Skype Woos SMBs with New Deal
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Skype has launched a package for small businesses that bundles up the company's software with call credits and subscriptions for multiple users.
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Voice over Internet calling is now available for  PDA users, with  Skype Technologies officially launching software designed for handhelds running the Microsoft Windows Pocket PC operating system.
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Skype, originators of free Internet phone calls, has extended its reach even further by offering free cell phone calling - in partnership with Siemens â-n Europe.
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The Siemens USB adaptor is loaded with Skype software that enables users of Siemens phones to access Skype&#39;s free Internet calling service as well as other features, such as buddy lists and conference calling.
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Skype&#39;s free Internet telephony software works with Siemens phones via the Gigaset M34 USB adapter, an open interface adapter that is plugged into the USB connection point of a users&#39; PC.
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Skype patches a critical vulnerability that forced it to dump features from its VoIP and chat software to prevent attackers from hijacking Windows PCs.
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(InfoWorld) - Internet phone service provider Skype plans to start charging U.S. and Canadian users $29.95 per year for unlimited calls to regular phones in both countries, as theÂ end of a free trial offer looms. Users who sign up before Jan. 31, 2007 will receive a special rate of $14.95 a year and 100 free minutes of international calling, Skype said in a statement on Wednesday. Any user wishing to continue using Skype to make calls to regular phones or mobile handsets after the free trial expires Dec. 31, but does not want a yearly plan, can pay for SkypeOut at a rate of just 2.1 cents per minute for calls within the U.S. and Canada. Computer-to-computer calls using Skype software will remain free. Skype allows users to make voice and video calls to regular landlines, mobile phones, or PCs over the Internet. The company's popular software can also be used to share files, send instant messages, conduct conference calls, and more. The new plan to start charging users for calls to regular phones comes just six months after Skype launched a free trial of its VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) service in both countries. The company is part of a growing trend of users making voice calls over the Internet at rates far lower than traditional phone companies charge. The plan also pits Skype against other Internet calling carriers, such as Vonage Holdings, which offers a $24.99 monthly package in the U.S. that includes calls to several European countries such as the U.K., Spain and France, as well as extras such as voice mail,Â 911 emergency-dialing, and a free phone adapter. Skype, a Luxembourg company bought by eBay last year, already serves more than 136 million registered users globally, as of the end of September 2006. The company made a name for itself by offering free PC-to-PC calls over the Internet with the aid of its free software.Â New Skype-enabled devicesÂ able to link to the Internet, such as mobile phones able to connect to wireless-LAN networks, continue to become available.
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San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) has developed a new IP-based service Monday that will allow customers to combine their wireline and wireless voice mailboxes, e-mail accounts and faxes.
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The motherboards are able to turn common household telephones into Internet phones using the popular Skype VoIP software.
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Skype Technologies is teaming with Siemens to offer cordless phone users the ability to make Internet telephony calls, in addition to traditional calls, from their handsets.
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(InfoWorld) - Next month, FaceTime Communications plans to release new software that will make Skype a little easier to manage. The company is readying a version 3.5 release of its Greynet Enterprise Manager (GEM) software that, for the first time, will allow IT administrators to do things like turn off Skype files-haring, network wide. GEM is a component of the FaceTime Internet Security Edition product. FaceTime's software already can be used to manage instant messaging and peer-to-peer software, but the company has been working with eBay Inc.'s Skype subsidiary for the past few months to develop these new management capabilities. The FaceTime enhancements were built using APIs (application programming interfaces) that Skype released with version 3.0 of its VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) software. These APIs let vendors like FaceTime manage the Skype client, mainly by enabling or disabling Skype's features said Kurt Sauer, Skype's chief security officer. "Most of what we've opened up at this time are a set of 'on/off' switches in the client," he said. Sauer said other companies have now started using the new APIs to manage Skype, but he declined to name any of them. Although about one-third of Skype's North American users have downloaded the software for business purposes, it has raised red flags with IT administrators who see it as a possible security risk and who are nervous about some Skype features like file-sharing. In the past, the only way to prohibit a Skype feature was to block the Skype client outright. "The choice in the past has always been permit or deny," Sauer said. "That has not been a particularly useful choice." FaceTime's GEM 3.5 upgrade will be available next month to FaceTime Internet Security Edition users, at no extra charge.
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(InfoWorld) - Sales of new Wi-Fi mobile handsets that use Skype software and do not require a PC to make calls are gaining momentum ahead of the holidays, companies report. The Wi-Fi mobile phones are rousing interest for two reasons: the low cost of using Skype services to make calls, and because people can use them more like a traditional mobile phone, without the aid of a PC.Â Skype is offeringÂ the WSKP100 by SMC Networks in a package on its Web site that includes the handset, a Wi-Fi router, 500 minutes of calls to regular mobile phones and landlines (SkypeOut) and 12 months of Skype voicemail for just Â£99 ($196). "Sales are going great so far," said Brian Nickell, product manager at SMC Networks. He said SMC is currently selling its Wi-Fi Skype handset, the WSKP100, in North America, Europe, and Asia, and that the company will release more local language models soon. The Chinese language version of the handset became available Tuesday in Taiwan. Users can download a firmware upgrade at SMC's Taiwan Web site. The SMC model is identical to the VM1185T by Accton Technology and the F1PP000GN-SK by Belkin International for a reason. SMC is the U.S. marketing subsidiary of Accton, whichÂ developed the Wi-Fi handset. The Taiwanese company reported that its overall sales in November rose 13 percent over October thanks to the handset, a sign users may find them in their stockings this holiday season. The company's November sales reached NT$1.38 billion (US$42.7 million), up from NT$1.22 billion in October, it said Tuesday. The Wi-Fi handset offers Skype VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) software, and features such as 802.11b/g compatibility with added security features to keep conversations private. Users can use the handsets anywhere they canÂ access Skype services, such as Wi-Fi networks at Starbucks coffee shops or on college campuses. It automatically searches for Wi-Fi signals. The SMC and Belkin versions of the handset can be found at reseller shops for around $190.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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Just three weeks after Skype development chief Eric Lagier said a Skype version for cell phones was a no-go, the company has signed an agreement with HelloSoft to license its VoIP software to enhance its Windows Mobile client.
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Newly released Skype devices that connect to Wi-Fi networks aren't portable like cellphones, but they can be handy at home
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A Silicon Valley start-up is gearing up to embed free, Web-based telephone services on a variety of popular social networking and blogging services, including MySpace, Friendster and Blogger.
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Startup launches service that merges e-mail with VoIP calls and instant messaging.
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Blog: Skype announced today that its application will come preloaded on select Toshiba laptops.