Voip Deals Blog

We have been getting many questions about the Skype Voip and its unlimited calls for $2.95/Mo. This newsletter will try explain the Skype Voip service.

What is Skype Voip.

Skype is a PC to Phone telephone service with which you can make calls or using your PC to any landline or cell phone number in the US & Canada for an unbelievably cheap rate. You can also receive calls from any regular phone using skype.

How it Works

You download and install a small piece software, just like Yahoo or MSN messenger on your PC/Laptop. Let’s call it the ‘Skype Messenger‘.

To make Calls: you need Skype Out service

To receive calls: you need Skype In service

Who is Skype for

1. It works great if you work from a home office. You most probably work on an internet connected PC. And your PC becomes your phone also.
2. Households that need a cheap extra phone.
3. Kids love Skype, give them a skype phone. They will leave your home phone on the hook, always.

Note:

1. You don’t need to buy a skypeIn number if you want to use Skype to only make outgoing calls. The Skype Out service is all you need.
   
2. You PC must have a mike and speaker to talk and listen. Most PCs have speakers. You may just need to buy a mike to be able to speak.
3. Skype Voicemail: Its free when you get the Skype In service. If your PC is not on, then calls goes to your Skype voicemail. You will be able play the mesages when you start up Skype.

Click Here to Try Skype

Here is a sweet deal from Skype. Skype is offering 1 Year of unlimited calling to any phone number (regular phones/ cell phones) in the US and Canada for $14.95. This service is called SkypeOut.

SkypeOut gives you a full year of unlimited calls to anyone, on any phone, within the US and Canada for just $14.95. ($29.95 after January 31st 2007)

For $14.95 you get:

1. 12 months of unlimited calls to any phone in the US and Canada – right from your computer.
2. More than an hour of international calls.
3. Over $50 in coupons to get a Motorola headset, Netgear WiFi phone, and a Polycom speakerphone.Â

About the SkypeOut service

1. You will need an internet connection to make calls.
2. Using SkypeOut service you make pc to phone calls from your computer to call any regular phone anywhere in the world.
3. You don’t get a phone number, that means you won’t be able to receive calls from regular phones. But Skype users will be able call your computer using Skype instant messenger (IM).Â

Go to Skype for more details.

OK, here is the best VOIP offer so far. Skypeout now offers FREE unlimited pc to phone calls, both landlines & cell phones within US & Canada untill the end of 2006. Sweet deal… I am sure this the most aggressive step taken by any VOIP company to gain a foothold in the market. Yahoo recently launched it Yahoo messenger with Voice pc to phone voip service. NetZero and Net2Phone also offer similar services. But given Skype’s free unlimited offer, they will have a tough time gaining any marketshare, at least till the end of the year, provided Skype maintains reasonable call quality. But then in any market place free offers generally come with a not so great qaulity. Skype’s challenge will not be gaining market share, which it will, but rather holding on to it after 2006, when it will have decide how to make some money. After all it cannot serve all these non-paying customers for ever. It will be interesting to see how successfully Skype converts its free customer base to paying customers. In the mean time I don’t think Yahoo is just going to sit tight and watch. I am sure they will come up with some competing offers, if not totally free, but very competitively priced and with added features that Skype doesn’t have. And lets not forget Spokn which is in beta and now offers free domestic and international calls. Though nobody knows how long they will offer the free sevice or if it’s just a part of their beta testing and when they will go will go live. Spokn’s call quality is not up to the mark, at least not yet. And if it can improve its call qaulity and keep the free offer open it can be a serious contender too. And last but not the least, guess how interesting it will be if Google with all its might, wants to offer a pc to phone service through its Google Talk. Let’s hope for that day when Skype, Yahoo and Google all fight it out for market share and we the consumers win.