[asterisk-biz] WARP, the PIKA Appliance, now generally available

[Paulo Garcia]

*WARP, the PIKA Appliance, now generally available*
Company ready to ship Asterisk and Linux versions of voice applications
development-deployment platform

*OTTAWA, Canada – June 5, 2008 – PIKA Technologies Inc.,* a leading
developer of media processing hardware and software, today announced its
family of Appliances is now ready to ship to its customers. The *Appliance
for Asterisk* and the *Appliance for Linux* are smaller-sized and lower-cost
alternatives to the traditional deployment platform of an off-the-shelf
computer with plug-in voice boards, and have been purpose built for
voice-application deployment. They are ideal for deploying small-medium
sized IP-PBX systems, integrated voice response (IVR) self-service systems,
predictive dialing systems, fax servers and many others.

The PIKA WARP Appliance product portfolio brings application developers the
hardware functionality of traditional purpose-built business telephone
systems at a fraction of the cost and in a smaller, more reliable footprint
than the off-the-shelf computer/voice board alternative. Typically, a
business telephone system contains many features that are not available
using computers. PIKA has included these features, and more, in its
customizable Appliances that are compatible with Voice Over IP (VoIP) and
analog trunks and telephones.

Having announced plans for the WARP product portfolio last September, PIKA
has since engaged with partners and customers to test and validate the value
proposition of these new out-of-the-box platforms that combine PIKA's years
of expertise in telephony voice-processing and its robust, low-cost hardware
components. The PIKA WARP Appliance was recently named a Product of the Year
Award winner for 2007 by the Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) and its
web site Communications Solutions.

Customers have also been impressed.

"Our success is about more than our services," said *Stephane Monette,
operations director, Unlimitel*, a VoIP service provider to SMBs. "We're not
the cheapest option and we never will be, but people are referred to us
because of the quality and stability of our services. By using PIKA
products, we know we're offering a high-quality product that fits really
well with our services."

"Not just a VoIP IP telephony device, PIKA's experience in the development
of voice processing boards shines through," said *Clayton Hayward, CTO,
Xelnex.com* , a voice recording service provider. "We needed a plug-and-play
edge device for passive IP and trunk voice recording, and the high quality
development API makes this appliance truly multi-faceted!"

"The PIKA WARP Appliance provides us with a cost-effective, solid state
device with a small form factor to deploy our solutions," said *Don
Williams, chief operating officer for CTL, Inc*., a designer, manufacturer
and distributor of telecommunication solutions in the areas of IP telephony,
unified communications, voice processing, self-service automation and
pre-packaged interactive voice response (IVR). "Using PIKA WARP gives CTL
the ability to truly deploy an end-to-end solution in an attractive package
with a reliable design and powerful processor."

On the VoIP side, the PIKA WARP Appliance can accommodate up to a
combination of 75 trunk and telephone IP end points. In addition, each unit
comes equipped with one analog telephone (FXS) port for portable phones, fax
machines or answering machines, and can be expanded with up to eight
additional analog ports to be used for either trunks (FXO) or telephones
(FXS).

"The one thing that sets PIKA`s Appliance apart from all the others on the
market more than any other single feature is PADS, our PIKA Application
Development Suite," said *Terry Atwood, PIKA`s vice president of sales,
marketing and customer care*. "Through PADS, Asterisk and Linux developers
are able to easily take the unique, value added features and applications
they have developed, modify them for the appliance embedded environment, and
compile a complete package to load on the box."

PIKA WARP features include:

   - Up to 75 IP trunk/station end points
   - Up to 9 additional analog FXO/FXS ports
   - Traditional telephony features:
   • Power failure transfer RJ11 jack(s)
   • Music-on-hold audio input jack
   • Paging system audio output jack
   -  Ethernet and USB ports
   - 2x20 LCD display: Backlit, API controlled, with front panel scroll
   button
   - Powerful embedded processor
   - Customizable look: developers can private label Appliance to build
   their own brand
   - SD flash memory
   - Dynamic thermal management



For more information about the PIKA WARP Appliance product portfolio, see:
http://www.pikatechnologies.com/english/View.asp?x=652

*About PIKA Technologies*
PIKA Technologies for over 20 years has been providing developers with the
tools they need to build advanced voice and fax applications like IP PBX,
fax broadcast and self-service IVR. As the technology landscape has changed,
so too has PIKA, building out its product offering so its customers can
choose the right tool set for their applications. Whether building
applications using board-based media processing or using host-based
solutions, application developers of all kinds turn to PIKA for their
development tools.

In addition to its traditional line of hardware and software solutions, PIKA
now offers a family of appliances that provide top-quality performance out
of the box. PIKA sells these appliances directly and also makes them
available through its growing network of resellers and distributors. Known
for its exceptional customer service, PIKA's customers can expect the same
high level of personalized, fast and free support that the company has
always delivered. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, the company has ranked in
The Branham 300, an authoritative ranking of successful Canadian high tech
firms, for six consecutive years. Visit www.pikatechnologies.com or call
+1-613-591-1555 for more information.
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