SkypeIn in beta
posted March 11th 2005 10:13AM
Skype's PR peeps are blasting out press releases about how
SkypeOut (which lets you use
Skype's VoIP software to make cheap calls to the regular phone lines) has finally reached one million users, but we're
way more interested in the more stealthy news that they're testing a new beta which supports SkypeIn, which lets people
with regular phone lines call you. A year of SkypeIn will set you back €30, and so far the only phone numbers
you can score are from France, the UK, the US, and Hong Kong, but you don't actually have to live in one of those
countries to get one of those numbers and they do throw in a free subscription to Skype Voicemail. So let's see…we can
get one of those new EV-DO capable Pocket PC Phones (like the
XV6600 or the
Samsung SGH-i730—or even chance it with an EDGE-capable
handset), sign up for both SkypeIn and SkypeOut, and then cut back to some barebones bucket of minutes? Sticking it to
the Man might make paying through the nose for a data plan almost worth it.
[Thanks, Tim O.]
Where do I sign up for the beta?
Like TiVo, Skype should enjoy its first-mover position as long as it lasts. Once the major telcos get serious about widespread VoIP, it'll be game over for the small fry companies - like Skype - that defined the market.
Carmi
http://writteninc.blogspot.com
Actually, there is a company called sipgate that provides same freatures, for UK numbers and for free!
http://www.sipgate.co.uk
as for paying through the nose for a data plan, doesnt cingular have an unlimited plan for 25$?
http://www.stanaphone.com
Free incoming calls from anywhere in the worls, cheap outgoing. No cost whatsoever to get a phone number and receive calls. Only to make them.
http://www.glophone.com
Glowphone has a $10 yearly fee, but does the same
I really don't understand why people are so fired up about skype. Their technology is very interesting, but I absolutely cannot get behind them as viable for the long haul. Net2Phone had (probalby still does) tons of customers too, and they do the same thing as skype only without the neat decentralized aspect.
The lack of infrastructure can be a severe burden. Skype has no good inbuilt mechanism to work with outside networks short of adding tons of "gateway" type servers to manage it. So even though building infrastructure for routing calls and stuff is not OK, Building tons of infrastructure for authentication is OK and so is building gateway infrastructure -- But with all that infrastructure, why do you want the headache of tying it into a network that is ultimately p2p (and almost as reliable)?
Skype is a fantastic technology demo and it's enjoying success simply because it's popular and free. I really doubt that it will be around five years from now though.
Carmi, major telco's can't compete with Skype, they have 1 million customers, probably 5-10 million worldwide by the end of the year, the cost of adding and obtaining a new customer is less than a 1 cent. Vonage spends 10's of millions of dollars a quarter in advertising, Skype has spent zip. Some napkin calculations on my blog.
I just signed up for skypein. It does seem to work okay. The only thing that I would have liked to see is my number attached to outgoing calls via SkypeOut. Instead the 'withheld number' is shown on the remote telephone, not my SkypeIn number like I would have expected.
Oooh... #2, #7...
Let the erudite blogger wars begin!
SkypeIn here http://www.skype.com/products/skypein/
Hmm, what's the difference between SkypeIn and SkypeOut? I tried to read on their website, but T_T not very clear to me. Those two services are not the same as regular Skype, eh?
Hey there, Zelnox. Regular Skype only allows you to talk to other Skype users from your PC. SkypeOut allows you to make calls to regular phone numbers. SkypeIn gives your Skype account a regular phone number that other phones can call.
Stanaphone actually does seem like a much better deal - incoming calls are free, and outgoing calls cost 2.7 cents/min, which is roughly what SkypeOut costs.
I had to look up "erudite"
I agree Stanaphone is good, except for the fact it doesn't work 1/2 the time and sounds like crap. Stanaphone also fills my inbox with what I think is some polish speaking ladies voicemails, which for some reason get delivered to me. They are just hilarious, probably even more so if I spoke polish.
CARMI,
#2
AGAIN: Stop posting -- I mean advertising -- in the comments. Everytime you postvertise I gag on your awful digital existentialist comments. If I wanted a moral for an engadget article I'd read a fable.
Thanks Aesop.
fyi:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000727035343/#comments
Hey, no problem guys, I wish they had the area code I am in, though. Actually, they have none in North Carolina at all! I forgot to mention, the Voicemail is up and working to...
How many of these alternatives work across platforms: PC to Mac, Unix, etc? Skype is multiplatform. That's why I started using it and that's why I'm still using it.
Skype IN only works for Windows! Beware! I just plunked down for the subscription and find it doesn't work at all. All calls go directly to the voicemail (which is nice). PS the personal message for the voicemail doesn't work either. It will give their standard (british female) greeting. :( Why give us the option to record one in the first place?
Wonder how many SkypeIn subscriptions they've sold. I want a number in area code 310 or 646 but no such luck..
Huh, i just signed in SkypeIN, and it simply works (voicemail, personnal greatings and all fancy features). It should come to Mac very soon.
UK numbers sold out...
btw... the hongkong numbers sux... hard 2 memorize and... loads of 4s and 7s which are exteremly unwelcomed in the chineses culture
Does SkypeIn accept forwarded calls from 0870 and 0800 numbers, does anyone know?
Join us for language exchange using skype.
http://www.cyber-courier.com/b/a
Join us for language exchange using skype.
http://www.cyber-courier.com/b/a
I can't believe people really believe that Skype will be blown into the weeds by major telcos. Since the purchase by eBay, Skype strikes me as a pretty major player in its own right. It has more customers than most telcos in the world and is growing rapidly. On top of that, the service is great, cheap and works well. I am an avid user of Skype, and even more of SkypeOut and SkypeIn. Love them all. Skype is a victory for the forces of good over those nasty telcos and we should get behind it.