Launch of the iAttaché (woops, iPad) has certainly generated lots of social media coverage: blogs, Twitter and Facebook are full of comments and reviews. 300,000 sold; over a million Apps downloaded, etc. Since it’s not available yet for Canadians (except those who made the trip to Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago and Seattle, for instance, last weekend) I cannot comment yet on the user experience; however, it appears that iAttaché is still a valid description of this appliance (sorry, folks, it’s not a computer and it’s not an iPod! – I’ll have more to say in a separate post).

Apple left out the “Phone” application for a reason: iPad is not a suitable form factor for consumers experienced with traditional handset-size (smart)phone devices. But I have received voice calls and engaged in chat discussions via acquaintances who have been using Skype for iPhone on the iPad. In addition Truphone was first out of the blocks to launch a VoIP client specifically for the iPad.

As for Skype running on the iPad:

• It runs the legacy Skype for iPhone application with an option to view it in “double resolution” mode applicable to running all iPhone apps on the iPad.
• Skype has released, via the App store, an interim upgrade that addresses a couple of “iPad teething problems”. (Downloaded it to my iPhone this morning.)
• Skype intends to release an iPad-specific version that makes better use of the additional real estate available on the iPad’s larger display; this would be especially useful for chat sessions.

Questions:

• Will the Skype for iPad release be accompanied by the forthcoming release of Skype for iPhone that incorporates the Skype SILK codec to take full advantage of the associated voice quality?
• Will AT&T’s network be sufficiently robust to run Skype for iPad reliably over 3G?
• Leaving Skype for iPhone open on my iPhone will drain the battery within three to four hours; how much will Skype for iPad impact the iPad’s acclaimed and confirmed much longer battery life? (In this regard, the lack of multi-tasking probably will act as a governor on battery consumption as soon as one goes to another iPad application).

As for Truphone for iPad, John Biggs has a video over at Crunch Gear and concludes:

The app worked quite well and if you’ve used it on the iPod Touch you’re familiar with the call quality – standard – and ease of use – standard. It’s great for making quick calls from abroad, however, and until Skype goes iPad we’re kind of stuck with it.

Obviously this doesn’t match a real calling application that I doubt will be included in the 3G version of the iPad. However, for calls in a pinch this is a great solution.

One final comment and an unabashed plug for the FreeTalk Everyman headset: using the iPad’s native speakers for voice conversations will make your session “public” to anyone within hearing distance. Should you wish more privacy or not to annoy those nearby you, use the FreeTalk Everyman for Skype’s 3.5 mm speaker jack plugged into the iPad. You’ll still need to use the iPad mic and there’s no need to reset any Audio settings since it’s simply the speaker output being used.

Bottom line: Skype and Truphone will allow users to determine the conditions and market size under which they wish to conduct voice and chat conversations using the iPad as an end point device. And it sure fits as one more device for Skype Everywhere.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions, producer of the FreeTalk Everyman headset, has become a client of Denali InterConneXions, publisher of Voice On The Web, building on the author’s previous business development experience with establishing partnerships that can assist with the promotion of a primary vendor’s offerings. A more complete statement will follow shortly.

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At eComm Spring 2009, Skype executive Jonathan Christensen announced that their recently released SILK codec would be available to third parties royalty-free. Two weeks ago at eComm Europe phonefromhere.com’s Tim Panton gave a presentation “Deploying the SILK codec, How and Why” where he discussed two projects where he was involved in embedding Skype’s SILK codec into a voice-enabled service under projects managed by Dean Elwood’s Voxygen product and services deployment company. From the overview for the presentation:

SILK’s royalty free licensing combined with it’s non-TDM heritage allow us to focus on the user and what they have available instead of obsessing about attempting to manage the network.

Last week came a press release announcing the beta release of Blabbelon, the first browser-based voice chat and push-to-talk tool targeted initially at the Internet gaming market.

As communication companies continue to look for new ways to generate revenue with VoIP applications, keep current customers and lure new ones, Blabbelon enters the market and completely changes the rules of the VoIP game. The first browser-based VoIP chat tool using Skype’s SILK super wideband audio codec, as well as one of the first massively multi-user VoIP services, Blabbelon can handle thousands of simultaneous users at a fraction of the cost per user of other traditional services. Blabbelon provides a platform for a wide variety of users such as: gamers securely competing in team-based quests; businesses running 7,000 person global conference calls; or grandparents taunting grandkids over a game of Facebook Scrabble.

I spent some time yesterday in a Blabbelon session with Dean to experience the service in action. Out of this session came the following points:

• Push-to-talk voice sessions comprise a common feature of Internet gaming sessions; however, Blabbelon brings a new level of ease-of-implementation and ease-of-use, with the goal of having a simplicity of adoption similar to what Skype experienced because you simply installed it and started calling and talking.
• In fact, being browser-based means there is no download required. Once a session leader has launched a Blabbelon session s/he simply needs to distribute a URL to other participants in a game to allow them to join the session.
• It’s push-to-talk but there is a hierarchy established to manage who has “talking” rights. The entire experience of having a discussion is very similar to CB Radio or a “direct connect” two-way radio service where, with the simple push of a button, one can speak instantly to a designated team of participants in an activity, such as a construction project.
• Blabbelon sessions can scale up to more than 7,000 users in a low cost business model. In fact their press release talks about its being ideal for online auctions. Is this the style of voice service that Meg Whitman should have acquired for eBay instead of Skype?
• Use of the SILK codec certainly supplies a crystal clear sound while using a minimal amount of bandwidth – very important for gaming sessions that can become very CPU intensive. Again from the press release:
  

  Users can run Blabbelon in their Web browser, while simultaneously using other online applications – with no impact on their overall network performance, since Skype’s SILK codec was designed to use approximately 50 percent less network bandwidth than previously required, while delivering improved richness in audio quality.”

• As for the initial target market:
  

  Blabbelon will initially focus on a core audience of the millions of online gamers and players of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games such as World of Warcraft (WoW). The combination of Blabbelon’s technology and features and the SILK codec provides a perfect tool for this market, which, because of the cooperative nature of games, needs a no-download, high-quality, secure, reliable and scalable voice chat.

More background from the press release:

Blabbelon was created by a team led by CEO Ed Ikeguchi, former co-founder of Medidata Solutions (Nasdaq: MDSO); Dean Elwood, CEO of telecom provider Voxygen Limited and chief technology strategist of Blabbelon; and Rowena Rubio, CMO and former systems analyst.

Available immediately [as a beta offering] from www.blabbelon.com, Blabbelon is hosted by Rackspace, ensuring the highest levels of chat stability, quality, security and reliability. Blabbelon offers 100 percent uptime through Rackspace’s worldwide network and zero downtime guarantees.

Bottom Line: Blabbelon opens new directions for the application of VoIP technology and the SILK codec. It’s not a voice conversation service along the lines of traditional telephony. Yet it brings new ease-of-use and voice quality to a market that has been poorly served by current offerings. Of course listening to Dean on Blabbelon using a FreeTalk Everyman for Skype headset with its inherent support of the SILK codec ensured that the full benefit of the voice quality available from SILK was experienced.

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