Yahoo Messenger with Voice launches in US
Skype, get ready. Yahoo just released their lower-cost, SIP-based VoIP service today dubbed Yahoo Messenger with Voice. The version 7.5 Beta launch follows on the successes Yahoo has seen in five other countries since December. Like Skype, the new service allows free computer-to-computer calls and features "Phone Out" and "Phone In" capabilities allowing users to dial or receive calls from land-lines in 180 countries. And like the deluge of Skype handsets, Yahoo is teaming with the likes of Plantronics, VTech and Siemens AG to develop Yahoo integrated peripherals. So, if you consider that Yahoo's new service now features audio quality on par with Skype but with rates which undercut them by 20% to 30% to "many major markets outside the US" then we might very well be entering the early stages of a VoIP pricing war. We sure hope so, anyway. Shaka bra!
[Via Reuters]
