Applicable to both Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad, a Skype for iOS5 3.5 hotfix released to the Apple App Store earlier this week restores Skype chat sessions on the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad to pre-version 3.5 performance.

While Skype on my iPhone or my iPad is not my primary platform for using Skype, it has become an important backup for monitoring Skype chat threads when I don’t have access to a PC. I could at least follow a thread and make a short response, if appropriate in context. (Full disclosure: I have over 500 Skype contacts which challenges the performance of Skype on these devices due to presence and other ongoing “tracking” issues.)

While the iPhone’s processor speed limits performance relative to responsiveness on a PC, chat sessions with individuals had usually been fairly quick in responses while a little bit of patience was required to follow group chat sessions, especially with more than 50 participants.

However, the release of Skype 3.5 for iOS5 in late September, while introducing some new features and modifying the user interface, also degraded the performance of chat activity. Going to a group chat session would totally freeze the application on either device; even one-to-one chat sessions were unforgivingly slow to follow and respond to. Launching Skype for iPad had long durations bringing up the most recent conversations. I had reported these issues (and I’m sure amongst many others) through Skype’s bug reporting channels; this issue is also raised in several reviews at the iTunes App Store.

Earlier this week I found a new hotfix version 3.5.454 of Skype for iPhone/iPod Touch and Skype for iPad available on the Apple App Store. I have downloaded it and tested it. On a couple of occasions when away from the home office the past few days I found that Skype chat activity on both devices has returned to its pre-version 3.5 performance levels and can once again be a resource for monitoring Skype chat activity while away from a PC. As for group chats, they still take a one to three minutes to catch up but once the content is there, it is fairly responsive.

I have tested Skype-to-Skype calls and SkypeOut calls; for the few times I use this feature, it seems to be working fine.

One caveat: I notice some reviews of this upgrade report that Bluetooth functionality, initially available with Skype for iOS5 3.5, is broken. Update: on my own testing with my car audio by calling Skype Test Call, the Bluetooth connection always attempted to connect but only held the connection to the actual call on one out of three calls.

Bottom line: if you have not done so already, go to the Apple App Store and upgrade your Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad (it should automatically be offered as an upgrade). It’s not yet at the point where it can take over for Skype on your PC but at least it’s workable for those times when you’re away from a PC. Skype still has some work to do to get to a PC-level of performance at least in terms of chat operation.

For further performance improvement I would still like to see an option to create a subset of my Skype account’s Contacts via the “Category” feature of Skype for Windows or “Tags” feature of Skype for Mac¹. These can then become the Contacts followed on an mobile device. (At least until we see dual core 2.0 GHz processors on these devices.) This would also assist in addressing the ongoing battery drain issue, especially on the iPhone/iPod Touch. (I will continue to monitor this upgrade to see if there is any improvement in the battery drain.)

¹Note that “Categories” in Skype for Windows become assigned as “Tags” in Skype for Mac.

(Note there is a hotfilx upgrade for this version; more information here.)

Yesterday afternoon, for the first time, I was able to make a Skype-to-Skype call from my car using Skype for iPhone over a 3G/HSPA+ wireless service and the Bluetooth connection to my car audio system. I held a (legal) hands-free conversation with a contact in the U.K.; in fact at one point, while waiting to make a turn, I was able to use the rear-facing video camera for a few seconds where he saw, referring to the video quality, a “very fit” lady running down the sidewalk and across the intersection.

Yesterday Skype released new versions of Skype for iOS devices, namely Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad. The main features promoted by Skype include anti-shake technology and the Bluetooth connectivity mentioned above. However, I also found a couple of additional changes:

• restoration of the ability to access the dial pad during a Skype-to-Skype call; this is necessary to work with PBX’s that can be called via a Skype for business SkypeID using Skype Connect.
• a new call management bar on Skype for iPhone that is more consistent with the call management bar on Skype for iPad and Skype for Mac.

While most of these are self-explanatory, the anti-shake technology probably is best explained through this video; basically it compensates for small movements of your hand while showing a video via the rear camera on the device.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLKE58eA-S8

As mentioned above I made a Skype-to-Skype call from my car to a U.K.-based contact where:

• the Bluetooth connection using my car’s audio system for the speaker/mic worked quite well
• there was crystal clear audio due to the use of Skype’s SILK codec technology
• the other party confirmed that the anti-shake technology appeared to be working for the ~30 seconds when I could use the rear webcam while managing hands-free driving (that’s the law in Ontario)
• one could access the dial pad

Three screen shots to show how the new call management bar works:

• Clicking on the blue “+” icon, second from the right, provides access to the dialpad and chat session
• Selecting the dial pad brings up the dial pad shown
• Clicking on the video camera icon allows selection of the front- or rear-facing camera on the device.
• Clicking on the center icon, initial image above, allows selection of the device’s internal speaker/mic or an external earpiece/mic connected via the 3.5mm audio jack

Four other points to note:

• The new version delivers advertising if you don’t have Skype credit or a Skype Calling Plan subscription; this expands a policy launched with the release of Skype for Mac 5.4 two weeks ago.
• A security issue on Skype for iPhone has been addressed; probably the one reported last week.
• This upgrade supports iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, 2nd and 3rd Generation iPod Touch, and both iPad and iPad 2, running iOS 4.
• During an earlier call to the same Contact between his iPhone and my Skype for Windows, the video transmitted from my PC started out at VGA resolution but dropped down to 160 x 120 resolution, probably to match more closely the 192 x 144 resolution that the iPhone delivers for video calling.

Bottom line: Skype for iPhone 3.5 addresses some user feedback issues, especially when it comes to the Bluetooth connectivity as well as a couple of housekeeping issues that had arisen with previous versions. The new Call Management bar also provides more consistency although it would also be useful if one could see call connection quality information, such as has appeared in previous versions.

It’s not quite at the point where I could say “Call James B. on Skype” whereas, using my BlackBerry, I can say “Call James B. mobile” in a totally hands free way. I had to park the car to launch the call via the
Skype client; for most of the call the front-facing camera showed the retracted windshield shades. It would also certainly be useful to have a mounting bracket above the dashboard to hold the iPhone such that the rear camera can show where you are going during a video call; otherwise one needs a passenger to hold the phone safely.

Note: A few hours after the release was announced Skype came out with a notification that there were a couple of issues with respect to loading Skype contacts – which I’ve noticed – and showing Skype credit. While Skype has provided a work around involving uninstalling and reinstalling the application, we should be expecting a hotfix release in the next couple of days to address these issues. Update – 28/9 evening – the hotfix update that resolves the contact sync issue is now available.

Pamela, the original Skype Extra that provides a range of utilities to enhance your Skype conversations experience, recently introduced Pamela 4.5 with enhancements which provide new call management functionality.

Pamela’s feature set can be broadly summarized as including:

• Conversation management
  • notification management
  • voice mail (with optional email forwarding)
  • video messaging (caller can leave a video message)
  • call transfer (missing from Skype for Windows 4.0)
  • call scheduling (new)
  • conference call management (with new features)
  • launch an application (when a call is received)
• Conversation archiving
  • Call notes (personal text notepad while in a call)
  • Call recording
  • Chat session archiving
  • Video recording
  • Custom recording (for blogs or podcasts)
• Personalization
  • personalized chat auto-responses
  • birthdays
  • rich mood editor

The two key new features are probably of most benefit to business users who have repeated calling patterns to, say, customers and/or suppliers or those who have routinely scheduled (say, weekly) conference calls with a common set of participants, such as a sales or marketing team.

Call Scheduler, shown above, allows you to schedule Skype calls with notification and recurring calls features. When the call is made there are options to provide an audio notification prior to the call, record the calls and/or open a text notes window.

More interesting is the Auto Conference Group Editor  which provides the ability not only to create conference call groups but also to trigger a conference call with the “group” when either (i) a call is received from a designated Skype contact or (ii) an outbound Skype call is made to a designated Skype contact.

It’s a feature-limited conference call management feature; it’s not a full conference call service such as Calliflower or HiDefConferencing with full moderator management features.

As outlined above Pamela has a long list of features that I have used over time, there is one feature that still needs work on both its operational reliability and the user interface. The video recording feature requires download of DivX decoders (which have licensing issues otherwise). I also find that it only works with one of the DivX decoders (DivX 6.8.5 YV12) out of a list of decoders available in the drop down box for selection of a video decoder. Apparently there are some PC- and webcam-specific dependencies related to the decoder issue.

Pamela is traditionally associated with Skype call recording – the feature that made it become virally adopted over the years; however, this is only one feature out of many that can benefit Skype users. Its uniqueness arises from:

• archived content (call recordings, chat sessions) is stored on the local PC’s disk drive in a standalone “Pamela” folder (whereas, say, Skylook is tightly linked into Outlook stores this information in your Outlook folder or Evoca stores your Skype call recordings at a hosted location accessible from anywhere on the Internet).
• the comprehensive feature set of the utility allowing you to select the combination of conversation management, archiving and personalization that adapts best to your individual Skype-enabled conversation activities.

Both PamConsult and Skylook offer basic call recording utilities based on the more feature-rich “parent” utility. Pamela Call Recorder is a free utility for Skype calls up to 15 minutes long. Skylook’s Call Burner has free basic call recording of Skype-to-Skype calls where  both parties have CallBurner but requires their premium version for calls to non-CallBurner users and SkypeOut calls. Evoca offers a free 30-day trial of their hosted recording service.

You can download Pamela 4.5 here for a 30-day trial of Pamela Professional. Pamela comes in four different configurations (including a free Basic configuration) when it comes time to purchase. Updates for Pamela and Call Recorder released

Pamela Case Study: Radio Free Asia: A Skype Facilitated Broadcasting Service

Over the past eighteen months CalliFlower has evolved into a complete audio conference call service. While they still offer a basic free service, in January they launched a premium service that provides document sharing, local calling numbers in North America, Europe and Australia as well as a feature that allows administrators to set up, but not necessarily participate in, a conference call. The most important feature is “no per minute charges”; you get “unlimited calling with an unlimited number of participants”.

Last week, over at Web Worker Daily, I wrote a post “Search Transforms CalliFlower Sessions from Events to Social Media Elements” where CalliFlower had announced that they had made all public CalliFlower sessions searchable such that they become part of an ongoing social networking conversation. My conclusion:

If you are into social networking by engaging your customers through blogs, Twitter and/or Facebook, check out CalliFlower as one additional element for carrying on your ongoing public customer conversations.

Yesterday the CalliFlower team woke up to learn that their CalliFlower for iPhone had been added to the Apple App Store overnight. (Yes, apparently “it just happens”; Apple uploads new or upgraded applications with no notice.) The iPhone application provides access to all of CalliFlower’s features with the exception of document sharing (which requires Adobe Flash – an issue for all smartphones). Set up a call, see your upcoming calls, see who’s on the call, participate in the chat wall and, of course, call in from your iPhone – they’re all there providing a unique mobile smartphone conference call experience. iotum CEO Alec Saunders provides more details in his post “CalliFlower on iPhone releases“  where he states:

And Calliflower on iPhone – well, let me just say that you’re going to love it.  We’ve remained faithful to the Calliflower experience on the web, while taking full advantage of the iPhone experience giving you the hands down BEST mobile conferencing experience ever.  Here’s a few examples of what I mean.

Check out my Web Worker Daily post and Alec’s full description of CalliFlower for iPhone. Also note that CATA makes Calliflower available to 28,500 members. If you have not signed up for the service, give it a try. Or install on your iPhone via iTunes here.

Full disclosure: the author is a user of the service for a non-blogging related project with great success. I call in to CalliFlower calls via SkypeOut.

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When fellow blogger Dan York joined Voxeo Corporation last October, very few of us in the IP-based communications blogging space had heard of this rapidly growing service provider. Over the next few months, sometimes with Dan’s assistance, Voxeo has become a familiar name identified with a self-financed startup, a profitable business and a very large enterprise customer base focused on supporting voice applications through third party development activity. Revenue generation comes solely from their “cloud” hosting and VoIP/SIP communications server software business. Last week, in following up on a couple of press releases, I had the opportunity to interview Voxeo’s CEO, Jonathan Taylor, and to learn much more about their success story.

Fundamentally Voxeo provides hosting environments for telephony applications, whether hosted on their in-house server “cloud” or on a customer’s premise-based servers. Developers write applications to their Prophecy platform creating XML files and SIP connections that are understood by the Prophecy-enabled servers. The Prophecy 9 client used by developers to create and manage these applications is now available for Mac OS X and Linux in addition to their legacy availability for Windows. Originally Voxeo only offered a hosted service but two years ago, in response to customer demand, they also provided the capability to support customers’ premise-based servers. Key elements of their program that have led to their success (and profitability) include:

• No charge for downloading, and use of, their software
• A focus on ease of development and deployment
• Charging customers only when a service is launched and providing business value
• Option to use either Voxeo’s hosting “cloud” or customers’ premise-based servers (usually based on the overall business case for supporting the application)
• Licensing based on a “per port” or “per minute” business model, as appropriate
• Providing Prophecy as a suite of components for SIP implementations
• A platform based entirely on open standards
• Including solutions for supporting conferencing, voice mail, call recording, speech recognition and auto-attendant requirements
• A strong channel and developer focus recognizing the role of third party professional developers as their key to implementing their enterprise customers’ services
• Lowering their customer support requirements through innovation in their software.

Two recent press releases covered:

• Launch of Prophecy 9, providing support for OS X and Linux clients to their platform as well as a new management console that not only reduces the complexity of development and associated deployment costs but also provides increased scalability.
• Acquisition of Beijing, China-based Micromethod, not only complementing Voxeo’s Prophecy suite of modules with their SIP-focused products but also providing a base for expanding Voxeo into serving the Asia-Pacific markets..

When I asked Jonathan about representative applications beyond the flexible yet effective IVR applications they can support, the list of several thousand applications includes:

• Intelligent call routing (using their call control features)
• Voice mashups providing access to, say, email or Google Calendar
• Anonymous calling services
• Facilitating calling services for children’s websites such as Nickelodeon.

Jonathan summed up their application support as providing a “services innovation platform” that operates “at the edge”, bypassing any carrier dependence beyond acting as a pipeline for their services. A final key feature is their provision of a highly accurate billing infrastructure, critical to their ability to support both their own invoicing and receivables management as well as their customers’.

Last Wednesday Voxeo issued a third press release discussing some of their business success with revenue growth of 99.7% (no rounding allowed – who would believe 100%, they say), 18 successive profitable quarters and a very high customer retention rate. Not being a public company they do not need to release any detailed financials. But building and supporting a community of 31,000 developers probably says it all.

In conclusion, Voxeo’s business represents a practical, successful and profitable implementation of Alec Saunders Voice 2.0 Manifesto, emphasizing that the value-add for voice conversations going forward lies in the applications.

Note 1: Tomorrow morning (August 26) Voxeo CEO Jonathan Taylor will be the guest for Alec Saunders’ daily Squawkbox conference call. Dan York provides more details on how to participate. If you miss the call, you can hear the recording posted on SaundersLog.com.

Note: Voxeo’s hosted “cloud” also supports connectivity to Skype for inbound calls.

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OnState Communications hosts business communications services that facilitate customer relationship management and enterprise marketing activities. OnState Call Center for Skype allows even the smallest business to operate a call center with geographically disbursed agents. OnState Unified Communications provides complete business real time communications management by extending the call center back office functionality to include conversation recording and archiving as well as messaging activities such as email and voice mail.

Customer conversations, whether through Skype or the legacy PSTN, may be initiated from a website with click-to-call and click-to-chat buttons, toll free numbers or direct inward dialing (DID) numbers. All back office agent connectivity is handled via Skype to minimize costs.

OnState is a one-stop supplier whose services include setting up not only their own services but also complementary services such as management of Skype accounts and Skype hardware acquisition.

Summary from Supplier: OnState’s founding and management team have pioneered communications solutions that drive customer service and empower business users – so they are aptly named the call center guys. Through highly successful careers with industry giants such as Cisco Systems, GeoTel Communications, and Nortel, they hold scores of industry patents for applications that you may be using right now including: Automatic Call Distributors (ACD); Intelligent Call Routing; Network Call Routing; Computer Telephony Integration (CTI); Voice Response Units (VRU); Customer Relationship Management (CRM); and Quality Assurance and Employee Performance Management.

Always at the forefront of business communications tools that directly serve people, the OnState team is redefining the traditional call center paradigm. They deliver a solution that exploits the convergence of advanced Internet, voice and networking technologies to create value-driven collaborative environments – at the lowest cost possible anytime, anywhere.

Website: www.on-state.com

Products and Services:

• OnState Call Center for Skype
• OnState Unified Communications

Pamela, the pioneering third party Skype conversation management utility, has evolved since its launch in 2004 into the premier utility for assisting your Skype activities with features such as call recording, conversation archiving, personalization, call scheduling and enhanced voice mail management. Its Rich Mood Editor, Emoticons, PamCasting and Blogging Support are amongst Pamela’s additional features.

Summary from Supplier : To be supplied by the vendor.

Ideal for: All business persons who use Skype as a critical tool for their business communications.

Publisher’s Expertise and Background: The PamConsult team is the pioneer Skype partner, having done the initial German translation of Skype and having worked with the Skype API’s since they were first made available.

Contact Information:

• Website : http://www.pamela-systems.com
• Phone: Skype Dick Schiferli
• Email: Contact Form

Products and Services : Pamela has four versions:

• Skype Extras: Call Recorder, Rich Mood Editor (free)
• Basic, Standard and Professional:
• Business (recommended): One-time $36.95, includes priority support
• Multi-user licenses available

Requirements:

• Skype: Version 3.6 or later (to take advantage of Call Transfer and High Quality Video recording)
• Platforms: Windows

Product Acccess :

• Skype Extras [Tools | Do More | Get Extras];
• Download Pamela

Installation Comments: When installing you will be asked to agree with the license.

Product Review

Case Study

• Radio Free Asia: A Skype-Facilitated Broadcast Service

Offerings and Pricing:

Skype, a business unit of eBay, is the world’s pre-eminent Internet conversation service providing the ability to have free voice, text and/or video conversations worldwide with other Skype users. In addition Skype provides low cost voice connections to virtually any landline phone worldwide as well as mobile phones in North America (U.S. and Canada). It also provides voice connections to mobile phones elsewhere; however, in a “caller pays” wireless service world these calls do have somewhat higher charges.

With any of today’s personal computers, whether Windows-, Mac- or Linux-based, Skype users can not only converse but also have up to ten-party conference calls; exchange files, such as documents and photographs; send SMS messages and leave voicemails. A key security feature of Skype is that all conversations are encrypted as well as the file transfer. Communications enhanced business solutions, such as collaboration tools, call centers and unified messaging, are available from Skype partners.

Unique features of Skype include:

• Easily installed software (over 275 million accounts have been registered worldwide)
• Simple, straight forward user interface:
  • single click to initiate a conversation,
  • user managed contact directory,
  • full touchtone dialpad (usually to dial extensions or provide PIN numbers)
• High Definition (HD) voice: all Skype-to-Skype calls feature wideband voice,
  • capturing a more true-to-life high quality audio that makes conversations more readily understood
  • reduces “squawkiness” of traditional phone conversations
• Chat session archive going back six months
• Contact management, including caller blocking, only accepting calls from established contacts, etc.
• Standard Video: works with most webcams, including Mac iSight
  • 320 x 240 @ 15 fps
• High Quality Video: 640 x 480 @ 30 fps
  • requires Intel dual core processor and Logitech webcam with Carl-Zeiss optics

The Skype Ecosystem

Skype has established a network of hardware and software partners to extend Skype’s reach beyond the PC. Hardware partners produce Skype phones and headsets; software partners extend Skype’s traditional business model disruption by offering legacy enterprise telephony services, such as call centers and collaboration tools, at costs that are affordable for the small-to-medium business.

Skype Hardware

Skype’ licensed hardware vendors supply telephony hardware to support voice calls and text messaging. Their products include:

• Headsets for PC’s
• USB telephones that work in conjunction with Skype on the PC
• PC-Free phones which connect directly to the Internet via embedded Skype firmware

Skype also has worked with several mobile platform vendors to supply embedded firmware and software on Nokia Internet Tablets, Sony entertainment devices and the forthcoming Intel Mobile Internet Devices.

In late 2007 Skype partnered with the 3 wireless service in the U.K. to launch the 3 Skypephone that allows users of the service to make voice calls to, and/or exchange text messages with, any Skype user worldwide at no cost. Calls to PSTN numbers are via 3′s standard wireless services. The 3 Skypephone also includes popular mobile device features such as a snapshot/video camera and a media player. Other software partners have developed services that provide Skype access on RIM’s Blackberries, Nokia N- and E-series multimedia phones and Windows Mobile devices.

Skype and Communications Enhanced Business Processes

Skype has partnered with several developers to develop communications enhanced business solutions that significantly reduce business process costs. Collaboration tools, call center management, fax transmission, hosted unified messaging services, hosted voice services, Skype utilities (such as call recording, personalization, enhanced voice mail and session archiving) and high quality hosted conference calls are amongst the business tools offered by Skype’s partners. The impact of Skype’s partner offerings is often to open up to small businesses many communications tools that have traditionally been considered only to be cost effective for larger enterprises. [More details]

Skype API’s and Skype Developer Program

For developers and IT professionals who wish to either incorporate Skype into their offerings or develop new communications enhanced business processes, Skype’s Developer Program offers a full range of API’s and SDK’s to facilitate integration of Skype and its services.