C2Call and Java

FriendCaller Phones Home with the Help of Java

Imagine making free Voice over IP (VoIP) and video calls direct from your browser, without any add-ons or installations required. With the help of Java, C2Call GmbH’s FriendCaller lets users join phone calls by simply clicking on a link, which can be shared on social-networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. The call occurs in the Web browser and does not require any software. The company also offers iPhone and Android applications. In addition to browser-based calls, FriendCaller works as an app for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, and Nokia devices.

FriendCaller is hosted in the cloud and uses the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that comes with PCs, Macs, and Linux systems to create a Web phone in any popular browser. Company CEO Martin Feuerhahn reports that while the company did consider other technologies, only Java delivered the flexibility and performance they needed. In addition, Java also offered a superior development environment and was easy to integrate. C2Call uses Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) for server-side programming and JavaFX for browser-based VoIP clients.

Feuerhahn points out that Java works with the cloud server and with all popular browsers and operating systems, which made it ideal for their implementation. C2Call was able to develop its software and rely on the multiplatform support of Java, making it a solid investment for the future. The company’s VoIP applications and libraries were developed with Java, and C2Call will continue using Java to develop new products. Feuerhahn notes that the contributions of the Java community were essential to the company’s success, and he views the community as an example of the synergy between the open source community and the enterprise sector.