Ever wonder if Skype could replace your home phone line? Borderless Communicator publisher and independent Skype “statistician” Hudson Barton has outlined, with encouragement by Skype Journal‘s Phil Wolff, the complete details of how he has deployed Skype to become his home phone.

If you are considering this option here are some of the considerations:

• Skype Online should be offering numbers in your local calling area.
• Create a separate Skype account solely for the home phone configuration
  • There are no Contacts associated with the account (optionally you can create a separate set of contacts)
  • All inbound calls are concurrently forwarded to their two  iPhones (leaving one more PSTN call forwarding number available)
  • They still use their original Skype accounts for making and receiving Skype calls with their Skype Contacts

• Hudson and his wife answer ALL calls on their respective iPhones using the carrier’s voice channel
  • not on Skype for iPhone
• They also subscribed to a North American unlimited US and Canada Skype Calling Plan
  • $60 per year (vs $360 for a Time Warner home phone line)
  • Results in a 50% discount on the cost of their Skype Online number (net $30 per year)
  • Required since all inbound calls are forwarded to their iPhones on the PSTN
  • Provides outbound calling options (see below)
• Hudson has outlined the issues with respect to outbound calling.
  • Where a SkypeOut call would be the lowest cost, he uses Skype for iPhone logged into the same “home phone” Skype account.
  • However, due to battery issues he closes Skype for iPhone when not making Outbound calls. (recall that they answer inbound calls on their wireless carrier’s voice channel).
  • For outbound calls he can optionally set either his Skype Online number or a mobile number as the callerID for SkypeOut calls.
• There is no 911 service for the Skype Online number; however, it is provided by their iPhone carrier.
• Voice mails are left on the iPhones’ carrier accounts for ready access, not Skype voice mail.

With Hudson’s implementation, the Skype client is never open except when required on the iPhone for SkypeOut calls; Skype’s infrastructure works in the background to forward calls. No PC is required once the account is set up and call forwarding configured. Other than the mobile phones, no PC hardware is required for the ongoing use of the service.

Over the years I have experienced a couple of other situations where, while it may not be their only home phone service, users have taken advantage of Skype.

Use a PC-free Skype-enhanced phone. While there were once several offerings for this, the current offerings are the RTX Dualphone 3088 (cordless, landline and Skype) which can combine a landline service and Skype into one platform and the FREETALK Office Phone (Ethernet, Skype only) . Since the Dualphone works via a DECT-supported base station, you can have as many as four handsets around the home. Once again:

• create a separate Skype account for your “home phone” service
• ensure that you can obtain a Skype Online number that is toll-free to most of your callers
  • low cost unlimited calling US/Canada landline subscriptions are very common
• you have configured call forwarding options to send unanswered calls to a mobile phone
• obtain a Skype subscription appropriate to where you expect to place outbound calls
• 911 calls can be made via the landline or the user’s mobile phone.

In one instance the user is moving amongst several countries over a few months and they simply take their Dualphone with them and obtain a local landline service if needed.

My own home phone is a Dualphone equivalent; but our landline uses the Rogers Home Phone service where the plan includes 1,000 minutes of US/Canada calling and free calls to other Rogers Home Phone customers as well as any Rogers wireless phone in Canada. But a similar Skype configuration is not feasible in Canada as Skype Online numbers are not offered for Canada.

Bottom line: Yes, with the appropriate services available in your local calling area, you can replace your home phone with a Skype service. However, understand you will need a smartphone for 911 calling and you need to ensure your iPhone is kept charged to be able to receive calls.

Other posts:

• RTX Dualphone 3088: The Bloggers’ Have Their Say
• RTX 3088 Dualphone: An Ideal Home or Small Office Solution for Easy Worldwide Calling

Related articles

• Skype hits 145 million users monthly (voiceontheweb.biz)

Note: While eBuyNow (formerly In Store Solutions and producer of the FREETALK Office Phone) was a client of the author’s, this is no longer the case. The author currently has no interest in any product sales resulting from links within this post. He has been using the no longer available Phillips dual mode cordless phone for his Rogers Home Phone service.

This morning, at the CEA Line Show in New York, Skype is taking the first step in the evolution of its revamped developer platform with the beta release of SkypeKit, “empowering consumer electronic and desktop software innovators to embed Skype into their products”.

In summary:

• Most importantly, SkypeKit allows developers to embed all the functionality of Skype into their offering without the need for the end user to have the Skype client open. They call it a “Headless” Skype toolkit whereas the developer community had been using the term “Naked” Skype.
• Initially SkypeKit is available as an invitation-only beta.
• Today API’s are available for Linux; API’s for Windows and Mac OS/X will be available in three to four weeks.
• The current program is targeted to consumer electronics and other telephony device manufacturers as well as desktop software developers
• SkypeKit includes support for Skype’s royalty-free ultrawideband audio SILK codec.
• SkypeKit supports Skype functionality beyond simply voice, including Skype video and H.264 processors embedded within hardware (such as with the FREETALK Everyman webcam).
• Skype’s developers have put significant effort into both security and scalability to sustain two of Skype’s key features.
• Skype will be promoting SkypeKit developers offerings through a “plugged into Skype” logo as well as making them available via the Skype Store.
• SkypeKit provides a long requested complement to the legacy Skype Public API’s used in applications such as Pamela, VodBurner, OnState, InnerPass and others.

This morning I had the opportunity to discuss the SkypeKit beta launch with Jonathan Christensen, Skype’s General Manager and Head of Platform. It provided an opportunity to dig deeper into Skype’s goals and strategy for the SkypeKit platform.

Primary goals of SkypeKit are:

• To provide developers with a “naked” Skype such that a Skype client is not necessary for the deployment of Skype on a hardware platform or Skype-enhanced application
• To provide an SDK that supports ALL the functionality of the current Skype clients, including video and SILK.
• To promote the incorporation of SILK into end point devices, making possible high quality audio calling such as experienced with the recent release of Skype for iPhone 2.0.
• Make the adoption of Skype into a device or application as friendly and readily adaptable as possible while providing appropriate levels of security and scalability
• To provide developers with a robust, scalable and proven channel for readily marketing their devices and applications worldwide.

In our discussion Christensen pointed out that Skype had not only reviewed developer requests for a revitalized and enhanced SDK but also incorporated the need to support all Skype functionality as well as maintaining the level of security and scalability required to meet the demand levels of Skype’s user base.

Christensen emphasized that Skype will be aggressively pursuing hardware vendors to license and adopt SILK as a standard feature of their offerings and to effect interoperability for Skype. IP-phones such as those offered by Linksys, Aastra, Polycom, snom and Grandstream would certainly be good candidates; their adoption of SILK would contribute significantly to Skype’s efforts to make SILK a standard. But it also means we could see the incorporation of SILK into, for example, the Skype for TV offerings available for certain models of Panasonic, LG and Samsung TV sets.

On another topic, Christensen emphasized Skype’s intention to facilitate marketing of the resulting offerings through both Skype’s “plugged into Skype” designation and the option to have them carried on the Skype Store. While any vendor can develop and market an offering on their own, it only receives the “plugged into Skype” designation required to be offered on the Skype Store  by meeting two conditions:

• it was developed using SkypeKit
• it meets Skype Certification standards when it comes to establishing a baseline for audio and video quality

Finally he pointed out that Skype launched this new SDK platform effort with this approach because “having an SDK for devices and desktop applications are a natural place for us to start extending Skype capabilities today”. As for supporting web developers, Skype only said, “We know there is demand among web developers, but we have nothing to announce at this time.”

To give a sense of developers intending to use SkypeKit, FREETALK (with their Webcam for Samsung TV), Panasonic, Litl with their Webbook and Grandstream are participating in the Skype booth at the CEA Line Show this week.

Bottom line: There’s quite a collection of legacy Skype hardware collected around my office over the past four years; most of it is no longer available due to  lack of ongoing support by previous Skype management, technology changes and vendor disappearance (who recalls US Robotics, for instance?). Frankly, if we look at Skype Certified hardware available on the Skype Store today, we only see offerings from FREETALK, Logitech, FaceVsion, RTX and some speakerphone vendors, such as Yamaha and ClearOne.

SkypeKit represents Skype’s first step in rebooting and revitalizing its hardware device support; it certainly fits in with Skype’s “Skype Everywhere” strategy. Last week at CommunicAsia, Skype CEO Josh Silverman was talking about his vision of “fixed-mobile convergence” for Skype where a user can transparently move from device to device and seamlessly continue a conversation without the need to even log on from one device to the next. But the final proof is in the execution:

• Has Skype made the business and ongoing support case for developers to employ SkypeKit and deploy offerings?
• Will SILK become an industry standard for audio quality? and will IP-phone vendors realize the value of SILK?

As for other Questions and Answers, check out that section at the end of Jonathan’s post today.

Full disclosure: In Store Solutions, producer of the FREETALK line of Skype hardware, 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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• SkypeKit beta SDK adds Skype to any application or device (engadget.com)
• Skype Opens Platform with SkypeKit SDK for Developers and Manufacturers (readwriteweb.com)
• Skype Releases SkypeKit SDK, Will Bring Skype Everywhere [Skype] (gizmodo.com)
• SkypeKit SDK promises devs invisible Skype access for apps & hardware (slashgear.com)
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• FreeTalk Wireless Stereo Headset: A June Special from In Store Solutions (voiceontheweb.biz)

The DECT 6.0-compliant RTX 3088 Dualphone allows North American consumers to continue to use their legacy PSTN phone service while seamlessly incorporating Skype into their routine “home phone” activities. And it’s one reason why you will see those Skype Mood Messages that say “Using Skype without my computer”.

Last fall In Store Solutions released a North American version¹ of the popular RTX Dualphone 3088, available on the U.S. Skype Shop. Its uniqueness results from its ability to work concurrently with both a PSTN line and a Skype account. Since then a few U.S.-based bloggers have taken the North American version of the Dualphone for a road test and provided some reviews.

First, a couple of general comments:

The DualPhone allows you to use Skype without a computer. This opens up new use cases that may require you to think about how you want to configure its use. In particular you may want to consider using a different Skype account from your primary Skype account for two reasons:

• If it’s to be a “home” phone, you probably do not want to have your “business” Skype calls going to every phone handset in the house
• It’s limited to handling 200 contacts on a buddylist. As pointed out by Stuart Henshall, if you have over 200 contacts in your primary Skype account, you want to think about whom you want to have in the Skype Contact list associated with use of the Dualphone. In my home phone deployment case, we use a separate account which only has about 25 contacts whom we call frequently. (Apparently the average number of Contacts per Skype Account is somewhat below 25.)

The Dualphone is limited to voice calling (over either Skype or the PSTN) and Skype presence information; it supports both a Skype Online number and SkypeOut services. However, as Stuart points out, there are situations where this suffices:

Who’s the DualPhone for?

I think you purchase it when….

• You want your wife/home to have an always on Skype connection when you travel a lot and they never became really Skype savvy. That also covers the use case where there isn’t an always-on Skype enabled PC.
• Small business perhaps? May make sense to dedicate another account to this phone and call forward your own Skype account (s) to it. This “shared” option could be useful but there’s no way to transfer from the phone to someone else. So don’t expect to make it a PBX.
• You want your parents to be on Skype but they are barely computer literate and again won’t have it on all the time. It’s a good way to keep them connected globally. The device is familiar and the technology disappears.
• You just love Skype to death, and cannot do without a traditional handset for yacking. This may be the best motivation for many, although the motivation to buy this handset is also tied into saving money and cheap calls. We’ll come to cost and investment later.
• You want to make Skype your landline equivalent (no 911) and get an account with SkypeOut and SkypeIn. Now your telephony is based on Skype costs and not the old style costs of the PSTN. The phone would payout in six months for most people. Unfortunately, landline numbers don’t seem to be portable or transferable. A variation on this. You could use Ribbit for your SkypeIn number and get addtional benefits and functionality while also staying in touch with your Skype buddies.

Jason Harris in his TechCraver review, mentions:

From a usability point of view, the Dualphone is pretty easy.  Techies will handle it just fine and I think most non-technical people can use it without issue as well.  Screen options allow you to add Skype contacts, adjust your online status and other routine Skype functions.

As for the static-y background sound quality issue raised by Jason, PhoneBoy says:

At home, I have this set up both with my landline and my personal Skype account. Calls to my landline and calls to my Skype account are set up with different rings (yes, you can do that). I have used it both for Skype and for PSTN calls and the sound quality is excellent. The connection between the base and the handset is DECT, making it both secure and WiFi friendly.

And Dameon (PhoneBoy) goes on to conclude:

If you’re looking for a way to make calls on Skype without using a computer and tie into your normal landline, this is a great device. It does exactly what it says on the tin. The pricing, though, presents a challenge: $170 for the base unit and handset, another $100 each extra handset. At half the price, it would almost be a no-brainer.

My own personal experience, using the Philips VoIP841 dualphone (same firmware as RTX model but no longer available), is (i) no issue with sound quality, (ii) the speakerphone is really handy for “family-participation” calls, (iii) having four handsets that are wirelessly connected removed the need to fix some phone line wiring when hit by a lightning strike last year – one RJ-11 jack for connection to the base station suffices and (iv) it’s “just worked” since I installed it almost two years ago.

Bottom line: When I see Skype mood messages that say “Using Skype without a PC”, it usually means they are using a dual phone; the RTX 3088 solves this issue. It’s probably targeted best at the home phone or home office market. The use cases, as quoted above, are definitely different from using Skype on your PC (or a mobile phone, for that matter).

And for the future: an ideal future Skype dual phone would incorporate the SILK codec (for crisp audio on Skype-to-Skype calls), a WiFi network connection, limited text messaging and a mute button. Is there a hardware vendor up to the challenge?

Note 1: What is meant by “North American” version? An appropriate power plug as well as support for the North American standard for a DECT 6.0 rf band.

Note 2: The RTX 3088 base station includes support for up to four DECT-connected cordless handsets; additional handsets are now also available at the U.S. Skype Shop.

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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• Skype’s Growth Outpaces Phone Companies’ (blogs.wsj.com)

Skype’s announcement today of agreements to have television sets become end points for Skype video calls really raises a series of both user interface issues as well as social issues:

• Do I want to be interrupted while watching programming such as a sporting event or Oprah?
• Where is it more convenient to talk: via a TV audio channel open to the room or a traditional handset with its inherent conversation privacy and reduced potential to interrupt a roomful of family and/or friends?
• Where do we want convergence? How much do we want to have application-specific hardware?
• Do we want scenarios where all those in the viewing room are exposed to the call?
• What clothes shall I wear while watching TV but enabled to be seen on a video call?
• If Skype is introduced into TV sets, how far can the inherent intelligence and Internet connectivity be deployed in a way that encourages user adoption of additional features and services? (SlingBox in the TV?)
• What Skype account(s) does one want to come via the TV? An separate account? A personal-use account? A business-use account? or combinations of these accounts. (For the Philips VoIP phone on our Rogers Home Phone service, we use a separate Skype account from my normal Skype “business-use” account.)

Why do I raise these questions? Consider three related user experiences I have had:

• When the Turin Winter Olympics opened in February 2006, I happened to be on a Skype call to an acquaintance, Peter, in Sweden while watching the CBC broadcast of the opening ceremony in my office via my newly acquired SlingBox. He was also watching the same opening ceremony on Swedish television. Our conversation was intertwined between the original purpose of the call (to address some technical issues) and comments on the opening ceremony. It was an interesting experience but note that we were watching and discussing the broadcast while being able to watch it.
• Recently Rogers quietly added a TV Call Display service that brought a feature of our Home Phone service to our TV set. Namely when someone calls us the caller ID information appears along the bottom of the TV screen along with options to Send to Voice Mail, Snooze (disable the call notification for up to 2 hours) or change the TV Call Display settings. Bottom line: it’s a minimally obtrusive service that actually provides call information prior to the phone(s) ringing and let’s you have options for dealing with the call without leaving your viewing chair.
• It’s real handy to have a PVR service that continues to record a program while viewing other programs; the other service that comes handy when there are conflicting sports events is Picture-in-Picture.

Skype’s TV Video calling currently has to be in an early adopter (or launch) phase. It simply replaces the currently viewed program with the video call taking over the screen and effectively becomes another Skype client. (More Skype Everywhere?) Obviously the TV set has to be both “intelligent” and Internet-enabled; this explains both why the HDMI 1.4 cable specification includes the ability to incorporate an Ethernet connection and why new higher performance  intelligence has to be introduced into TV sets (or cable set-top boxes).

But, partially based on my experiences described above, for a fully featured user experience we need to see:

• On-screen notification of a call while watching a broadcast program along with options to take the call or send it to a voice mail (or video mail) service.
• Ongoing recording of the currently viewed TV program in background on the PVR while on the call.
• Picture-in-picture integration to allow a viewer to monitor a program while on a call (or switch between the program and calling party as the primary display content).
• Multi-party calling (is this a potential revenue generating service for Skype?)
• Forwarding/transferring of the voice channel of the call to another Skype-enabled device such as the RTX 3088 Dualphone or mobile smartphone, or forward both the voice and video channels of the call to a Skype client on a PC.
• Chat or text messaging capability.

Given the size of the somewhat saturated HD television set market it needs new features to go beyond simply HD capability; using the TV as a Skype end point becomes one option to enhance the TV feature set. From the user perspective, on the other hand, it becomes one of many choices for handling (Skype) conversations. It certainly adds to the “Skype Everywhere” theme but how far do we want “everywhere” to go?

Bottom line: going forward we are going to see a range of attempts at convergence of our communications. But we are left with many questions:

• How much intelligence do we need within our “end point” devices? (I just acquired a Blu-Ray player that has an active Ethernet connection for firmware updates and additional content information delivery).
• Should the Skype intelligence be in TV sets or does it make more sense (and for broader distribution of Skype) to have the Skype intelligence in a set-top box, such as our Scientific Atlanta Explorer box?
• What additional services would intelligence in the TV or cable set-top box could be delivered by the cable service providers?
• How intense will the competition become between TV set manufacturers and cable set-top box manufacturers to control the intelligence behind these services? What can the set manufacturers and the cable companies see as business models for these competing offerings?
• Can this video calling intelligence be brought to mobile smartphones? Do we need LTE or 4G networks to make this happen?

At a minimum, the introduction of Skype’s TV client gives us talking points for the upcoming CES 2010 later this week.

Additional links and information:

Share Skype Blog: Get Skype on your TV

LG Electronics to Unveil Broadband HDTVs With Embedded Skype Capability

Skype and Panasonic Announce Collaboration to Add Skype Software to Viera® HDTVs

Brad Stone, New York Times: A Venture Integrating Skype Into the Family Room

And, as for the Hockey Picture on the captured TV screen: tonight Canada will be defeating the U.S. for World Junior Hockey supremacy once again…. fortunately I will be able to watch it live on my flight to Las Vegas. Something to do in this era of minimalist carry-on luggage.

The DECT 6.0-compliant RTX 3088 Dualphone allows North American consumers to continue to use their legacy PSTN phone service while seamlessly incorporating Skype into their routine “home phone” activities. And it’s one reason why you will see those Skype Mood Messages that say “Using Skype without my computer”.

Over the years we have become used to grabbing a phone, “dialling” a number and start talking. It’s a simple algorithm – every phone user is familiar with it. Over the past couple of decades supplementary services such as voice mail, call forwarding and call waiting have become all too common. More recently, if you walk down the phone aisle of North American retailers selling cordless phones, you’ll see the term DECT 6.0 prominent on the phone packaging and promotional collateral.

So how can one “just add Skype” calling to this most familiar consumer calling experience?

With a few years of using Skype and evaluating a range of VoIP phones, the criteria I have come up with include:

• Just pick up the phone handset and initiate a call using a habitual calling process
• Use the familiar 12-key touchtone dial pad
• Continue availability of all the legacy PSTN service provider services such as voice mail, call forwarding and call display
• Employ cordless phones’ crystal clear, interference-free DECT 6.0 protocol
• Add Skype without using a PC
• Add an option to select either a PSTN (landline or mobile) call or a Skype call when you hit the “Call” button
• Use Skype for both free Skype-to-Skype calls and SkypeOut calls at low Skype calling plan rates
• Provide access to a directory that includes both Skype contacts and PSTN contacts
• Provide access to Skype services such as Skype voice mail and contact status

Over the past three years several Skype partners offered cordless phone hardware that met this criteria. One of the veteran vendors has been RTX with their various USB phones and cordless Dualphone offerings. Recently RTX approached In Store Solutions as a recommended distribution channel; they concluded an agreement for worldwide distribution of their 3088 Dualphone via the In Store Shop on the Skype Store.

However, expanding sales into North America required adaption of the DualPhone to not only a North American approved power plug but also the North American rf channels available for DECT, known by the term DECT 6.0, which provides the audio connection between the base station and handsets on the majority of cordless phone packages sold today.

The RTX 3088 Dualphone includes many standard phone features such as handset speakerphone, 2.5 mm headset jack along with a standard 12-key dial pad. The starter package includes:

• Base station for connection to both a PSTN line (RJ-11 jack) and an Ethernet connection (RJ-45 jack) back to the home cable or DSL router
• A cordless handset, with a belt clip, connected to the base station using the crystal clear, interference-free DECT 6.0 standard for cordless home phones.
• Ethernet cable and phone cable
• Up to 50 meter indoor range, 300 m outdoor range
• Charging cradle, along with AAA rechargeable batteries.

Additional features to support Skype include:

• Color LCD screen
• Embedded Skype firmware that takes advantage of several Skype features: free Skype-to-Skype calling, SkypeOut calling, voicemail, call history and, for Skype contacts, status
• Contact list for both Skype and landline/mobile with automatic updates via a Skype account
• Add up to three additional optional handsets that facilitate:
  • intercom connection between handsets
  • concurrent Skype call while another handset is on either a PSTN call or another Skype call

Over the past two years I have been using another brand of cordless PSTN/Skype phone that is no longer available due to supplier issues. However, because it has almost identical firmware, it gave me the user experience with such a phone with the following comments and recommendations:

• Use a separate Skype account from any account you may be using for, say, business or personal privacy reasons. You don’t want the rest of your family or roommates answering your private business or personal calls.
• When placing a call you have the option to select either Landline or Skype
• SkypeOut availability takes advantage of Skype’s low cost rates or calling plan subscriptions to almost every country worldwide.
• It’s also smart enough for dealing with the North American area codes where one may or may not need the “1”  to place a call within or across area codes (Toronto region’s four area codes with two overlays, yet varying local calling reach, is an ideal example of this).
• DECT 6.0 certainly delivers on the interference-free, crystal clear voice quality
• Having the Call History and Skype directory for both PSTN and Skype calls are perhaps the most useful features, aside from the free Skype-to-Skype calls
• Have four handsets in various locations around the house without worrying about wall jacks to the wiring is definitely a benefit.
• With its own embedded “computer”, its operation over Skype is totally independent of call disruption from other programs running on a PC, such as Outlook.
• The base station’s portability has been a useful feature when diagnosing problems with my Rogers Home Phone cable modem (different from the Internet cable modem) and its one wired connection required to a central location in the house. Service can continue by placing the base station at the modem site while problems are diagnosed and the wiring is repaired.
• It eliminated the need to repair the home phone wiring setup (beyond the base station connection) when lightning went through some devices in my home last summer.

The RTX Dualphone for North America is available via the In Store Solutions Shop on the U.S. Skype store (with introductory promotional pricing of US$149.99 until December 14). It will be available soon on the Canadian Skype Store.

Bottom line: if you’re looking for a way to have you entire household on both your local PSTN service and Skype through a single handset, the RTX Dualphone provides a user friendly, easy-to-install solution. From up to four locations within your house or apartment, it supports both local PSTN and worldwide Skype calling at a very low overall cost.

Review: The Luxury Cordless DualPhone (Dualphone 3088) For Skype Voice Internet Calls!

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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I follow several forums about Skype, for instance at LinkedIn and on eCademy. Recently I have noticed a thread on the LinkedIn Skype for Business Group asking about using Skype without a PC. While eventually I intend to have more detailed information in response to such a question in the reference content on this site, let me summarize what is available as of today. The sales channels for these products are largely through the Skype Store (which is country-specific). Unfortunately several players who had good offerings have abandoned their Skype hardware offerings over the couple of years; however, we are starting to see the emergence of new devices.

Mobile Phones

Update: March 1, 2010: Access to Skype on mobile smartphones has evolved to several platforms; there are several posts that provide an update to what is stated below:

• Skype for Mobile – Now Focusing on a True Skype User Experience includes a summary table of options, as of March 1, 2010, for running Skype on mobile smartphones.
• Skype for iPhone: Now Legally Available for Canadians

Update: May 30, 2010: Skype for iPhone now works over GSM 3G/HSPA+ networks:

• Skype for iPhone 2.0 Released: 3G Skype-to-Skype Calling to Require a Fee
• Skype for iPhone 2.0: The End User Experience
• Skype for iPhone 2.0: The Commentary and The Reality

Obviously the most popular is Skype for iPhone. With over 1 12 million downloads since its introduction in late March 2009 earlier this week, the major caveat is that you need either an iPod Touch (with a microphone accessory) or iPhone. In both cases you also need to be at a WiFi access point to take full advantage of Skype’s voice and IM features; however, you can also use Skype IM (presence and text chat) on the iPhone using a carrier’s 3G or 2G/EDGE data plan (but not voice). Currently Skype for iPhone is not available in Canada pending resolution of a patent licensing issue. Skype for iPhone does require that the application be open in order to received messages and Skype calls.

Skype Lite for Nokia has been replaced by Skype for Symbian.

Skype has also been developing Skype Lite for a wide range of Java-enabled phones, including the Nokia N- and E-series phones. Again one can use Skype IM (presence and text chat) for those phones that support a WiFi connection (such as many of the Nokia N- and E-series smartphones). But for voice, one needs a carrier for which Skype is setting up arrangements in ten countries. Skype announced earlier this week that a Skype Lite for BlackBerry will be available in May, 2009.

As mentioned in the first update post above, Skype for Windows Mobile has been withdrawn.

Skype for Windows Mobile has been available for several years, recently released version 2.5 and demonstrated the Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0 beta. They recommend its use via WiFi access points; however, its use on a Windows Mobile smartphone over 3G may have performance limitations, especially with respect to battery life.

If you are in one of the nine countries served by 3 as a carrier, you will find the Skypephone 2 available as well as a few other devices that supports Skype operation. Later this spring Skype will appear embedded into Sony Xperia X1 and new Nokia smartphones.

There are two third party solutions that I have used quite often: iSkoot (BlackBerry, several Nokia smartphones) and IM+ for Skype (BlackBerry, iPhone/iPod Touch, a few Nokia smartphones). On the BlackBerry they can take advantage of the inherent background processing to allow Skype chat sessions to remain active while executing other applications; they also require both a voice and data plan (2G or 3G GSM) in order to complete voice calls; chat sessions are supported over a WiFi connection.

There are several other third party offerings which provide Skype access, including Truphone (iPhone, BlackBerry, some Nokia models), Fring (iPhone, some Nokia) and Nimbuzz (iPhone). Suffice it to say that, while one can carry on conversations via these services while dealing with user interface, performance and/or call quality issues, the best service level is achieved from a service where Skype has full control of the software and network connections.

Skype’s strategy for mobile was recently outlined by Skype COO Scott Durchslag.

Dual Mode Phones

About two years ago several hardware vendors introduced dual mode PC-free phones that allow you to connect to both Skype via a broadband Internet connection and the PSTN. However, currently these devices are undergoing a transition as Skype restructures, the only phone that is readily available today is the Philips VOIP3211 which can be found for several countries via the Skype Store. Update, Fall 2009: The only dual mode phone that is readily available as of fall 2009 is the RTX 3088 Dualphone; feedback here. The one caveat for these phones is that they support voice and presence but have no chat capability.

IPEVO also offers their Skype Desktop Phone S0-10, which only provides Skype calling over an Ethernet connection into a router.

Skype Video Phone

I recently received an evaluation ASUS Eee Videophone AirGuru SV1, which provides support for both Skype voice and Skype video calling along with presence information (no chat). My few conversations with it have been quite satisfactory and the user interface provides easy setup of calls. Basically all operations are done via a five-way trackball where you have up/down/right/left to navigate and a central push button to perform an action. While it is basically a video speakerphone, there are headphone jacks on the rear.

To get started you simply plug it into an Ethernet port on a router or switch with a minimum broadband Internet service and enter the setup routine to provide your Skype account information. Optionally it also supports WiFi access if you are not attached via an Ethernet connection.

WiFi Phones

These are again available via the Skype Store with models provided by Netgear and Belkin that support voice and presence. I have never been a fan of the Skype WiFi phones, especially from a price/performance perspective, as they have very limited functionality and have found them to have battery life issues amongst other problems. But some people seem to like them. More recently IPEVO has offered their WiFi Phone for Skype S0-20.

Others

Skype can be found on the Nokia N800 and N810 N900 small tablet handsets; Sony Mylo and some Sony PSP models. However, these are examples of embedding Skype into a device as part of Skype’s “Skype Everywhere” strategy where conversations become one more feature of a specialty device.

Conclusion

“Skype without a Computer” is inherent in Skype’s new “Skype Everywhere” strategy recently outlined by the new Skype executive team. With the current restructuring of Skype where more mature business processes are being introduced to incorporate product marketing, build partnerships and spread the availability of Skype across many platforms, we can expect to see new “PC-free” Skype hardware coming out in the future. In their visioning statements, beyond mobile devices, they point out that we may see it attached to TV sets, automotive dashboards and embedded into other hardware.

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