Cellphone9 » Skype

Skype Phone to launch everywhere

Jayvee Fernandez — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:00:38 +0000

First it was Apple. And then Google announced their own. Now Skype is joining the bandwagon too. Yes, Skype is partnering with telcos to release their first cell phone.

Code-named the “white phone,” the Skype handset will be introduced by late October in Britain, Italy, Hong Kong, and Australia, and will reach 3’s other five markets later, BusinessWeek has learned. There are no immediate plans to bring the device to North America, though the companies may try to license it to other carriers or sell versions straight to consumers for them to use on other networks.[Full Article]

Two things:

First, unlike the iPhone, the Skype Phone will be available on a massive scale throughout the world. This shows the growing demand of international VoIP calls from everywhere else. Second, the seemingly nonchalance of telcos to not minding an exclusivity deal only shows that there is big business in data calls.

The Skype phone will feature multimedia capabilities, high speed browsing, and of course a huge Skype button that allows for easy data calls.

Post from: Cellphone9

A 5% difference between being connected “now” or “later”

Jayvee Fernandez — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 07:31:28 +0000

Look at the chart. I was able to swipe this survey off The Register as they’ve done a fine job of showing that a great percentage of people between 20-30 years of age suffer from Internet anxiety. Which is why the market for wireless connectivity, mostly through laptops and mobile phones is booming.

Have a closer look at the survey results at The Register.

Post from: Cellphone9

iSkoot: Skype on your mobile phone

Jayvee Fernandez — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 18:04:15 +0000

Here is a way to turn your mobile phone into a Skype phone. By using the very cheap GPRS rates from your regular cellphone, you can call any computer – or anyone on Skype anywhere around the world. And did I say it was cheap?

Here is the description from the company’s website:

With iSkoot, a mobile phone user gets the power of PC Calling as part of their normal communications capabilities. iSkoot eliminates the need for special hardware, headsets, microphones, broadband connections, USB phones and even PCs, and consumers don’t have to go looking for a WiFi hot spot.
Our iSkoot phone application, a free small and simple piece of software, and our network gateway connect your voice network with a PC-PC network so that you can use your Internet phone service from a regular cell phone. Everything you can do with online phone services, you can now do on your cell phone powered by iSkoot.

Will this application endanger the Skype Phone? Well not really, since Skype phones allow free calls as long as you’re in a WiFi hotspot. But the app is good to have around your phone regardless. It’s all a matter of having many many options.

Post from: Cellphone9