VoIP Help Center

Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:29 pm      

Skype is set to formally release on September 29, 2005 the latest version of its voice over Internet Protocol service, which includes call forwarding and downloadable ring tones, pictures and sounds.

Skype lets callers forward incoming Skype calls to another Skype account for free. Users can also forward calls to up to three landline or mobile numbers for as little as 2 cents a minute, depending on the country, according to the company's chief marketing officer, Saul Klein.

Here at Live Phone we don't review Skype because it is a Point to Point (P2P) proprietary system that includes other features. In the Skype FAQ they ask why is Skype better than Net2Phone, ICQ, AIM, MSN. Their simple answer is because it works. True SIP and VOIP phones work or they would not be around for long.


Years ago Microsoft introduced Net Meeting, complete with collaborative white board and text chat. Skype, in todays format, features voice, file transfers, and interfaces with instant messenging. It does not support video phones, and may or may not run on Windows 98, according to their website.


Anti Virus protection such as Avast can check P2P connections and will process Skype connections to protect your computer. Extra processor overhead, in the opinion of Live Phone, can have detrimental effects on voice processing. We don't say much about Skype because we concentrate on true VOIP and SIP where voice quality is not effected by other applications which require part of your processor power.


Skype claims to have great sound quality as do most SIP phones with the possible exception of eyeP Media's free soft phone. Enough said. This is our link to Skype to visit them.


Skype announced it has signed a deal with its first mobile operator. The company has agreed to a partnership with German mobile operator E-Plus, which will offer its customers free use of Skype's voice over IP (VoIP) service as part of its flat-rate data subscription package for 3G (third-generation) data card users.

Under the terms of the deal Skype will continue as E-Plus' exclusive VoIP supplier. Skype has already garnered 2.8 million users in Germany and will now gain access to some of E-Plus' 9.8 million customers.

Free voice calls for all? In a few short years, consumers can expect to make telephone calls for free, with no per-minute charges, as part of a package of services through which carriers make money on advertising or transaction fees, eBay's chief executive said Wednesday.

Seeking to justify eBay's four billion dollar purchase of Web-based communications phenomenon Skype Technologies, Meg Whitman countered criticism by a financial analyst during the company's quarterly conference call by agreeing with some of his points.

"The percentage of users that you can actually charge for (phone services) will actually go down, so I actually agree with that and we understood that when we looked at Skype," Whitman said in responding to the analyst's question.

"In the end, the price that anyone can provide for voice transmission on the 'Net will trend toward zero," eBay's top executive said.

LAS VEGAS -- Networking products maker Netgear and wireless calling provider Skype on Wednesday unveiled the first Wi-Fi phone designed to work on the internationally popular voice over IP service.

The so-called Wi-Fi phone, which will allow Skype users to access the service and call anyone anywhere in the world, is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2006. The companies also said pricing would be announced in that time frame.

The idea, company officials said at the Consumer Electronics Show here, is that Luxembourg-based Skype's members will be able to use the phone on any wireless Internet connection out of the box after entering their username and password. A PC will not be required.

The phone will work on encrypted Wi-Fi networks, as long as a user has the proper network ID, but it will not work on paid Wi-Fi systems like those offered at many bookstores and cafes. However, the system is not designed to work seamlessly across multiple access points.

"We will be able to (multiply by 10) the number of Skype users around the world," said Netgear CEO Patrick Lo. "We will free people from the inability to call people around the world because it's too expensive."