Yamaha launches their PSG-01S Microphone Speaker for Skype to be sold via the In Store Solutions shop on the Skype Store.

During my recent European trip I had my first ever encounter, after several decades of traveling on Air Canada, with their baggage scales and new weight limits: 23 kg per checked luggage piece and 10 kg per carry-on item. As a result my wife and I had to reorganize our luggage at the airport to comply with these limits. Given that I would also be on RyanAir for a couple of trips while in Europe – with 15 kg checked baggage and 10 kg carry-on limits, it made me much more conscious of what I would be carrying in my laptop briefcase. Out went the spare battery (Air Canada has laptop power outlets at the seats); I was also reduced to carrying one book along with my laptop. If I want a printer while traveling I can simply fax a document to the hotel fax using PamFax. So when it comes to adding complementary devices for a laptop, such as a device to support audio, I look at not only the feature set but also the weight and “bulk”.

Prior to my trip on RyanAir to eComm Europe in Amsterdam I was given a Yamaha SoundGadget USB Microphone Speaker to determine where I could find user experiences that facilitated my business travel; in addition I arranged to have several units sent out to bloggers for their feedback over the past couple of weeks.

So why would one want this audio device in a market that has many speakerphone offerings?

It’s the combination of size and feature set. It’s not “just a speakerphone”. At about 200 grams in a very portable 12 cm x 4 cm x 5 cm package, the recently released Yamaha USB Microphone Speaker is a personal microphone/speakerphone combination that allows one to combine Skype calling, wideband audio recording and music or podcast listening into a compact, yet feature rich, device. Some of the other features on which feedback came:

• Sound quality: supporting a 300 Hz to 20KHz audio bandwidth for both local (voice and music) recording and listening, the sound quality in such a small size package was the first feature always commented on. While it’s definitely not the boom box that one would have at home, the consensus appears to be that, for its size, sound quality is excellent for voice calls and listening to music or podcasts in a hotel room or small office environment.
• Skype calling: With its Skype client that supports all three of Windows XP/Vista/7, one can use the buttons on the device to answer and end calls as well as manage the speakerphone volume. To date it appears to be the only Skype speakerphone that has the appropriate client for all three versions of Windows and, in particular, Windows 7. (And yes, while the Mac will recognize it as an audio device for Skype calls, a request has been made to Yamaha for a Mac client that would achieve full integration with Skype.)
  • Note, for audio quality purposes, that the microphone supports Skype calling up to 7Khz – sufficient to take advantage of Skype’s wideband SILK codec feature; however, this limitation is removed for “local” voice or music recording.
• 360 degree “around-the-table” pickup: unique in a Microphone Speaker is its four microphone array on the top complemented by the internal echo cancellation and background noise reduction firmware. As a result several people can be positioned, say, around a small office table and all parties heard equally well instead of having everyone facing the device from one side.
• Tilt for (stereo) listening: while vertical it supports Skype calling and recording in mono mode; tilt it to a horizontal position and the two speakers go into a stereo mode for listening. Not much physical separation but then I see a lot of iPod devices out there where the two speakers are combined into one unit.

My experience: it came in very handy during my trip, for instance, my wife and I could participate in calls back home together while sitting across a table; in one case, it was beneficial where a person in the room only spoke Spanish but I had a translator as the called party. When horizontal, it came in handy in my lodging as a speaker for the iTunes media player on my laptop – much better audio quality than the embedded laptop speakers.

As a result, it appears to be the ideal complement to the laptop for road warriors and for use in a personal office. And it could be considered as a holiday gift for the laptop addict amongst your family members or colleagues.

However, as outlined in the full disclosure below, I am probably considered to be a bit biased, although I did a fair bit of research on speakerphones in coming up with this post. I will either add to the end of this post or, in a couple of weeks, put up a post pointing to blogger and Twitter feedback. Update: as I wrote this, the first blogger feedback has appeared from Jonathan Jensen on “The Really Mobile Project”.

But the real test comes if users have a chance to experience it and use it for themselves; perceived audio quality tends to be a very personal experience. So here’s the deal: Normally priced at US$219/£199/€199 – including delivery and VAT/Sales taxes, until December 31, 2009 pricing has been reduced to US$199.90/£179.90/€179.90 – including delivery and VAT/sales taxes. It’s available at any of the Skype Stores that Yamaha has shown on their website for this product. And where’s the value-add? Being able to take advantage of the inherent audio enhancement feature set while traveling, but not paying those €20 per kilogram overweight charges on RyanAir or €5 per kg on Lufthansa.

But you also need assurance that you will have a positive and satisfying personal experience with it. Should you buy the Yamaha SoundGadget USB Microphone Speaker during this promotional period and then decide – for any reason, “no questions asked” – that this device does not meet your expectations, simply return it to In Store Solutions, shipping prepaid, by January 31 and a full credit will be issued. The timing on this return policy is such that you can gift it to a family member, friend or business colleague during this holiday season and still give them enough time to decide if they like it.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions 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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When Skype Vice President Stefan Oberg spoke at VON Canada last year his theme was how Skype’s goal was to be “Better Than a Phone”. To make his point he mentioned how even the simple task of plugging in a headset (often on the rear of a desktop PC or in a laptop docking station) still frustrated Skype product managers and engineers as an “ease of use” issue. Otherwise background noise and echo effects made conversation difficult at best, if not impossible, when using the basic speakers and microphone supplied with a PC.

Today, with the release of Skype 3.2 beta, you no longer need to have that headset (or handset) to achieve top-notch voice quality in your Skype voice conversations. You can make excellent quality Skype calls using your basic PC speakers and microphone.

While not mentioned in the press release, if you look at the Release Notes for Skype 3.2 beta 53, you will find:

• feature: Skype’s own audio codec

• feature: Skype improved conference mixer

• feature: Skype Jitter Buffer and concealment

• feature: Skype audio preprocessing components

What this all adds up to is a new standard for voice quality in VoIP calls. Skype has internally developed its own codecs, based, I suspect, on the Camino Networks technology Skype acquired last April, such that calls to/from a Skype 3.2 client can be made simply using the microphone and speakers that come with any laptop or desktop PC. Echo cancellation and noise cancellation capabilities in these codecs make your Skype calls sound like a call with headsets or phone handset but without the hardware.

As a result you can have hands-free operation of your Skype calling while not cluttering up your physical desktop with additional hardware. The sole reason for using traditional USB handsets will be privacy; speaker phones may still have some application in board room environments. PC Free phones will continue to have their role in getting Skype available throughout the home or small office.

I first heard about this new capability from a beta tester a couple of weeks ago. He had to make a all from a booth conference room on the floor at CeBit 2007. While surrounded by four walls, with no ceiling, sound from the conference came in over the top. Yet, using the Skype 3.2 client he successfully made a business critical call using Skype back to parties in North America simply using the mic and speakers inherent to his laptop.

This morning I tested out the Skype 3.2 client using simply my laptop (actually my Altec Lansing USB speakers to enhance sound power that could create echoes) and the microphone from my headset. (Need to call Dell for a service call on my laptop’s built-in microphone.) I placed the mic about midway between the speakers and made five different calls — four using Skype at the other end while the fifth was on a mobile phone via SkypeOut. All four Skype parties found the call quality superb while the call to the mobile phone had poorer but quite acceptable quality — probably due to the terminating mobile phone infrastructure. One of the called Skype parties found it “eerie” that this all worked when he thought about the consequences; he said it was the biggest feature to come out since the release of Skype itself.

Find out for yourself, download the Skype 3.2 beta, install it and call your friends and colleagues without any headset or handset. Put your feedback into the comments.

Bottom line: the new Skype codecs set a new baseline for call quality on any VoIP service. Skype appears to have built a significant differentiator with these new codecs; with them Skype becomes significantly “Better Than a Phone”, especially when combined with all of Skype’s other real time conversation features.