Tuesday’s announcement of the pending Microsoft acquisition of Skype has certainly drawn a complete spectrum of comments, feedback and posts. They range from Microsoft’s perception as doomsday venom for an acquisition’s products and services to praise for the potential to merge two complementary software companies that allow not only the continuation of the current service but also leveraging real time conversation features and technology into Microsoft’s existing platforms and products.

But the bottom line is that over 170 million people have actively been using Skype this year. As reinforced at the acquisition press conference, any move that would threaten or inhibit those users’ ability to continue using Skype would not help Microsoft’s bottom line. Thus, for instance, the ongoing support of Skype clients for Mac OS/X, iOS4 handheld devices, Android devices and even Linux. Yet we can now certainly see that a Skype for Windows Mobile can be expected to surface by year end.

But it’s really the user experiences that will both win new users and drive continued use by existing users. Technology journalist, technology TV program host/producer and social networking strategist Amber MacArthur has summed up the desires of most Skype users in her Tending Tech blog on the Globe and Mail website in a post: Dear Microsoft, don’t mess up Skype.

Amber outlines the history of her experience using Skype video. She was a pioneer in using Skype video for TV broadcast feeds – even when the best Skype video call resolution was 320 x 240 – long before Oprah. She regularly uses Skype for her current productions and business activity. But she also has more importantly found the value in Skype for reinforcing family relationships through calls to relatives, especially to her parents for the weekly grandparent call – regardless of where either she, in her travels, and her parents are geographically.

Amber speaks for all Skype users in her conclusion:

In my world, it’s fair to say that Skype is a necessity. Aside from Gmail, it’s the one piece of technology that I’d hate to live without. With more than 170 million active users around the world, I’m not alone. Sure, Facebook has more subscribers, but I’d ditch that social network any day of the week if I had to choose between it and Skype. I can’t say I remember any memorable Facebook messages, but there are Skype video calls I can’t forget.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what the Microsoft news means to the tech world. After all, $8.5-billion is a lot of money. However, the truth is that I don’t care. I don’t really care how much the giant software company paid. I don’t care if it gives them a stronger foothold in the web world. All I care about is that I can still make free video calls to Mom and Dad on my son’s birthday and invite them to share in a little virtual cake and a singalong. [Editor’s bold]

So, Microsoft, don’t screw up Skype. There are 170-million people and growing who won’t be very happy if you do.

Bottom line: I would ask that every Skype employee and all Microsoft employees who may become involved with embedding Skype technology into Microsoft products print  Amber’s post and put it up in their cubicle or office and, when making decisions related to the deployment and use of Skype, ask if each individual business decision passes the “Amber Mac Test” outlined in the excerpt above. It provides one significant benchmark against which the evolution of Skype and its technology can be measured.

Note: the number of users in the quote has been adjusted to reflect the 170 million active users reported at the Microsoft-Skype press conference. Based on previous reporting, this is based on the number of users who actually made at least one Skype call or conversation during the Jan-March 2011 quarter. A much more realistic measure of Skype usage than simply the total number of Skype accounts that are increasing by over 500,000 per day.

Update: Check out Alec Saunders Microsoft-Skype: emerging themes for the perspective of a former Microsoft product manager.

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During my recent interview with Russ Shaw, Skype’s VP and GM for Mobile, he emphasized Skype’s focus on having a true Skype user experience when it comes to supporting Skype on mobile devices.

What is meant by a “true Skype user experience” on a mobile device? Some examples, based largely on my own experience with several applications that support Skype via a mobile device:

• Find a person in an address book; press the “Green” Call button on the device and have the option to call via Skype or SkypeOut with a single click.
• Ensure access to ALL your Skype contacts with no limitation on the number of contacts displayed on the device
• Search for, and add, new contacts
• Support for Skype Contact groups
• Access and manage Skype voicemails
• Ensure that Group Chat threads are maintained on a mobile device; whereas many attempts at supporting Skype on mobile result in losing the “group thread” aspect of a Group Chat.
• Easily sign up for a new Skype account and manage Skype Credits
• Support for call forwarding (to three Skype ID’s and/or numbers)
• Chat history and call history log
• A consistent call quality
• and many more

Now that Skype is becoming mainstream on mobile via Skype for iPhone, Skype mobile^TM over Verizon and the recently released Skype for Symbian where these and many other Skype features are fully supported, Skype has decided to remove download access for two older Skype on mobile offerings: Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile.

So what happened? According to Skype’s FAQ on Skype for Windows Mobile their crime was “…. Skype Lite and Skype for Windows phones were not offering the best possible Skype experience”.

• Skype Lite served as a beta product for building expertise with the architecture and user experience that is now about to be implemented by Skype mobile over Verizon. But Skype Lite, as offered, had no formal carrier support. However, a key business aspect of this architecture is how it can be used to allow Skype to be adopted by carriers such that both Skype and a carrier partner win. And, frankly, I doubt many were using Skype Lite as it really requires:
  • carrier support at the Skype-PSTN gateway inherent to this architecture to provide the robustness and scalability required to ensure consistency of both call completion and call quality.
  • the hardware and intelligence resources of a smartphone to run reliably
• Skype for Windows Mobile – dropping support here is simply a reflection of the market statistics where iPhone, BlackBerry and Android have become the major players in the smartphone market, especially in North America. Its operation over carrier networks were a gamble; it was a battery hog and did not offer a consistently reliable voice calling experience. And the drain on Skype developer resources to continue support simply would take away talent required to support platforms with broader market acceptance. Maybe a review of this decision is in order once the recently announced Windows Mobile 7 becomes available down the road.
• As for Nokia, still the world leader in smartphone devices sold, Skype recently released Skype for Symbian where one gets a complete Skype voice, Instant Messaging (presence and chat), SMS and file transfer experience over both 3G and WiFi using a VoIP client on the device. (Warning, when using Skype for Symbian over 3G, ensure you have a data plan that will not clean out your wallet in one or two calls. )

Going Forward: So what are the options for Skype on mobile:

To further enhance the user experience, three other factors come into play:

• Ideally a Skype application on a mobile device allows multitasking such that IM activities (presence and chat) are being handled in real time in the background while using other applications on the smartphone. Skype for Symbian provides this experience while it has been highlighted as one of the key features of the forthcoming BlackBerry and Android Skype clients for Skype mobile over Verizon.
• Battery Life: while providing higher speed data services both 3G and WiFi have tendency to drain batteries more rapidly. These are issues that are also being addressed in Skype over Verizon client; this is especially easy to execute on BlackBerry with its API’s that facilitate battery management.
• Use of superwideband Skype SILK codec: this really requires a full VoIP client that supports SILK. The first mobile Skype client to support SILK will be the next release of Skype for iPhone.

Bottom line: Skype has set new performance and user experience standards for its supported use on mobile smartphones and handsets. Recall that Skype’s initial adoption on PC’s resulted largely from its straight forward ease of installation and configuration; they are now looking to replicate and enhance that ease-of-use experience in the rapidly expanding mobile smartphone space. And, finally, it appears that we can look forward to additional carrier agreements, modeled on the 3 and Verizon experience.

Update: Skype Journal’s Phil Wolff, Orphaning Skype for Windows Mobile users shows Leadership:

Practicing product management sometimes feels like raising livestock. We have great hopes, spend time nurturing them, and get the most out of them during their productive life. When that productive life is over? Take them to the slaughterhouse and kill them. Make room for the next generation.

Update, March 3, 2010: Say hello to Skype for Symbian – now available via the web or the Nokia Ovi store. Includes video interview with Mark Douglas, Product Manager for Skype Mobile.

Update, March 6, 2010: Jason Harris over at TechCraver has been making multi-party Skype calls from his Nokia N900

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This week Skype has released final “Gold” versions of three of their software offerings: Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0; Skype for iPhone 1.1 and Skype for Windows 4.1, their primary client.

Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0 goes Gold: From Peter Parkes:

It includes two cool new features: SMS and file transfer. Sending SMSs using Skype is a great way to reach friends and family instantly anywhere in the world – Skype’s low rates mean that you won’t have to break the bank to do it. And file transfer lets you send files quickly when you’re on the move.

Download here. Check out the Release Notes.

Skype for iPhone 1.1. While available for the new iPhone 3G S and the iPhone 3G, most important is that this release requires that you have performed the OS 3.0 upgrade to the iPhone 3G (initially sold last July); it should be offered automatically when you next connect your iPhone to iTunes on a PC. This upgrade adds features such as Cut/Copy and Paste along with many other improvements.

As for the iPhone for Skype software, it adds voicemail and SMS features as well as some improvements to the user interface. It also adds support for several languages such that the language support comprises: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish and Traditional Chinese as well as various English versions.

This one needs to be downloaded from the App Store via iTunes or as an upgrade on the device.

Canadians are still awaiting a resolution of a G729 patent issue before Skype for iPhone becomes legally available in Canada. Canadians have to be developing a syndrome about being left out of certain Skype offerings freely available in the rest of the world. And  now many of us early adopters would like to be able to take advantage of Rogers’ iPhone upgrade offer.

Skype 4.1 for Windows goes Gold. By far the most useful new feature of Skype 4.1 beta has been the screen sharing where I have easily shared spreadsheets, performed PowerPoint presentations and reviewed Word documents, as long as the sharing in only with one other Skype user. (Remember this screen sharing is done via the Skype for Video channel for which only one-to-one video calls are permitted.) It also includes sound and video quality improvements. (The screen sharing is a catch-up to a feature available on Skype for Mac 2.8 beta for several months.)

Bottom Line: incremental improvements that provide evolution, not revolution, of the feature sets. My biggest issue is a request to restore complete support for Public Chat sessions where enhanced marketing support of this feature would drive new adoptions (or is it that Skype cannot figure out a business model for Skype for Public Chat? – purely my speculations).

Other posts:

• Rogers steps for up iPhone 3G customers. Early adopters of the iPhone 3G have a significant upgrade offer until July 31, 2009. I am given to understand similar offers are available in several other countries.
• Dan York: Skype launches version 4.1… (yawn)… still only Windows… still a fragmented product strategy

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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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At this year’s CES 2009 Skype press conference, COO Scott Durchslag provided an overview of Skype Everywhere (or Skype Wherever Whenever). Basically Skype is looking to become installed wherever there is a communications device with embedded intelligence (processor and memory) and an Internet connection capability. Along with the announcement yesterday of the new Skype – Nokia partnership, Scott put up a post on the Share Skype Blog that outlines the three components of Skype’s strategy for mobile devices:

• Current users: Make Skype available for consumers to download onto their existing mobile handsets. Skype Lite is architected for incorporation into any of over 100 Java-enabled handsets, including any supporting Google Android. In discussing Skype for Windows Mobile, Scott mentions that SMS messaging and File Transfer are being integrated into the forthcoming Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0.
• Smartphone manufacturers: Develop partnerships with smartphone manufacturers “tightly integrate and pre-install Skype on their devices”. Skypephone and INQ are two existing examples; the Skype – Nokia partnership announced earlier this week is the next step. These phones will be targeted to consumers who may never have attempted to use a computer to connect to the Internet. But it requires simplicity and a familiar algorithm in the user interface:
  • Find a number in the device’s native address book, click on the green “Call” button, the party is called transparently over Skype. If the call is to a Skype contact anywhere worldwide there is no additional cost; if to the PSTN, SkypeOut charges will apply at a minimum.
  • But these phones are also capable of supporting Skype IM’s presence information and chat conversations worldwide.
• Carriers: The Skyephone relationship with Hutcheson 3, using embedded iSkoot firmware, has certainly been a success. Most importantly, its “free calling” marketing campaign has certainly helped 3 acquire new users who previously would never have thought of getting such a smartphone, even if it has a limited feature set (relative to, say, iPhone, BlackBerry or Android). From the Skype Lite announcement at CES it is apparent that Skype is developing relationships with carriers in at least ten other countries, including the U.S. But details of the specific carrier relationships have yet to be announced.

Many of these services involve using the data network for Skype IM and call setup while using the robust and readily scalable GSM voice channel for voice conversations. Other issues that will provide market differentiation include:

• keyboard: QWERTY or T9? this makes a huge difference as to how much Skype IM will be used.
• display size: how readily and effectively can the device display Internet-originated content?
• battery life: will there still be enough battery life after a day of work to enjoy an evening of entertainment without a recharge?
• overall user interface: bottom line for the user experience – how readily can I get access to the services I want, using a familiar calling algorithm?

And all this leads to “What is the business model for Skype”? That will be the subject of another post.

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Skype Blogger Peter Parkes has written about the Gold release of Skype for Windows 2.5. This version provides an improved user experience for Skype calling and chat messages. Click on the image to download.

But Skype is also previewing the first beta of Skype for Windows mobile 3.0, adding file transfer and SMS messaging, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

Question: which of these versions will be supporting the Skype panel on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 announced today?

Update: Skype’s Andrew Brennan: A Quick Look at Skype 2.5 for Windows Mobile, including screenshots.

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