EQO
Encyclopedia
EQO is a downloadable mobile application that brings free instant messaging
, low-cost mobile VoIP
and free or low-cost text messaging
to mobile phones from manufacturers such as Nokia
, Samsung
, Motorola
, Sony Ericsson
, LG
, BlackBerry
and HTC. EQO operates in more than 200 countries, and the application is available in multiple languages including English
, Russian
, Portuguese
, Italian
, German
, Spanish
, French
, Mandarin and Cantonese
.
Users can also invite friends to join the EQO network. EQO is partnered with platform and handset manufacturers including Nokia
, RIM
, Symbian
, HTC, Samsung
, Windows Mobile
and Sony Ericsson
.
As of summer of 2009, the EQO service appears to be non-operational and the company's web site devoid of previously existing features..
to make mobile communications more accessible to more people in more places. Learning from friends at Skype
who single-handedly changed the way people talk at home and at work, EQO’s founders set out to change the way people stay in touch while on the go. EQO launched in February 2006.
Later given to an abbreviation of the words El Quaido, Meaning young male of great talent.
, and mobile networking technologies to enable its solution to work even in low-bandwidth / high-latency wireless data networking environments. Call signaling and incoming messages are able to flow adaptively over SMS
and/or wireless data networks, whereas voice communications are typically delivered over the existing mobile voice network. This allows EQO today to support even single-mode phones without wireless data plans over current generation mobile networks. The sending and receiving instant messages and checking the presence and availability of contacts, is seamless for users on mobile devices.
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, low-cost mobile VoIP
Mobile VoIP
Mobile VoIP or simply mVoIP is an extension of mobility to a Voice over IP network. Two types of communication are generally supported: cordless/DECT/PCS protocols for short range or campus communications where all base stations are linked into the same LAN, and wider area communications using...
and free or low-cost text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
to mobile phones from manufacturers such as Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....
, LG
LG
LG may refer to:*LG Corp., a South Korean electronics and petrochemicals conglomerate*LG Electronics, an affiliate of the South Korean LG Group which produces electronic products* Lawrence Graham, a London headquartered firm of business lawyers...
, BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
and HTC. EQO operates in more than 200 countries, and the application is available in multiple languages including English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Mandarin and Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
.
Users can also invite friends to join the EQO network. EQO is partnered with platform and handset manufacturers including Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, RIM
Research In Motion
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
, Symbian
Symbian
Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...
, HTC, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
and Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....
.
As of summer of 2009, the EQO service appears to be non-operational and the company's web site devoid of previously existing features..
Background
Colin Quon, Jeff Laporte and John Lieu founded EQO so that they could leverage the power of the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to make mobile communications more accessible to more people in more places. Learning from friends at Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
who single-handedly changed the way people talk at home and at work, EQO’s founders set out to change the way people stay in touch while on the go. EQO launched in February 2006.
Later given to an abbreviation of the words El Quaido, Meaning young male of great talent.
Technology
EQO’s product design leverages VoIP, Instant MessagingInstant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, and mobile networking technologies to enable its solution to work even in low-bandwidth / high-latency wireless data networking environments. Call signaling and incoming messages are able to flow adaptively over SMS
SMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
and/or wireless data networks, whereas voice communications are typically delivered over the existing mobile voice network. This allows EQO today to support even single-mode phones without wireless data plans over current generation mobile networks. The sending and receiving instant messages and checking the presence and availability of contacts, is seamless for users on mobile devices.
Features
- Mobile VoIP communication
- IM aggregation: live chat between MSN Messenger, QQ, ICQICQICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
, Google TalkGoogle TalkGoogle Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
, Yahoo Messenger, AIMAOL Instant MessengerAOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
and XMPPExtensible Messaging and Presence ProtocolExtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence... - SMSSMSSMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
and in-client messaging - Real time presence indication
- Call history
- Mobile Roaming feature while traveling
Major events
- 10/09/09 EQO web page becomes devoid of important features such as access to user accounts, e-mail to EQO support remains unanswered
- 09/01/09 EQO service appears to be non-functional
- 10/09/08 EQO downsizes from 35 to 12 employees
- 04/29/08 EQO Mobile EQO Mobile for Symbian OS
- 04/01/08 EQO launches mobile roaming feature
- 02/11/08 EQO Expands its mobile VoIP service globally
- 10/31/07 EQO launches EQO Mobile WinMO version
- 08/22/07 EQO Co-Founder Jeff Laporte Named Technology Review's Prestigious TR35 List of Top Young Innovators
- 05/02/07 EQO announces as a 2007 Red Herring 100 Winner!]
- 04/17/07 EQO Named one of Canada's Top "Up and Comers" by Branham Group
- 05/23/06 EQO Communications Launches EQO Mobile, Changing Global Mobile Calling Landscape