From the category archives:

Skype on Mobile

“Fring is not a communications platform, but only a toy or at best a testbed for shiny objects.”
Comment by Hudson Barton on Andy Abramson’s post: Fring Fumbles on Cross Platform Video Chat
In observing the evolution of Skype and third party access to it over the past few years I have often wondered how far Skype [...]

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Categories Communications News, Mobile Applications, Skype News, Skype Platform, Skype on Mobile

Blogger colleague Dan York, Director of Conversations at Voxeo, recently ordered and received a Camera Connection kit for his iPad. In most dramatic fashion Dan shows he can break through Apple’s packaging and demonstrates two ways to transfer photos from his Nikon D90.
But wait –that’s not all! Being the geek that he is, he [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Skype Hardware, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype

When I made those initial Skype for iPhone calls last weekend, not only did I gain a quick appreciation of the voice quality but I also realized that the forthcoming multi-tasking feature of iPhone OS4 could offer new possibilities. Yes, multi-tasking would facilitate Skype’s Instant Messaging in an “always-on” mode but there could also [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Mobile Applications, Service Providers, Skype on Mobile

Since its release late Saturday, Skype for iPhone 2.0, with its support of calling over 3G carriers and superwideband audio using Skype’s SILK codec, has set the blogosphere awash with two genres of commentary: those who seem to think the end of free Skype calling is approaching as an Armageddon and those who recognize [...]

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

Over the past couple of days I have had the opportunity to complete calls using Skype for iPhone 2.0 over 3G to contacts in the U.K., the U.S. and Spain, not only while staying in one location but also at 100 km/hr crossing through several mobile phone cells along Canada’s busiest freeway that recently [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Mobile Applications, Skype Bytes, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype

Normally when Skype has made a major release, Skype PR will provide a heads-up to bloggers and other technology media a day or two ahead of time under an embargo until a defined time. This allows Skype to better manage the message to the market in terms of at least answering initial questions that [...]

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

This morning I received a chat message from TechCraver’s Jason Harris asking if I would take a video call. Little did I realize that this was not going to be a normal HD Skype video call like our last one.
Jason is a fan of the Nokia N900 mobile computer which has always supported Skype voice [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Communications Technology, Mobile Applications, Mobile Devices, Skype Hardware, Skype News, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype

While attending eComm 2010 three weeks ago I was honored to be asked to join six other bloggers in providing weekly posts to Voyces.com, a blog that provides opinion, insight and perspective on developments in the IP-based and mobile communications space.
The initial two posts:
Has “Social Sharing” Become the “Nom du Jour”? provides a follow [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Communications Technology, Mobile Applications, Mobile Devices, Skype Platform, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype

Launch of the iAttaché (woops, iPad) has certainly generated lots of social media coverage: blogs, Twitter and Facebook are full of comments and reviews. 300,000 sold; over a million Apps downloaded, etc. Since it’s not available yet for Canadians (except those who made the trip to Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago and Seattle, for instance, last [...]

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Categories Conversation Providers, Mobile Devices, Skype on Mobile, Using Skype

A month ago at Mobile World Congress, Skype and Verizon stole the spotlight by announcing Verizon’s forthcoming Skype mobile service. This afternoon at CTIA in Las Vegas, Verizon and Skype announced that the service will launch in two days on Thursday, March 25 (think Christmas in March).
If there was one overriding theme that came [...]

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

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

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, 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