From the category archives:

Skype News

When I interviewed Skype CEO Josh Silverman at CES 2010 in January, I had asked about the timing for a Skype IPO. Josh’s response:
“We’ll see. We don’t have a timeline for it. Our focus is to build a really great company. When we’re ready and the markets are ready, we’ll consider an IPO. At [...]

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Categories Communications News, Service Providers, Skype News, Skype Operations, To Be Categorized

Three weeks after announcing SkypeKit for Linux, Skype has lived up to its commitment to provide support for Windows and Mac OS X.
What does this mean for future deployment of Skype access?
Basically the ability to embed Skype within a third party Windows and/or Mac OS X application without the need for the Skype client [...]

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Categories Communications News, Skype Bytes, Skype News, Skype Partner Solutions, Skype Platform, To Be Categorized

“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

This morning, at the CEA Line Show in New York, Skype is taking the first step in the evolution of its revamped developer platform with the beta release of SkypeKit, “empowering consumer electronic and desktop software innovators to embed Skype into their products”.
In summary:

Most importantly, SkypeKit allows developers to embed all the functionality of [...]

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Categories Communications News, Developers, Embedded Skype, Skype Hardware, Skype News, Skype Partner News, Skype Platform, Using Skype, Video calling

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

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

New Skype Subscriptions: The Reality

by Jim Courtney on Fri, May 7, 2010 7:05 pm

Yesterday Skype introduced new subscription or calling plan options that provide more flexibility in terms of matching a subscription option to an individual user’s specific needs. In summary:
Ongoing Plans
The previous local country, regional and worldwide calling plans remain in place with three two changes that I have encountered:

some price increases: for instance, while “Unlimited [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Service Providers, Skype News, Skype Operations, Skype for Personal, Using Skype

This morning Skype issued a press release, Call Your Friends and Family Anywhere in the World For Less, announcing new consumer calling plans (subscriptions) that cover over 170 countries and introduce more granularity into the choices such as calling time, termination country(ies) and plan period (1-, 3- and 12-month).
While still awaiting to see the [...]

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Categories Communications News, Mobile Applications, Skype News, Skype for Personal, 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

Since the initial announcement of Skype for SIP a year ago today, with the goal of integrating some elements of Skype’s infrastructure into legacy PBX systems that support SIP, Skype has been expanding its partner base as well as incorporating its deployment into the Skype for Business program.
To repeat: the purpose and goals of [...]

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Categories Communications News, Skype News, Skype Partner News, Skype Platform, Using Skype

Three weeks ago Skype made available the “Gold” release of Skype 4.2 for Windows. In the interim I have had the opportunity to experience many of its new features, several of which I have found improve the call experience in somewhat subtle but very beneficial ways.
Call Quality Indicator
This is what I have found [...]

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Categories Communications Stories, Conversation Providers, Skype For Business, Skype News, Skype for Personal, 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

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