read more

An Arizona company that sued Apple over its use of the iCloud name seems to have changed its tune--and its name.

iCloud Communications, which alleged in a lawsuit filed in June that the name of Apple's online storage service copied its name and caused confusion over competing products, has withdrawn its claim. The company claimed in its suit that "the goods and services with which Apple intends to use the 'iCloud' mark are identical to or closely related to the goods and services that have been offered by iCloud Communications under the iCloud Marks since its formation in … Read more

Skype just got so easy your great-grandmother could use it without having to know anything about a sound card or any other input/output doohickeys that are more convoluted than President Harding and his confounding Teapot Dome scandal! (Look it up, millennials...)

Actually, there is one doohickey, but once it's all hooked up it looks an awful lot like a regular old cordless phone--with VoIP hidden inside. (No need to tell great-grandma about that last part, it will only confuse her--apologies to all technologically astute great-grandmothers out there, BTW.) It's the Freetalk ConnectMe home phone adapter for Skype, which connects to any regular old home phone.

You'll need to connect your PC to set things up the first time, but after that, Skype says you'll just need to make sure your broadband connection and phone are hooked into the adapter. If you keep your landline, you'll want to hook that in too, because the adapter allows you to switch back and forth between Skype and a regular phone line.… Read more

The sale of InterDigital's patent portfolio has been pushed back until early September to give potential buyers a better chance to evaluate it, according to a new report.

Reuters said today the sale of InterDigital's portfolio, which stretches to some 8,800 granted patents and nearly 10,000 patent applications, is being delayed until after Labor Day. The sale was originally slated for next week, sources familiar with the situation told the outlet, but potential buyers want to vet the portfolio in light of recent landmark intellectual-property purchases.

Among the reported companies that were approached or otherwise interested … Read more

The Senate's controversial Protect IP Act, which would significantly expand both public and private enforcement of online copyright and trademark infringement, is returning to center stage.

That was the message yesterday from U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who led a town hall meeting yesterday in Palo Alto, Calif. Goodlatte, a leader in Congress on technology policy, told a crowd of over a hundred that the House is working on its own version of the Senate bill.

Protect IP passed unanimously out of committee in May and now awaits a full floor vote. Goodlatte acknowledged that the Senate version … Read more

Samsung is said to be "examining" the patent portfolio of wireless technology company InterDigital to help bolster its existing collection of patents and other intellectual property, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The outlet says Samsung's been approached to make a bid on the portfolio, which is being shopped around ahead of a potential sale. Late last month InterDigital announced that it had hired Evercore Partners and Barclays Capital to consider strategic alternatives for the company, a move that included a sale of the company itself.

InterDigital's intellectual property is of special interest to handset makers, … Read more

Now expanding to 38 new languages, Gmail's phone call feature has kicked in a slew of cheaper rates to more than 150 countries.

An alternative to Skype, Google's calling feature enables you to make free domestic and inexpensive international calls to any mobile phone or landline via Gmail Chat.

Launched almost a year ago, the feature racked up more than 1 million calls its first day and has continued to expand, most recently offering the ability to make multiple calls at the same time.

Now, Gmail calling has expanded again in a move designed to save its users … Read more