Skype
March 22nd 2007 16:38
In California Lawyer this month, Rosie's Ramblings column was so sold on Skype, it prompted me to take a look.
Here's an excerpt from Rosie (actually Sandra Rosenzweig)
"...[R]ecently, a couple of our tester's raved about the relatively new Skype VoiP...phones that cost between $49.95 and $200. Easy to set up, they say, and then you have low-to-nonexistent Skype rates at home and away.
"You see it coming? Wireless voice via the Internet - no, even better, low-cost voice via the Internet, free, in fact, if you call other Skype users, no matter where they are in the world."
That intrigued me.
So, I went over to Skype's page and saw that you can have up to ten local area code numbers, at $38.00 for twelve months. For the individual, this means you could have local numbers for family or friends to call, if they refuse to try Skype, and no long distance charges.
For a business, this means the ability to have a national presence, and local numbers, in up to ten cities (I would guess per phone). You could have two phones. Without paying thousands per year for land lines.
All of these numbers can be forwarded to another number, one line where you take all your calls and messages. For new businesses, this is kind of staggering in the implication of expanding your customer base. Nothing like this was, reliably or affordably, available ten years ago.
Now, you can buy a phone and just take your Skype with you anywhere there is a wireless network that doesn't require a password, or some kind of authentication for hook up. Think mostly hotels, because several of the coffee chains that have wi-fi require a subscription. But, then again, if you use that carrier, then you have free wi-fi, because Skype can memorize the codes inside the phone.
I looked at Netgear's phones (there are others) to see how their phone rated, and the prices.
Amazon had the lowest price, in fact, you had to specially click on it because, they said, the manufacturer asked them not to put it right on the page. It was $159. 52, about $20.00 less than Buy.com, and others (who factored in a rebate to arrive at $179.00)
I looked around the net for comments on Skype's call quality, and customer service.
Generally, call quality was well recieved, and folks really liked saving money. But, when customers switched from free plans to pay plans they ran into customer service issues.
A Cnet
review basically confirms the eopinion, and other forums, satisfaction range: the general consensus is that free Skype is very good. Pay Skype - well, just don't need customer service, you might have a problem reaching them, and getting resolution (sounds a bit like ebay, plus, several other telephone companies I could, but won't mention).
Still, the opportunities to save money are really interesting here. You might want to take a look
Here's an excerpt from Rosie (actually Sandra Rosenzweig)
"...[R]ecently, a couple of our tester's raved about the relatively new Skype VoiP...phones that cost between $49.95 and $200. Easy to set up, they say, and then you have low-to-nonexistent Skype rates at home and away.
"You see it coming? Wireless voice via the Internet - no, even better, low-cost voice via the Internet, free, in fact, if you call other Skype users, no matter where they are in the world."
That intrigued me.
So, I went over to Skype's page and saw that you can have up to ten local area code numbers, at $38.00 for twelve months. For the individual, this means you could have local numbers for family or friends to call, if they refuse to try Skype, and no long distance charges.
For a business, this means the ability to have a national presence, and local numbers, in up to ten cities (I would guess per phone). You could have two phones. Without paying thousands per year for land lines.
All of these numbers can be forwarded to another number, one line where you take all your calls and messages. For new businesses, this is kind of staggering in the implication of expanding your customer base. Nothing like this was, reliably or affordably, available ten years ago.
Now, you can buy a phone and just take your Skype with you anywhere there is a wireless network that doesn't require a password, or some kind of authentication for hook up. Think mostly hotels, because several of the coffee chains that have wi-fi require a subscription. But, then again, if you use that carrier, then you have free wi-fi, because Skype can memorize the codes inside the phone.
I looked at Netgear's phones (there are others) to see how their phone rated, and the prices.
Amazon had the lowest price, in fact, you had to specially click on it because, they said, the manufacturer asked them not to put it right on the page. It was $159. 52, about $20.00 less than Buy.com, and others (who factored in a rebate to arrive at $179.00)
I looked around the net for comments on Skype's call quality, and customer service.
Generally, call quality was well recieved, and folks really liked saving money. But, when customers switched from free plans to pay plans they ran into customer service issues.
A Cnet
review basically confirms the eopinion, and other forums, satisfaction range: the general consensus is that free Skype is very good. Pay Skype - well, just don't need customer service, you might have a problem reaching them, and getting resolution (sounds a bit like ebay, plus, several other telephone companies I could, but won't mention).
Still, the opportunities to save money are really interesting here. You might want to take a look
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