From the category archives:

IP-Based Communications

With the release of Skype 4.0 for Windows beta 3 a year ago February, Skype first introduced their superwideband SILK codec. A month later at eComm 2009, Jonathan Christensen announced SILK’s availability for third party partners with royalty free licensing of the SILK codec. Since then it has been incorporated into all subsequent releases [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Embedded Skype, Mobile Devices, Service Providers, Skype Hardware, Skype Platform, Skype on Mobile, Wireless Carriers

It’s almost a week since the close of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. – an area where I have spent a lot of time over the past thirty-six years, mostly on business but also on (ski) vacations. These Olympics turned out to be a defining moment not just for Canadian athletics [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Service Providers, Wireless Carriers

Skype has always been challenged with respect to making its growing feature set available on the most popular operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The major ongoing complaint from Skype users has been features on a new release for one OS that don’t appear on the other OS’s clients that may not [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Service Providers, Skype Partner News, Skype Partner Solutions, Skype Platform, Web 2.0 Tools and Applications

The DECT 6.0-compliant RTX 3088 Dualphone allows North American consumers to continue to use their legacy PSTN phone service while seamlessly incorporating Skype into their routine “home phone” activities. And it’s one reason why you will see those Skype Mood Messages that say “Using Skype without my computer”.
Last fall In Store Solutions released a North [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Embedded Skype, Skype Hardware, Using Skype

During my recent interview with Russ Shaw, Skype’s VP and GM for Mobile, he emphasized Skype’s focus on having a true Skype user experience when it comes to supporting Skype on mobile devices.
What is meant by a “true Skype user experience” on a mobile device? Some examples, based largely on my own experience with several [...]

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Categories Communications News, Mobile Applications, Mobile Devices, Skype News, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype

Announcement of the Skype – Verizon agreement certainly has generated buzz around both the Mobile World Congress and the blogosphere. Last Wednesday morning, one day after the announcement, several bloggers and mobile ecosystem players came together on a CalliFlower-hosted SquawkBox conference call to discuss both the triggers for the agreement and the implementations.
Co-hosted by Carl [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Embedded Skype, Mobile Devices, Skype Partner News, Skype on Mobile, To Be Categorized, Uncategorized, Wireless Carriers

Yesterday’s announcement that Skype will become available as a supported service on Verizon Wireless has to have sent a tsunami through the wireless operator world. To review the offering:

A Skype client will be included on nine models of BlackBerry and Android smartphones in late March; current customers with these devices will be able to download [...]

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Categories Communications News, Embedded Skype, Mobile Devices, Skype News, Skype Partner Solutions, Skype Platform, Skype for Personal, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype, Wireless Carriers

Full disclosure: This post was prepared prior to today’s press conference using information that was publicly available prior to the conference. In the second post I’ll discuss the service as announced at CES today.
When you can advertise “Free phone calling internationally”, they will come! In the CES interview with Skype CEO Josh Silverman, Josh [...]

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Categories Communications News, Embedded Skype, Mobile Applications, Mobile Devices, Skype Channels, Skype News, Skype Partner News, Skype Platform, Skype Software, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype, Wireless Carriers

At last month’s CES I had the opportunity to meet with Skype CEO Josh Silverman and discuss various Skype issues that have arisen over the past year as well as where Skype is headed as a privately owned company. At the time I thought this would result in a normal text-based blog post outlining [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Mobile Applications, Skype News, Skype Partner News, Skype Platform, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype

At CES 2010 last month I had the opportunity to record interviews with Skype CEO Josh Silverman as well as Russ Shaw, Vice President and General Manager of Skype Mobile and EMEA, and Matt Jordan, Enterprise Business Development Manager.
In this second interview Russ Shaw covers a wide range of questions about Skype on different [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Embedded Skype, Mobile Applications, Mobile Devices, Skype Hardware, Skype News, Skype Partner News, Skype Platform, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype, Wireless Carriers

Over the past several months I have written three posts about WiFi’s ever-increasing role as a complement to the wireless carriers:

WiFi: The Real Threat to the Mobile Carriers
Is WiFi Becoming the Unregulated Stealth Carrier of the Future?
Traveling in a Bipolar Mobile Mode

Basically, in my recent travels I have found that WiFi access is becoming [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Mobile Applications, Skype For Business, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype, Wireless Carriers

At CES 2010 last month I had the opportunity to record interviews with Skype CEO Josh Silverman as well as Russ Shaw, Vice President and General Manager of Skype Mobile and EMEA, and Matt Jordan, Enterprise Business Development Manager.
In this first interview Matt Jordan talks about the evolving Skype for Business Program. After giving [...]

Categories Communications Stories, Skype For Business, Skype Hardware, Skype News, Skype Partner Solutions, Skype Platform, Using Skype

Launch of the iPad last week and the Apple’s recent change in their developer terms of service involving the removal of restrictions for using VoIP technology over a carrier’s 3G network have had the Skype mobile team busy reviewing the opportunities.
In a Share Skype post, An update on Skype for iPhone and calling over [...]

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Categories Communications News, Mobile Applications, Mobile Devices, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype, Wireless Carriers

But it’s neither; it’s an electronic version of a briefcase (or attaché case) which can contain everything we carry around with a roughly 8.5″ x 11″ form factor Consider the items we would carry around in a briefcase: newspapers and magazines

…Many are disappointed by the fact it’s not a phone; however, that issue was best addressed by this photo and an accompanying comment found on an acquaintance’s social networking: Look at this picture of Steve Jobs holding his iPhone.

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Categories Communications Stories, Mobile Applications, Mobile Devices, Skype on Mobile

Last fall Phil Wolff at Skype Journal mused on the topic of “Why Collaboration is Strategic for Skype”. His conclusion – collaboration is a competitive edge:
Skype could advance the best collaboration practices and technology. And with Skype’s distribution (one billion accounts by 2013), could easily become the tool of choice for producing results, enjoying [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Service Providers, Skype For Business, Skype Partner News, Using Skype