As a foreword, I’d like to advise that this article is a bit technical. If you have queries or would like more details, drop a comment and I’ll be happy to provide further explanations.

I’ve recently come across a softphone that works on Linux, iPhone and Android phones: Linphone. It’s open source and free of charge.

I’ve only tried it on Linux Ubuntu so far (if iPhones and Android users want to give it a go, I’m all ears about your feedback) and I definitely enjoyed its “ease of use” and quick setup.

One of its other features that is interesting for tech-minded people is that you can handle calls with command lines. This feature can be turned into something powerful when used in scripts.

If you’re not a Blueface customer yet and are simply looking for information about Linphone, do not hesitate to check out our services. We’re providing residential phone services and business VoIP solutions, as well as other extra services. Maybe you can give Blueface a go along with Linphone.

Here is a quick setup guide for the Ubuntu client :

1. Install the dependencies from Synaptic Package Manager: speex, libosip2, libeXosip2
2. Still from Synaptic Package Manager, install : linphone
3. After installation, you can find the app in your menu : Applications > Internet > Linphone
4. To setup your Blueface account, go to the menu : Linphone > Preferences > ‘Manage SIP Accounts’
5. There you need to add a new “proxy account” :

Your SIP Identity will be : sip:YOUR_BLUEFACE_SIP_USERNAME@sip.blueface.ie

SIP Proxy Address is : sip:sip.blueface.ie

Registration duration : 113

From there you should be able to call out using your Blueface account.

If you want to use the console interface, you need a few more steps:

1. Quit the client if you have it open, to make sure your SIP settings won’t conflict.
2. Open a terminal and run : ‘linphonec’ (notice the ‘c’ at the end)
3. You need to add your SIP details again, for that run the command : ‘proxy add’
4. You’ll be prompted for the same parameters as mentioned above, for the graphical version.
5. Follow the prompts and validate.

You should start seeing successful registrations messages.

To call, run the command : call <number>

For example : call 012222222

Don’t forget to end the call, by running : terminate

One draw back I’ve noticed is that the same configuration file is used by both the GUI and the console and both interfaces tend to erase the configuration of the other, so you can only use one, basically. The config file is in ~.linphonerc.

You can get more information about this tool from this page: linphonec

Do not hesitate to drop a comment if you need help in setting this up. If you are working on an application that makes use of this commands feature, let us know!

Guillaume

Most broadband connections will work perfectly with Blueface. However, if you’re unsure about your connection, you can install a softphone to check your broadband connection is of sufficient quality to work with Blueface.

Softphones are quick and easy to setup and many of them are free of charge. Using a softphone enables you to assess your audio quality.

We have configuration guides for some softphones (SIP clients) on our website but they are mainly for Windows applications but none for Linux. Zoiper have a free SIP client available for free on Zoiper.com. that works on Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

To set it up on Linux Ubuntu, you have the choice between 2 applications: Zoiper Classic and Zoiper Communicator.

Zoiper Classic is fine if you only want to assess your audio quality and make a few tests calls. It’s VERY quick to setup, especially because Zoiper provides it directly as an executable (within a tar ball).

To set it up :

1. Download the tar ball from : http://www.zoiper.com/download_list.php
2. Decompress the file :  tar -zxvf filename
3. Eventually move the executable to a different folder
4. Run the executable.
5. You will be prompted if you want to launch Zoiper at Start Up. If it’s only for testing, maybe, press ‘no’.
6. To configure it with Blueface, click on ‘Menu’ (spanner key button on the right) > ‘Add a new SIP account’.
7. You should be prompted for an account name, enter: Blueface.
8. Fill the form with: domain: sip.blueface.ie, username: your Blueface username, password: your Blueface password, Caller ID: your name.
9. Click on the button ‘Register’. The phone status should update.
10. To make a test call, call ’300′. You should hear some monkeys. It’s that simple.

Zoiper Communicator comes up in a .deb file so you can use Ubuntu’s package installer which does everything automatically. You can download the .deb file down the list on http://www.zoiper.com/download_list.php

Once all packages have been installed, follow this Zoiper Configuration guide that we made some months earlier with Windows screen shots. The steps are exactly the same.

Note that I’ve tested this with Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic).

If you have issues with Zoiper (or any other softphone) setting, post a message on our forum: VoIP Hardware and Software.

Guillaume