diff --git a/IPython/core/interactiveshell.py b/IPython/core/interactiveshell.py
index 6787286..51c625c 100644
--- a/IPython/core/interactiveshell.py
+++ b/IPython/core/interactiveshell.py
@@ -1196,9 +1196,10 @@ class InteractiveShell(Configurable, Magic):
     def object_inspect(self, oname):
         info = self._object_find(oname)
         if info.found:
-            return self.inspector.info(info.obj, info=info)
+            return self.inspector.info(info.obj, oname, info=info)
         else:
-            return oinspect.mk_object_info({'found' : False})
+            return oinspect.mk_object_info({'name' : oname,
+                                            'found' : False})
         
     #-------------------------------------------------------------------------
     # Things related to history management
diff --git a/IPython/core/oinspect.py b/IPython/core/oinspect.py
index 68ed478..7dd59de 100644
--- a/IPython/core/oinspect.py
+++ b/IPython/core/oinspect.py
@@ -76,18 +76,15 @@ info_fields = ['type_name', 'base_class', 'string_form', 'namespace',
                'call_def', 'call_docstring',
                # These won't be printed but will be used to determine how to
                # format the object
-               'ismagic', 'isalias', 'argspec', 'found',
+               'ismagic', 'isalias', 'argspec', 'found', 'name',
                ]
 
 
-ObjectInfo = namedtuple('ObjectInfo', info_fields)
-
-
-def mk_object_info(kw):
-    """Make a f"""
+def object_info(**kw):
+    """Make an object info dict with all fields present."""
     infodict = dict(izip_longest(info_fields, [None]))
     infodict.update(kw)
-    return ObjectInfo(**infodict)
+    return infodict
 
 
 def getdoc(obj):
@@ -161,11 +158,76 @@ def getargspec(obj):
         func_obj = obj
     elif inspect.ismethod(obj):
         func_obj = obj.im_func
+    elif hasattr(obj, '__call__'):
+        func_obj = obj.__call__
     else:
         raise TypeError('arg is not a Python function')
     args, varargs, varkw = inspect.getargs(func_obj.func_code)
     return args, varargs, varkw, func_obj.func_defaults
 
+
+def format_argspec(argspec):
+    """Format argspect, convenience wrapper around inspect's.
+
+    This takes a dict instead of ordered arguments and calls
+    inspect.format_argspec with the arguments in the necessary order.
+    """
+    return inspect.formatargspec(argspec['args'], argspec['varargs'],
+                                 argspec['varkw'], argspec['defaults'])
+
+
+def call_tip(oinfo, format_call=True):
+    """Extract call tip data from an oinfo dict.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    oinfo : dict
+
+    format_call : bool, optional
+      If True, the call line is formatted and returned as a string.  If not, a
+      tuple of (name, argspec) is returned.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    call_info : None, str or (str, dict) tuple.
+      When format_call is True, the whole call information is formattted as a
+      single string.  Otherwise, the object's name and its argspec dict are
+      returned.  If no call information is available, None is returned.
+      
+    docstring : str or None
+      The most relevant docstring for calling purposes is returned, if
+      available.  The priority is: call docstring for callable instances, then
+      constructor docstring for classes, then main object's docstring otherwise
+      (regular functions).
+    """
+    # Get call definition
+    argspec = oinfo['argspec']
+    if argspec is None:
+        call_line = None
+    else:
+        # Callable objects will have 'self' as their first argument, prune
+        # it out if it's there for clarity (since users do *not* pass an
+        # extra first argument explicitly).
+        try:
+            has_self = argspec['args'][0] == 'self'
+        except (KeyError, IndexError):
+            pass
+        else:
+            if has_self:
+                argspec['args'] = argspec['args'][1:]
+                
+        call_line = oinfo['name']+format_argspec(argspec)
+
+    # Now get docstring.
+    # The priority is: call docstring, constructor docstring, main one.
+    doc = oinfo['call_docstring']
+    if doc is None:
+        doc = oinfo['init_docstring']
+    if doc is None:
+        doc = oinfo['docstring']
+
+    return call_line, doc
+
 #****************************************************************************
 # Class definitions
 
@@ -178,7 +240,9 @@ class myStringIO(StringIO.StringIO):
 
 
 class Inspector:
-    def __init__(self,color_table,code_color_table,scheme,
+    def __init__(self, color_table=InspectColors,
+                 code_color_table=PyColorize.ANSICodeColors,
+                 scheme='NoColor',
                  str_detail_level=0):
         self.color_table = color_table
         self.parser = PyColorize.Parser(code_color_table,out='str')
@@ -565,6 +629,7 @@ class Inspector:
             ismagic = info.ismagic
             isalias = info.isalias
             ospace = info.namespace
+
         # Get docstring, special-casing aliases:
         if isalias:
             if not callable(obj):
@@ -583,9 +648,8 @@ class Inspector:
         if formatter is not None:
             ds = formatter(ds)
 
-        # store output in a dict, we'll later convert it to an ObjectInfo.  We
-        # initialize it here and fill it as we go
-        out = dict(found=True, isalias=isalias, ismagic=ismagic)
+        # store output in a dict, we initialize it here and fill it as we go
+        out = dict(name=oname, found=True, isalias=isalias, ismagic=ismagic)
         
         string_max = 200 # max size of strings to show (snipped if longer)
         shalf = int((string_max -5)/2)
@@ -650,17 +714,14 @@ class Inspector:
             binary_file = True
 
         # reconstruct the function definition and print it:
-        defln = self._getdef(obj,oname)
+        defln = self._getdef(obj, oname)
         if defln:
             out['definition'] = self.format(defln)
-            args,  varargs, varkw, func_defaults = getargspec(obj)
-            out['argspec'] = dict(args=args, varargs=varargs,
-                                  varkw=varkw, func_defaults=func_defaults)
-            
+
         # Docstrings only in detail 0 mode, since source contains them (we
         # avoid repetitions).  If source fails, we add them back, see below.
         if ds and detail_level == 0:
-                out['docstring'] = indent(ds)
+                out['docstring'] = ds
                 
         # Original source code for any callable
         if detail_level:
@@ -700,11 +761,11 @@ class Inspector:
                 if init_def:
                     out['init_definition'] = self.format(init_def)
                 if init_ds:
-                    out['init_docstring'] = indent(init_ds)
+                    out['init_docstring'] = init_ds
+
         # and class docstring for instances:
         elif obj_type is types.InstanceType or \
-                 isinstance(obj,object):
-
+                 isinstance(obj, object):
             # First, check whether the instance docstring is identical to the
             # class one, and print it separately if they don't coincide.  In
             # most cases they will, but it's nice to print all the info for
@@ -723,7 +784,7 @@ class Inspector:
                    class_ds.startswith('module(name[,') ):
                     class_ds = None
                 if class_ds and ds != class_ds:
-                    out['class_docstring'] = indent(class_ds)
+                    out['class_docstring'] = class_ds
 
             # Next, try to show constructor docstrings
             try:
@@ -735,11 +796,11 @@ class Inspector:
             except AttributeError:
                 init_ds = None
             if init_ds:
-                out['init_docstring'] = indent(init_ds)
+                out['init_docstring'] = init_ds
 
             # Call form docstring for callable instances
-            if hasattr(obj,'__call__'):
-                call_def = self._getdef(obj.__call__,oname)
+            if hasattr(obj, '__call__'):
+                call_def = self._getdef(obj.__call__, oname)
                 if call_def is not None:
                     out['call_def'] = self.format(call_def)
                 call_ds = getdoc(obj.__call__)
@@ -747,9 +808,30 @@ class Inspector:
                 if call_ds and call_ds.startswith('x.__call__(...) <==> x(...)'):
                     call_ds = None
                 if call_ds:
-                    out['call_docstring'] = indent(call_ds)
+                    out['call_docstring'] = call_ds
+
+        # Compute the object's argspec as a callable.  The key is to decide
+        # whether to pull it from the object itself, from its __init__ or
+        # from its __call__ method.
+        
+        if inspect.isclass(obj):
+            callable_obj = obj.__init__
+        elif callable(obj):
+            callable_obj = obj
+        else:
+            callable_obj = None
+
+        if callable_obj:
+            try:
+                args,  varargs, varkw, defaults = getargspec(callable_obj)
+            except (TypeError, AttributeError):
+                # For extensions/builtins we can't retrieve the argspec
+                pass
+            else:
+                out['argspec'] = dict(args=args, varargs=varargs,
+                                      varkw=varkw, defaults=defaults)
 
-        return mk_object_info(out)
+        return object_info(**out)
 
 
     def psearch(self,pattern,ns_table,ns_search=[],
diff --git a/IPython/core/tests/test_oinspect.py b/IPython/core/tests/test_oinspect.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d31d442
--- /dev/null
+++ b/IPython/core/tests/test_oinspect.py
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+"""Tests for the object inspection functionality.
+"""
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+#  Copyright (C) 2010 The IPython Development Team.
+#
+#  Distributed under the terms of the BSD License.
+#
+#  The full license is in the file COPYING.txt, distributed with this software.
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Imports
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+from __future__ import print_function
+
+# Stdlib imports
+
+# Third-party imports
+import nose.tools as nt
+
+# Our own imports
+from .. import oinspect
+
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Globals and constants
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+inspector = oinspect.Inspector()
+
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Local utilities
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# A few generic objects we can then inspect in the tests below
+
+class Call(object):
+    """This is the class docstring."""
+
+    def __init__(self, x, y=1):
+        """This is the constructor docstring."""
+
+    def __call__(self, *a, **kw):
+        """This is the call docstring."""
+
+    def method(self, x, z=2):
+        """Some method's docstring"""
+
+def f(x, y=2, *a, **kw):
+    """A simple function."""
+
+def g(y, z=3, *a, **kw):
+    pass  # no docstring
+
+
+def check_calltip(obj, name, call, docstring):
+    """Generic check pattern all calltip tests will use"""
+    info = inspector.info(obj, name)
+    call_line, ds = oinspect.call_tip(info)
+    nt.assert_equal(call_line, call)
+    nt.assert_equal(ds, docstring)    
+
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Tests
+#-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def test_calltip_class():
+    check_calltip(Call, 'Call', 'Call(x, y=1)', Call.__init__.__doc__)
+
+
+def test_calltip_instance():
+    c = Call(1)
+    check_calltip(c, 'c', 'c(*a, **kw)', c.__call__.__doc__)
+
+
+def test_calltip_method():
+    c = Call(1)
+    check_calltip(c.method, 'c.method', 'c.method(x, z=2)', c.method.__doc__)
+
+
+def test_calltip_function():
+    check_calltip(f, 'f', 'f(x, y=2, *a, **kw)', f.__doc__)
+
+
+def test_calltip_function2():
+    check_calltip(g, 'g', 'g(y, z=3, *a, **kw)', '<no docstring>')
+
+
+def test_calltip_builtin():
+    check_calltip(sum, 'sum', None, sum.__doc__)
diff --git a/IPython/frontend/qt/console/call_tip_widget.py b/IPython/frontend/qt/console/call_tip_widget.py
index 5e1a248..20f267f 100644
--- a/IPython/frontend/qt/console/call_tip_widget.py
+++ b/IPython/frontend/qt/console/call_tip_widget.py
@@ -122,15 +122,20 @@ class CallTipWidget(QtGui.QLabel):
     # 'CallTipWidget' interface
     #--------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-    def show_docstring(self, doc, maxlines=20):
-        """ Attempts to show the specified docstring at the current cursor
-            location. The docstring is dedented and possibly truncated for
+    def show_call_info(self, call_line=None, doc=None, maxlines=20):
+        """ Attempts to show the specified call line and docstring at the
+            current cursor location. The docstring is possibly truncated for
             length.
         """
-        doc = dedent(doc.rstrip()).lstrip()
-        match = re.match("(?:[^\n]*\n){%i}" % maxlines, doc)
-        if match:
-            doc = doc[:match.end()] + '\n[Documentation continues...]'
+        if doc:
+            match = re.match("(?:[^\n]*\n){%i}" % maxlines, doc)
+            if match:
+                doc = doc[:match.end()] + '\n[Documentation continues...]'
+        else:
+            doc = ''
+            
+        if call_line:
+            doc = '\n\n'.join([call_line, doc])
         return self.show_tip(doc)
 
     def show_tip(self, tip):
diff --git a/IPython/frontend/qt/console/frontend_widget.py b/IPython/frontend/qt/console/frontend_widget.py
index e47bab3..2afb8e4 100644
--- a/IPython/frontend/qt/console/frontend_widget.py
+++ b/IPython/frontend/qt/console/frontend_widget.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from PyQt4 import QtCore, QtGui
 
 # Local imports
 from IPython.core.inputsplitter import InputSplitter, transform_classic_prompt
+from IPython.core.oinspect import call_tip
 from IPython.frontend.qt.base_frontend_mixin import BaseFrontendMixin
 from IPython.utils.traitlets import Bool
 from bracket_matcher import BracketMatcher
@@ -334,9 +335,13 @@ class FrontendWidget(HistoryConsoleWidget, BaseFrontendMixin):
         info = self._request_info.get('call_tip')
         if info and info.id == rep['parent_header']['msg_id'] and \
                 info.pos == cursor.position():
-            doc = rep['content']['docstring']
-            if doc:
-                self._call_tip_widget.show_docstring(doc)
+            # Get the information for a call tip.  For now we format the call
+            # line as string, later we can pass False to format_call and
+            # syntax-highlight it ourselves for nicer formatting in the
+            # calltip.
+            call_info, doc = call_tip(rep['content'], format_call=True)
+            if call_info or doc:
+                self._call_tip_widget.show_call_info(call_info, doc)
 
     def _handle_pyout(self, msg):
         """ Handle display hook output.
diff --git a/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py b/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py
index 1e16ccd..0966e7d 100755
--- a/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py
+++ b/IPython/zmq/ipkernel.py
@@ -303,9 +303,8 @@ class Kernel(Configurable):
 
     def object_info_request(self, ident, parent):
         object_info = self.shell.object_inspect(parent['content']['oname'])
-        # Before we send this object over, we turn it into a dict and we scrub
-        # it for JSON usage
-        oinfo = json_clean(object_info._asdict())
+        # Before we send this object over, we scrub it for JSON usage
+        oinfo = json_clean(object_info)
         msg = self.session.send(self.reply_socket, 'object_info_reply',
                                 oinfo, parent, ident)
         io.raw_print(msg)
diff --git a/docs/source/development/messaging.txt b/docs/source/development/messaging.txt
index 7134d77..fdb4ec3 100644
--- a/docs/source/development/messaging.txt
+++ b/docs/source/development/messaging.txt
@@ -462,6 +462,9 @@ field names that IPython prints at the terminal.
 Message type: ``object_info_reply``::
 
     content = {
+    # The name the object was requested under
+    'name' : str,
+    
     # Boolean flag indicating whether the named object was found or not.  If
     # it's false, all other fields will be empty.
     'found' : bool,
@@ -511,7 +514,7 @@ Message type: ``object_info_reply``::
 		  # that these must be matched *in reverse* with the 'args'
 		  # list above, since the first positional args have no default
 		  # value at all.
-		  func_defaults : list,
+		  defaults : list,
 		  },
 
     # For instances, provide the constructor signature (the definition of