I like the idea of the 3 Skypephone, mostly.

Some things were compromised to make it work:

• no SkypeOut (conflicting with 3, perhaps too complicated to sell with a mobile),
• no Skype video calls (processor, power, memory intensive),
• no public APIs (it is iSkoot's software, not Skype's),
• no end-to-end encryption (since Skype's encryption ends at iSkoot's servers).

But I can live with the compromises.

Because the point is to test things.

3 is testing if innovative calling and chatting experiences keep customers loyal. Is the buddy list and presence and threaded chat the new lock-in? Can all this soft, mushy, social balderdash pay off?

Skype is testing its ability to partner with carriers. Can Skype use its comparatively fresh Skype brand without using any Skype software at all? The phone is running iSkoot and Qualcomm software/firmware. Skype's roll is all in marketing the phone and selling SkypePro service plans.

Skype is testing its own virality on mobiles. Can Skype make the Skypephone's customers so happy they drag all their friends into the Skype network, restarting Skype's customer growth?

iSkoot is testing scale. What happens when millions use iSkoot as their primary mobile interface instead of as optional, infrequently used software? What will break? What new features will people demand?

Finally the Skype vs. Apple test: Are Skype's free/social power sufficient to defend 3's markets from iPhone mania? iPhone is rolling in the UK with O2 November 9, a week after the Skypephone.

You can buy the 3 Skypephone on Friday from the Skype online store. Or read about it now on its Skype product page.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 02:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype and 3 announced the first official 3G Skypephone will ship in United Kingdom 2 Nov ‘07. "Coming soon" to Australia, Italy, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Republic of Ireland.

£49.99. Works as a mobile phone. Works as a Skype client.

3G. NO WiFi. WiFi not required for Skyping. 

iSkoot clients talking to iSkoot servers. iSkoot running over Qualcomm's BREW. Not confirmed who makes the hardware.

White, Black. Blue and pink trim options.

More to come

Skype news release below the fold.

3 SKYPEPHONE DELIVERS FREE SKYPE TO SKYPE

MOBILE CALLS AND INSTANT MESSAGES AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON

LUXEMBOURG, 29^th October 2007 – Skype, the global Internet communications company and 3, the mobile operator, have launched a new affordable handset that lets you make free Skype to Skype calls and send free Skype instant messages from your mobile phone to other Skype users no matter where they are. 

The 3 Skypephone is a fully-featured 3G Internet phone with Skype built-in.  In addition to Skype calls the phone makes conventional calls and can be used to access 3’s broad range of other internet services.

3 customers using the 3 Skypephone will be able to make Skype calls and send instant messages on the move with the push of a button.   This is the first time an operator has offered a mass market device which is tailor-made for free calling over the internet from a mobile.  Now, all of Skype’s 246 million registered can be reached for free with the 3 Skypephone.

According to Michael van Swaaij, acting CEO at Skype, “Skype is now truly mobile. This new handset is incredibly easy to use and lets you make free mobile Skype calls when you are on the move to other Skype users all over the world no matter where they are.  It couldn’t be simpler – put Skype in your pocket and make free Skype mobile calls and send free Skype instant messages at the touch of a single Skype button.” 

Michael van Swaaij added, “Skype began by offering free PC to PC calling and now we’re doing the same with mobile calls with 3.  Thanks to 3, Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena. It takes an innovative operator like 3 to challenge traditional thinking and offer the kind of product other operators are still shying away from.”

Kevin Russell, Chief Executive Officer, 3 UK, said, “3 wants to make the mobile internet available to everyone.  To do this, we believe that services need to be simple to access and affordable.  Communication is the prime function of the mobile today.  Skype is the leader in internet communications.  To enable Skype to go mobile in this way brings free internet calls together with an affordable 3G handset.  Mobile has the potential to massively increase access to internet calling.” 

The handset was developed by Skype and 3 in partnership with Qualcomm, using Qualcomm’s BREW platform to enable Skype to work with core handset features such as address book and messaging.

The 3 Skypephone will be available this year in the UK, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden.  Skype to Skype calls will always be free from your 3 Skypephone as long as you are on contract or your PAYG 3 credit is topped up monthly.  In the UK, the 3 Skypephone is £49.99 on a PAYG tariff or free on a contract. **

The 3 Skypephone is available from 2 November in 3Stores across the UK and from Skype and 3’s websites in time for Christmas.  The 3 Skypephone is available for pre-order in the UK from today.   Anyone who doesn’t already use Skype can create a Skype account by going to www.skype.com and downloading the free software onto their computer.  Alternatively they can create a Skype account directly from their 3 Skypephone.

** Fair use policy & terms apply.  See the 3 website in each country for local prices and conditions

**Free calls are Skype to Skype calls and Skype instant messages from the 3 network (in some countries this is also available when roaming on a 3 sister network). 

Notes to editors:

3 Skypephone functionality:

With 3G, a 2-megapixel camera, mp3 player, mobile TV and internet, 3 Skypephone keeps you occupied even when you run out of things to say. Plus, it’s small and shiny, and comes in black or white, with blue or pink trim.  3 Skypephone also includes:

• Fully integrated Skype functionality with contacts, call logs and presence.
• Access to Java and 3D games and two preloaded games
• 2.0 Megapixel camera
• Internet browsing
• Bluetooth
• Weight: 86g
• Size: 100 x 44 x 13.6mm
• Battery Standby: 320 Hours
• Battery Talk Time: 270 Minutes
• Battery Video Talk Time: 170 Minutes
• Screen Size: 2.0” QCIF (176 x 220)
• Colour: 262K
• Internal Memory: 16MB
• External Memory: expandable to 1GB microSD

Handset includes:

• Battery 1150mAh
• Battery cover (magnetic)
• Personal stereo hands free kit
• USB cable
• Mains charger
• CD–ROM for PC connection
• 256MB micro SD memory card (no adapter)
• 3 user guide
• Quick start guide for Skype

About 3

3 is a mobile media company delivering a convergence of communications, entertainment and information to customers on the move.  The three areas that form the core of its business are:

Communications – including all forms of personal communications; voice and video calling; text, picture and video messaging; and mobile blogging

Entertainment – including television; music audio and video, computer games, and media publishing

Information services – including wireless web, access to the best of the internet and a range of news services

3 UK is a member of the HWL group of 3G companies, which include 3G operations in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Macau and Sweden.

About Skype

Skype sets the standard in providing new and easy ways to stay in touch over the internet. Millions of people every day make free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls and send instant messages using our software. Some pay a little per minute for long-distance and international calls to phones and mobiles and for SMS, voicemail and call forwarding, or they buy subscriptions that give unlimited calls nationwide.

We certify and sell hundreds of hardware products from more than 50 partners and work with third-party developers to create software to extend Skype's functionality. Skype has been downloaded more than half a billion times and over 246 million people from almost every corner of the globe have registered. Make your world a smaller place: talk, share and do more with Skype.

Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY), and you can learn more and get Skype at www.skype.com.

Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s BREW solutions change the way people relate to wireless data services.  By enabling the discovery and delivery of high-value content, BREW creates opportunities for the wireless industry to enhance consumers’ mobile data experience.  Qualcomm’s comprehensive and targeted BREW Signature Solutions offer reduced time to market and lower capital investment for companies providing mobile products and services.  Customers also can benefit from several modular BREW offerings, including uiOne™, deliveryOne and QPoint™, which provide the foundation for customer-differentiated wireless data capabilities.

Posted by Phil Wolff at 01:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Thomas Howe laments the passing of the eTel conference and the thinking behind its demise that VoIP is boring ... stagnant ... unappealing ... not sexy. But he goes on to say "stick a fork in it baby, VoIP is done". And then he gets to the meat of voice's role going forward:

.... I think that anyone who deeply thinks about this stuff knows that voice, in and of itself, is pretty stagnant and boring. But, if you only consider voice by itself, and voice services as only being about voice, then you’re really at a dead end. But, as Martin Geddes would say, if you see the transformation from horizontal voice into vertical services, where voice stops becoming the important part, and starts supporting the other applications around it… then you see we {are} at the beginning of true, massive and ubiquitous voice enabled applications. I can’t believe that true Internet guys would miss this obvious architectural (in both business and bits) opportunity, but apparently… they have. [author's bold]

When you take out the hardware and, concurrently, you take the complexity out of call center operation as OnState has done for call center management, when you start providing tools for making conversations asynchronous as Evoca has done with their audio web services, when you embed conversation tools (voice and IM) into Salesforce.com as PamConsult has done by developing Skype for Salesforce.com you can start to see voice embedded into customer relationship management applications.

Go back and read my Skype Primer post on Skype's Extra Gallery and Developer Partner Program. Enhance business processes by embedding voice and you have a key differentiator for Skype; enhance business processes by embedding voice and you have not only increased productivity but also increased revenue opportunities for both the partners and their customers.

I look forward to meeting Thomas this week and learning more about embedding voice such that it supports many other vertical applications around it.

Tags: Skype, Thomas Howe, OnState, PamConsult, Evoca, Skype Developer Partners, Skype Extras

Posted by Jim Courtney at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Tuesday I will be heading to Boston for the annual fall VON event. The past few shows have been criticized for their migration towards a "carrier" conference, leaving little room for attracting the innovators in the (IP) telecommunications space. As a result Carl Ford, Chief Community Development Officer at PulverMedia, has included an Innovator's Track where the creative talents reign supreme. Intriguing topics to be covered include

• Rapid Development
• VoIP over 3G
• VoIP, Virtualizaton and New Service Creation
• Enterprise 2.x
• Social Networking
• Goin' Mobile with Skype
• iHacks Freeing the iPhone
• Europe Leads the Way
• The Secret Life of HD VoIP

with panelists such as Thomas Howe (aka Mr. Mashup), James Tagg (Truphone), Ben Lilienthal (VAPPS - HighSpeedConferencing), Aswath Rao, Helen Khais (IM+ for Skype), Stephane Marceau (Mobivox), Samuel Li (iSkoot), Jeff Black (Talk Plus) amongst others.

But this was not sufficient so Carl has also worked with Thomas Howe, Alec Saunders and other to create a VONCamp UnConference. I have no experience with Unconferences but in addition to Alec and Thomas both Jon Arnold and Brough Turner have written about it.

The challenge for me is to determine when I should be at the Innovators Track and when at the VONCamp. But to help sort it out:

The Innovators Forum is a series of sessions that show case companies in our more traditional format. However dialogue in these sessions is encouraged. The VONCamp Unconference is harder to describe, because it gives people a chance to self identify as a speaker. ... If you've got something you want to discuss that's outside the formal program, VONCamp Unconference is the place to do it.

Posted by Jim Courtney at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"A kiss for Enrico from his Nonna... Our grandson Enrico in the U.S. (and his generation), will never remember not being able to have a video conversation with his grandparents half-way around the world in Italy. Now, if Skype would only invent a "hug" button!"
- Rick Pappas

In the banner close-up you cannot tell who is virtual and who is real. Does it matter?

Posted by Phil Wolff at 04:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week we reached for the first time 10 million concurrent Skype users online. Completely to my surprise, this week we went over 10.270.000 users online. This is an increase of 2.5% in one week!

Is the deal with MySpace already harvesting new Skype Users? Perhaps, because i noticed also an increase in the number of downloads of the Skype client! The download speed is twice as high as some weeks ago.

Below I published the updated graph of the evolution of users online since the beginning of Skype in August 2003 (my data samples).

Users online fluctuate during the day, week and months, but reach now sometimes 10 million users online, and never go below 4 million users online (see the two blue curves, representing "upper" and "lower" limits of users online over the last 4 years). Some reasons for the fluctuations are:

• At night some people log off;
• During the weekend, fewer people are online;
• Holiday periods (summer, New Year, other public holidays) are also "bad" for the online number.

Although the growth of users online has been strong the last two weeks, I still don’t believe we will reach the 11 million mark this year!

Jean Mercier keeps count at Skype Numerology.

Posted by Jean Mercier at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The release of the Leopard OS for the Mac is still getting its spots cleaned up. Andy Abramson reports on issues with handling some SIP-based applications. However, he also reports that Gizmo Project and SightSpeed are now working as intended due to the dedication of some employees working through a Saturday today.

Seems there may be a problem with Skype; use it once but don't try to open it again. If you have any experience with this, please use the comments.

I think I'll wait until after the New Year before acquiring a MacBook.

Posted by Jim Courtney at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Guest post by Yu-Hsiu Lee, Doctoral Student, Language Education Department, Indiana University Bloomington and Chinese Instructor, Asian Culture Center, Indiana University.

The trend of teaching and learning Chinese over Skype online is receiving more and more attention. The relationship between Skype and online Chinese instruction was extensively discussed at the the Fifth International Conference on Internet Chinese Education in Taipei, Taiwan, June 2-4, 2007[1]. Some conference sessions where Skype was on the programme:

• The cooperation of Chinese computer-assisted language learning between Industry and Academia
• Integration between Chinese E-learning and E-Teaching
• Development and production of Chinese E-learning courseware
• Application, Implementation, Collaboration for Internet-based Chinese school

Even on the Chinese Language Teacher Association's job board, the biggest Chinese teaching job board in the world, training firm ChineseDawn posted an ad to recruit Skype online Chinese Mandarin tutors and teachers.

8.07.07: ChineseDawn (CLTA Job Announcements, Chinese Language Teacher Association,Inc, 2007)

Skype Online Mandarin Teachers/Tutors Required.

ChineseDawn is recruiting for Mandarin Tutors and Teachers in preparation of its launch in late September 2007.

ChineseDawn is in the process of creating a dedicated web site where UK residents (Corporate, Schools, Adult, Teen, Kids and Family)can subscribe to a series of scheduled 1 to 1 lessons and be matched with suitable teachers. Teachers who can spare at least a few hours per week are invited.

ChineseDawn will be embarking on extensive online and newspaper advertising in August.

50% of all revenues will go to the Teachers. Initially the service will be charged at £8 ($16) per 45 minute lesson for private individuals. (Teacher will receive £4 (GB Sterling) per 45 minutes).

Using Skype to learn Chinese as second language is extremely popular among many non-Chinese spoken countries (i.e., UK, USA, Australia, Thailand and Canada). Skype has helped this Chinese online teaching industry to grow enormously (e.g., ChineseDawn).

Pros: audio, video, and convenience 

First of all, when learning a second or foreign language, the authentic pronunciation input given by native speakers of the target language is crucial.

For those who are auditory learners, Skype has provided a high quality and stable sound system as compared to other VoIP Internet Calls. The more students listen to Chinese through Skype in Chinese as a foreign language context, the better their Chinese proficiency can be increased, because their brain does the work in acquiring Chinese while spending one or two hours listening to Chinese online.

Chinese as a second language learners, therefore, can get clear and authentic pronunciation from their tutors via Skype and improve their Chinese language competence and performance.

Secondly, convenience. if you are busy doing your job over the daily course of your life, Skype online learning might be a good choice for you to learn Chinese. As long as you can set up a time when you and your Skype Chinese teacher can meet online, you still can learn Chinese in spite of your busy schedule. Skype makes Chinese learning accessible for those who need to learn Chinese, but have busy schedule.

Third, in comparison to numerous software-based Chinese learning e-tools, Skype has an advantage since visual learners can see the face of their tutors to best help them learn Chinese.

Cons: non-verbal cues, feedback

A teacher is limited in modeling non-verbal Chinese communication events for students over Skype. For instance, when we apologize to someone in our native languages, we have non-verbal expressions along with the words we speak. 

What's more, when a Skype online Chinese teacher drills his (or her) students to practice pronunciation, reading, or writing, it is difficult to monitor students' real performance and progress. Therefore, the issue of Skype-based Chinese language assessment and evaluation might be a big concern for Skype engineers or Chinese pedagogy educators to deal with.

Conclusions

Nevertheless, Skype ultimately offers a decent E-environment for online Chinese learning. It gives a high quality web-based platform for both sound communication and visualization, assisting all the possible Internet-based foreign language teaching and learning practice.

References

1. Graduate Institution of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, National Taiwan
2. Normal University. (2007). Conferences. Retrieved Oct 26th, 2007 from http://www.ntnu.edu.tw/tcsl/
3. CLTA Job Anouncements. (2007). ChineseDawn. Retrieved Oct 26th, 2007 from http://clta-us.org/employ.htm.

Posted by Guest Blogger at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the fifth post in a series summarizing the current state of Skype's ecosystem and providing a perspective on the assets in place for a new CEO to run with.

The intrigue of low cost mobile conversations in a user-friendly environment has generated significant interest and speculation amongst Skype followers. Device resource capacity, communications standards limitations and finding a role within carrier business models have all imposed restrictions on the adoption of Skype on mobile platforms. I probably see more queries about using Skype on a mobile platform than the combination of all other Skype issues. And, as with designing mobile websites, it's not a simple case of what works on the landline web works on wireless mobile platforms.

A Brief History of Skype on mobile devices

May 2005 saw the initial speculation about Skype on a (Symbian) mobile platform; nine months later Stuart reported on the sighting of a prototype Skype for Symbian¹ that provided text messaging and a "push to talk" application that has never seen the light of day. Over the past three years we have seen the evolution of Skype for Mobile on Windows Mobile platforms. Skype WiFi phones, available in the fall 2006, did not exactly take off due to both sparse wireless coverage and device resource limitations (not to mention costs). This past summer we learned about two Skype-enabled services providing both voice and chat for Blackberries and Nokia smartphones (IM+ for Skype and iSkoot); they actually worked more or less as promoted! And it sounds like next week we may actually see a Skype phone on the 3 services.

Wireless VoIP: a Primer

At VON Boston next week late Wednesday morning will see a session "Going Mobile with Skype - Beep, Beep". So it's timely to review what we have learned to date, where the Skype on mobile platforms world is at and the critical questions for this session. First, what have we learned:

• Wireless access: VoIP over wireless requires either WiFi or a 3G network to have the horsepower to provide the low latency², appropriate bandwidth as well as data handling speeds required for high quality calls.
• Dual mode devices that support WiFi and/or 3G have only recently become available. Nokia's E61, N80 and N95 along with the recently introduced Blackberry 8320 Curve and 8820 are examples.
• There exists an installed base of 3.5 billion conventional phone devices and handsets
• There are currently two applications that support true VoIP calling on mobile platforms:
  • Truphone is fully integrated into various N-series devices such that VoIP calls can be made from WiFi zones or over a 3G network. But Truphone is largely a voice only service.
  • Skype for Mobile works on Windows Mobile 5 & 6 platforms but again requires WiFi or 3G.
  • Both these applications are fully integrated in that they access the native address book and follow the legacy process for making phone calls: look up a name, select a number, push the Call button and the called party's phone rings.
• Update: The 3 Skypephone introduced Monday, October 29 fundamentally changes nothing with respect to the above statements..

Skype's User Issues

The key user issues involving Skype access on mobile devices include:

• Ease of installation, if any, and provisioning
• Call initiation procedure: get number, direct call or callback
• Finding the number:
  • Access to device's native address book
  • Access to a users' Skype Contact list
  • Voice recognition
• Battery life
• Text input: T9 or QWERTY keyboard
• Availability of Skype text chat
• Carrier voice and data plans
• Notification and interruption control
  • especially with text messages
• Transparent geographical wireless coverage

Carrier Issues: Do they even want to go the VoIP route? Especially if they use GSM standards!

• VoIP carrier adoption basically requires an unlimited data plan to have maximum geographical coverage but do the carriers have the capacity to handle all the data that would result? A 60 minute VoIP call can result in 8 to 15 MB of data being exchanged.
• UMA/GAN is a recently launched standard that provides not only the ability to handle voice over WiFi using more conventional wireless protocols but also seamless transition as one traverses from a WiFi to GSM or GSM to WiFi zone.
  • Implementation requires carrier support and UMA-enabled devices, such as the Blackberry 8320 Curve and 8820.
  • Currently available on T-Mobile Hotspot @ Home, Cincinnati Bell Home Run in the U.S. and Orange throughout Europe amongst others.
  • UMA/GAN only operates on GSM networks and involves SIP for establishing a connection over the Internet.

So what are the incentives for carriers to even consider VoIP, given that, for GSM carriers, their underlying wireless service has the technology to transition seamlessly across protocol zone boundaries:

• Carriers can offer customers a fully supported, but lower cost, seamless service with maximum geographical coverage
• Provides a standard where business and consumer customers can transparently transition between networks
• Reduces carrier network congestion as well as cell tower and network build-out costs if customers install WiFi routers at home and/or business office (usually at customer's expense)
• Carriers can go more aggressively after landline phone replacement business,
  • especially in the residential market
  • minimum on-site service required at the home
    • assist with installing WiFi access point
• Some carriers are also supporting WiFi Hotspots: T-Mobile, Canadian Hotspot network (and according to my network of contacts, extensively in Europe such as The Cloud in London)
• Fixed fee subscription for UMA/GAN allows unlimited calling from hotels, airports, food service businesses, etc. while traveling (T-Mobile - $19.95 per month)
• UMA/GAN inherently incorporates E911 support.

Accessing Skype on Mobile Devices

What are the current implementations of Skype and VoIP mobile on mobile devices?

• Skype for Mobile (Windows Mobile 6 devices): voice and IM
• Truphone (several Nokia E- and N-series devices): voice, SMS and presence
• IM+ for Skype (Blackberry 8xxx, Nokia, iPhone, iTouch): voice, conference calls, multi-location and IM
• iSkoot (Blackberry, Nokia, 3 Skypephone (update) and others): voice and IM
• Mobivox: (Any phone; no device download, talk to VoxGirl): voice
• MyToGo (from any predesignated mobile phone via a Skype-enabled PC; no phone download): voice

Issues:

• Carrier voice access charges: all these offerings require the carrier to provide access to the voice network whether direct call or callback; minutes may be counted against your plan or it's pay-as-you-go.
• Carrier data plan charges:
  • Skype for Mobile and Truphone require 3G data plan, if not in a WiFi zone, and will invoke any data plan charges when using their VoIP for voice.
  • IM+ for Skype, and; iSkoot use the data plan for setting up calls, text messaging and to maintain presence information but revert to the underlying voice service for the actual voice calls.
  • Mobivox and MyToGo do not require data plan access
• WiFi capability will reduce or eliminate these charges when in a WiFi zone, even for voice if on a UMA-enabled service. (My first billing using the 8820 has seen about a 50% drop in my GPRS/EDGE data plan usage yet I use the data features much more liberally, especially when in my home office.)
• Battery life: using WiFi will draw down the battery more quickly, Nokia has a utility which helps to minimize WiFi scanning to only when absolutely necessary, yet my N95 must be recharged nightly. Currently iSkoot will drain my Blackberry 8820 (which has 40% more battery capacity than the 8700 series) within a day; IM+ for Skype runs for two to three days before draining the battery. (The GPS on the N95 and 8820 may also be a factor in battery life.)

Criteria for evaluating mobile Skype services

As we listen to the presenters at Wednesday's session the key criteria for Skype on Mobile include:

• How voice calls are implemented
• Skype chat availability and operation
• Access to contacts (Native device address book and/or Skype contacts)
  • Maximum number of contacts supported
• Wireless access support required: voice, voice and data; 2G/GPRS/EDGE, 3G and/or WiFi
• Range of services: voice, text chat, conference calling, support for Skype calling plans, "call back" location support
• Status and mood message handling
• Role for mobile mashups involving, say, Skype and mobile Google Maps

As Thomas Howe mentioned in our recent interview "What do people always have with them?". Mobile-enabled conversations on Skype will be playing a key role in Skype's evolution going forward. The one certainty is that Skype's approach will probably comprise multiple services, each serving a particular market niche, based on not only the mobile device, but also ease-of-use and the conversation modes desired.

I look forward to reporting from Boston on this session (and the impact of Skype's 3 announcement Monday on the direction of this session).

¹ Note that Nokia is the largest vendor of Symbian phones including their E-series and N-series.
² 2G/GPRS/EDGE networks have an inherent latency of 8 seconds for VoIP calls. Yes, 8 seconds!

PhoneBoy has his thoughts on WiFi-enabled phones and UMA. Again I say that just having the data go through WiFi at this time is a big benefit for me.

Other posts in this series:

• A Backgrounder
• Enabling Real Time Communications
• Skype Hardware - If and When Available
• Skype's Extras Gallery and Developer Partner Program

Tags: Skype, mobile Skype, Wireless Skype, Skype for Mobile, Symbian, Nokia, Blackberry, 8320, 8820, VON Boston, IM+ for Skype, iSkoot, Truphone, N95, N80, N-series, E-series, 3G, WiFi VoIP, 3, UMA, UMA/GAN, T-Mobile, Orange, Canadian Hotspot Network, Mobivox, MyToGo, Thomas Howe, Going Mobile with Skype

Posted by Jim Courtney at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the information I received from one of my "global blog and Skype informants" who likes to remain anonymous. These are supposed to be the specifications of the 3Skypephone. See below. Can't wait to get a sample for review.

I also checked the domain www.3skypephone.com; it is already registered. Not sure by who. But if you look up www.3skypephone.co.uk you find "michele carter" as registrant. Not sure who that is either. Anyways. Little tidbits of information will create a full picture.

The 3Skypephone launches 2 November.

We're launching our own mobile, the 3Skypephone. It's the evolution of handsets, it's mobile Skype.

Calling the world is now free. All calls to other 3Skypephones and other Skype users are made at no cost.

It's simple to use. Customers can just log into their Skype account like they would on a PC or create one quickly. All their contacts will appear on screen, so they can check their status and decide whether they want to call or instant message their friends. And there's a dedicated Skype key so calls can be made instantly.

The 3Skypephone comes with some great features:

• 2 Megapixel camera
• Photo editing and effects function
• Video capture
• MP3 player
• Inbuilt equalizer which enhances reproduction delivering great bass
• Simple navigation for browsing the library

Calls on the 3Skyephone are truly free, there are no calling charges, no data charges and no need to buy an extra add-on. It's FREE calls to anyone, anywhere at anytime.

The 3Skypephone comes in 3 great colours and will be available on Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go for the festive season market. It will also be the only phone available on the new £12 Mix and Match 100 tariff which offers 100 minutes or texts or any mix of the two.

It will be on the available as of 29th October for a pre-launch before the official launch on 2nd November.

Posted by Jan Geirnaert at 08:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

AuctionBytes.com is an "independent trade publications for online merchants", clearly with eBay as their primary focus; they produce a podcast under the title eCommerce Industry SoundBytes.. In a recent interview with Ina Steiner, Editor and Publisher of AuctionBytes.com, OnState Communications CEO Pat Kelly talks about how the OnState ACD call center is becoming as a key customer engagement tool for their clients. Pat had demonstrated OnState ACD to Ina at eBay Live back in June. In this interview they talk about:

• OnState's focus on customer service and business communications for the small and medium enterprise space.
• OnState's role in enhancing business to business and business to consumer relationships using Skype
• how Onstate lets customers communicate with a vendor in the way most convenient to the individual customer, especially where the client's customers do not use Skype
• how OnState can provide customer service infrastructure for online resellers
• how Onstate's clients are embedding OnState communications options into their websites via click-to-call with any of Skype, a local call or a toll free (800) number and directing customer calls to the right person
• the role of, and place for, live chat in providing customer service
• how eBay resellers, who are already familiar with Live Chat, could be using OnState's Live Chat features and Skype for servicing their customers through instant messaging
• Ina's experience with using IM at virtual trade shows
• how OnState has simplified the live chat process and, in turn, removed much of the complexity and cost involved with live chat implementation and operation.
• how, clients are driving their customers to adopt Skype to build the ongoing client-customer relationship such that the combination of OnState and Skype becomes a viable marketing tool, especially in business-to-business conversations
• how an OnState ACD client builds their personalized horse rug business using OnState ACD and Skype to accelerate the sales process where customers want to know not only about the product but also the craftspeople behind the product.
• how a retailer of health products for lifestyle enhancements worked OnState into their marketing activities to drive business not only from their website but also radio ads. "Web 2.0 Mail Order".
• the OnState pricing model
• the role of voice as one embedded mode of real time customer communications when using the web for retailing

And Pat points out that OnState's focus is on clients who require real time conversations, regardless of business size. High product value, building the emotions associated with personal items such as jewelry along with opportunities to upsell and cross-sell and cement the customer relationship are the more important criteria for adopting call center and live chat infrastructure as a powerful marketing tool.

Listen to the complete interview to get the full story about how the combination of OnState and Skype are creating new business opportunities and successes for online retailers. And you can try it out at their own website.

Previous posts:

• Call Center Infrastructure Disruption - A True Voice 2.0 Application Incorporating Skype
• OnState Converts Skype IM Client into a Live Chat Center Agent
• On Being a Skype Software Business Solution Partner
• Getting the Story Right: Whose Call Center for Skype was Introduced?
• OnState Booth at VoiceCon

In closing this interview provides a practical example of why Skype's Developer Partners are so critical to Skype's success going forward -- not only for the services they provide but also for the revenue opportunities for both the partners and Skype. Must listening and reading for Skype CEO candidates.

Disclosure: OnState has been a consulting client; the author offers professional services based on previous experience with the implementation and operation of Live Chat services.

Tags: Skype, AuctionBytes.com, OnState, OnState Communications, live chat, call center, Pat Kelly, Ina Steiner, eBay, eBay resellers

Posted by Jim Courtney at 04:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Rumors of Monday's launch of a Skypified phone spread as the Skype PR Engine Revs Up! If you're a London tech blogger, Skype the Skype Journal Editor for a private briefing on Monday. 

VONCamp.net Fall VON is trying for a "fifth track" unconference next week. wiki: "Editing permissions are currently limited to those who have registered to attend Fall VON." Not quite the open BarCamp ethos.

Get Live ID without a PC on Microsoft Mobile. Good move.

Gadget Porn of the SMC WiFi Phone with Skype inside!

John Paczkowski and Tim O'Reilly share their thoughts on eBay CEO Meg Whitman's talk at the Web 2.0 Summit.

How to ask VCs for cash over Skype! 

Free my Phone! says Walt Mossberg.

Presence letting me down. :( says Lance and P2P Presence isn't always Availability says Aswath.

South Pacific island Tokelou stays connected with Skype!

SpinVox will let you phone in your facebook updates with Skype!

Multiplication wrestling over Skype!

ACMA says no need to offer 000 emergency service in Australia over Skype!

FCC still undecided on Mobile Carterfone unlocking rules proposed by Skype!

Skype Skype Skype Skype!

Posted by Phil Wolff at 12:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Download the new version, Skype 3.6.0.159 Beta for Windows. The most visible part of the update are two MySpace points of integration:

• Profile connection and
• using your MySpace avatar as your Skype avatar.

Identity harmony (linkage, profile updates, policy mapping) comes before other forms of interop, like presence, privacy controls, buddy list sharing, etc.

A few problems remain:

1. 1-to-1 ID vs. Faceted identity. Many MySpacers keep multiple IDs. Many Skypers have multiple IDs. People partition their personal and work identities, but need one dashboard for managing them.
2. UI Design doesn't leave room for network partner #2.
3. No APIs and other specs for integrating your Skype ID with Network X.

Social networks create context for conversation. Carriers like Skype must inject themselves into those contexts, to be convenient when the context drives people to talk.

See also: Skype voice engine powers new MySpaceIM client

Below the fold: Screenshots of a walk through linking your MySpace and Skype IDs...

File > Edit Your Profile

You see the new MySpace option. "Connect Skype to your MySpace profile and share your pictures, videos and more with your Skype contacts."

> Connect to MySpace

Log in to MySpace. You're trusting Skype with your MySpace login data.

You have three options.

• "Use this as your Skype picture"
• "Link to your MySpace profile in your Skype profile"
• "Show a link to your MySpace profile in your mood"

Save, and see your profile...

All connected!

The "Disconnect" button breaks the link. 

Posted by Phil Wolff at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A year ago September at VON Boston I attended a session, IM The State of Presence, for which the Skype representative was Nitzan Shaer, Director, Mobile Devices, Skype. I recall meeting with Nitzan briefly after the session and mentioned that I thought it was time to move beyond Skype WiFi phones. Shortly afterwards Nitzan left Skype to become Entrepreneur-in-Residence with IDG Ventures Boston.

As mentioned in a post a few days ago, Mobivox obtained a new $11 million financing from various venture capital firms, including founding investor IDG Ventures Boston. Today came the announcement that Nitzan, who actively participated in organizing the financing round, is joining Mobivox as COO.

Saunderslog: Mobivox hires COO.

Does this presage marketing agreements with handset manufacturers? Perhaps. Mobivox is somewhat unique in that it requires no cooperation from handset manufacturers to go to market. Or possibly Mobivox is trying to forge a stronger relationship with Skype as they begin their push into the handset space.

From my interview with CEO Stephane Marceau last week and our discussion of future plans I think Alec is reading too much into this. Simply stated, Mobivox works with every manufacturers' device, landline and mobile; they are going to focus on leveraging their core speech recognition technology to deliver new device independent services.

Tags: Skype, Mobivox, Nitzan Shaer, Stephane Marceau, IDG Ventures Boston

Posted by Jim Courtney at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Skype partner HighSpeedConferencing enhances their conferencing infrastructure to provide high definition voice for all Skype participants on a call.

Skype-to-Skype calls have long been known for their high quality audio; certainly when I am talking to another Skype user using my stereo headset, it sounds like the other party is "inside my head". To give a brief explanation:

The human voice and ear have an audio bandwidth range to produce voice and hear sounds up to 22 KHz. But the introduction of electronics, such as microphones, speakers, switches, amplifiers and repeaters, into the landline telephone system reduces that bandwidth transmitted by the legacy telephone system to under 4 KHz -- sufficient to clearly get across the essence of the voice conversation but certainly not for recording the deep audio of that high pitched soprano or tenor solo you just may be hearing and definitely not providing the full richness of a face-to-face conversation. Mobile phones have an audio bandwidth that is about 50% of landlines bringing us the sometimes scratchy quality of mobile calls. But the Skype engine is capable of handling audio up to somewhere around 12KHz, providing a much richer and more realistic sound approaching the reality of face-to-face human conversation. At VON Boston next week, the general concept of high bandwidth voice in real time conversations is taking on the term High Definition Voice (HD Voice) at a session in the Innovators track called The Secret Life of HD VoIP. (As an aside, audio bandwidth should not be confused with the network bandwidth required to make a Skype call; different issues related to transmission of voice packets.)

One problem created by this reality is that Skype calls to SkypeOut numbers lose that high bandwidth quality. In the worst case, due to all the compression/decompression going on involving both voice and wireless compression standards, it sometimes becomes difficult to complete a call to a mobile phone. And in conference calls involving both Skype and SkypeOut participants, the call quality is reduced to the lowest common bandwidth.

For three years, VAPPS, Inc. of Hoboken, NJ has been offering its HighSpeedConferencing service extending conference calls involving both Skype and PSTN participants to as many as 500 participants. A key differentiator of this service is that VAPPS uses their own proprietary conferencing bridge which mixes the Skype and PSTN audio streams for listening by all the conference call participants. Today VAPPS is launching a beta high definition voice version of their High Speed Conferencing service that incorporates an enhanced version of this bridge. The result is that all Skype participants on the call will hear each other at the full audio bandwidth inherently available with Skype. Participants on landlines and mobile will still get the quality level associated with the underlying landline and mobile services.

Ben Lilienthal, CEO and Founder of Vapps, Inc., has made several demonstration calls with me over the past few months where he goes from a Skype connection to a landline connection; the voice quality difference is very noticeable with a richer deeper sound from the Skype connection and a "squeakier" sound on the landline connection.

But from a target market perspective, Vapps has combined the new high definition voice capability with the established robustness. reliability and scalability of their conferencing server into services that target the entire enterprise conferencing market currently served by the legacy telcos, such as AT&T, Verizon, Bell Canada and Telus. With its continued 500 participant capacity, weekly sales meetings, virtual webinars and even (eBay) analyst presentations can now be handled through the HighSpeedConferencing service with much higher voice quality and significantly lower costs.

So where does Skype fit in? HighSpeedConferencing offers, in addition to a "Pay-As-You-Go" plan, several monthly subscription, unlimited use plans based on the maximum number of participants. The "additional costs" are in making the connection between the participant and the conference bridge. Under these plans:

• Skype-based participants have no additional costs
• Calls from landlines and mobile devices have any associated long distance charges to the conference's landline number
• The host can also make available an 800 number (in eight countries) and pay for the participants calling in from a landline.
• The plan includes a base number of toll-free minutes per month for landline/mobile participants.

Reservations and scheduling of calls are optional but no reservations are needed. Additional features with the subscriptions are:

• Call recording with 30-day storage
• Hand raising along with host control of individual participants' mute/unmute
• Web Controls for host management of the calls

For instance, a 100 user plan costs $125 per month for the host; this includes unlimited minutes for Skype users, 2500 toll-free minutes for landline/mobile participants as well as the call recording, hand raising and web controls features.

Also of note:

• Skype participants on a Pay-As-You-Go call will pay $0.04/minute per participant; landline/mobile participants (US/Canada) are $0.07 per minute per participant
• A 30-day free trial of the "HighSpeed 25" subscription is available to allow enterprises to work out how HighSpeedConferencing can be incorporated into their communications activities.
• High Speed Conferencing is a Featured Skype Extra for this quarter and can be accessed from the Tools | Do More | Get Extras menu in Skype.
• High Speed Conferencing also works with the Skype-enhanced collaboration services Skype Extras: Convenos and Yugma Skype Edition.

From the press release:

We are thrilled to offer this service to the small businesses and entrepreneurs that are always searching for the most effective tools for success,” said Ben Lilienthal, CEO of Vapps. “Highspeedconferencing.com presents the perfect convergence of high quality, low-cost and flexibility in the audio conferencing industry.”

The ability for small businesses to host these calls via the telephone or the Internet, not only enables them to present their clients with big business offerings, such as flexibility, but it also enables them to do so using the low cost of Internet communications.

Skype for one has recognized the importance of applications built by partners like Vapps for three years now and the value they bring to the Skype platform. Since 1st October, 2007, Skype has been promoting the Vapps HighSpeed Conferencing solution to its 220 million registered users as a premium extra.

Update: Andy Abramson comments at VoIP Watch:

A call yesterday showed how bright and full it sounds. The platform works with mobile, VoIP, PSTN and Skype inbound calls, and can handle up to 500 simultaneous participants per call.

Vapps, Inc. CEO Ben Lilienthal will be a panelist at the Enterprise 2.x session at next week's VON Boston.

Update, Nov. 30: Dan York comments in DIsruptive Telephony.

Footnote: we are starting to see mass confusion about what is meant by HD when it comes to audio-based services:

• Intel actually has set specifications and released products using the term HD Audio
• HD Radio really means Hybrid Digital Radio
• And VON Boston next week is having a session on HD VoIP.

Tags: Skype, VAPPS, HighSpeedConferencing, Convenos, Unyte, Yumga Skype, HD Voice

Posted by Jim Courtney at 05:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ivar Ekman points out Google's Jaiku poses a privacy risk.

Ahem. That's the point of disclosure.

And presence.

Presence is the approved radiation of your latest information.

Presence authorization is not a binary disclosure to Everyone or Nobody.

Authorization can be, must be, tailored to the recipient.

Four dimensions of influence:

1. You might base disclosure on attributes of the recipient.

• Groups they belong to (family, co-workers, people I hate),
• age (adults-only data),
• location,
• citizenship,
• security clearance,
• social proximity,
• relationship history (people you've talked/chatted/met with in the last year).

Jaiku and facebook share presence based on group affiliation and social connection. 

2. Perhaps authorization is more closely tied to which data you share. Some people share their calendar. Do you share just your availability? Your location at a given time? What you'll be doing? With whom? 

3. Social context frames the authorizing decision. Perhaps you don't share your political life at work. Or your fantasy blog with your family.

4. Time and your Sense of Now change the value of information. Do seconds matter? Minutes? Hours? Some information is better shared late. Perhaps you enjoy sharing the restaurants you visit, but not while you are there. Other information loses value quickly: minute-to-minute election day results, for example.

5. Licensing sets terms of use. Perhaps you agree not to share this data. Or to only share it under certain conditions. 

The blend informs disclosure. Of what you share with whom, in each context and precisely when must inform disclosure. You should be able to share your latest blonde jokes only with your blonde friends (data and hair color of the recipient).

Presence is subscribed to, actively requested, not only available for public scraping.

Presence subscription calls for subscribers to disclose too.

So Authorization looks like Negotiation...

"I want to subscribe to information about you."

"Are you representing a human?"

"Yes, here are my credentials."

"Ah, looks like you are on my client's friend list. Here's a list of feeds you're eligible for."

"Jokes! Cool. Yes, I would like to see your joke stream."

"I need more information. Have you ever tripped over a wireless phone?"

"Yes, I am a blonde."

"Great. You agree to only share these with other blondes?

"On my blonde honor."

"You should be able to see the blonde jokes stream now."

Since Dave Winer and Netscape first promoted RSS in 1997, syndication meant being public, sharing your content with Google.

Skype, Jaiku, and all presence providers must rethink their

Posted by Phil Wolff at 08:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week, I included Mobivox as one route to call your Skype contacts from any of the 3.5 billion conventional phones out there, whether landline or mobile (including the iPhone and Blackberries). I had the opportunity to get an update on Mobivox and its user demographics in a discussion with Mobivox CEO Stephane Marceau.

Their big news last week was the announcement of an $11 million financing round involving not only their original investors but adding in new Asian investors. The interest of Asian investors was aroused when Mobivox was able to point out that they were finding significant Mobivox usage by Asians. In fact, their top six countries for usage are: U.S., U.K., China, India, Canada, Germany and Israel. Funds are to be used for both marketing and development of new features and services.

Another interesting statistic arising out of their user base demographics is that over 20% of their users are over 55. Seems like Mobivox is being used to close family connections where the senior generation can easily make calls via Mobivox from any familiar telephone device, whether at home o