At about 5:30 (GMT+1) this afternoon members of the Skype Public Chat discussion learned that not only was there a new beta version of Skype for Windows 4.2 available for download but also Skype had released its first beta version of Skype for Symbian (for Nokia smartphones).

Shortly afterwards, while listening to the final Gillmor Gang panel session at LeWeb, I downloaded, via the event’s WiFi network, and installed the newly available Skype for Symbian beta onto a Nokia E71 that I use on Spain’s Vodafone for emergency calls during my trips to Spain. As an initial test I then sent out a few initial Skype Chat test messages. While there were some long delays I finally did receive responses to these messages..

I then realized that the LeWeb official blogger sitting next to me had a Nokia smartphone and asked her to install Skype for Symbian on her N96. About five minutes later, as Michael Arrington of TechCrunch fame was chiding Apple for not supporting VoIP over 3G networks, I made a successful Skype-to-Skype call between my E71 and her N96. While this call went across LeWeb’s WiFi network, the irony here is that Skype for Symbian is a complete VoIP client on a mobile smartphone and, according to Skype’s blog post:

Skype for Symbian works over Wifi or 3G data connection. We recommend having a unlimited data plan when using 3G connection.

I followed up with a successful Skype call to Andy Abramson at his hotel in Madrid, Spain where the voice quality was excellent in spite of the event’s background audio of the panel session.

My LeWeb deskmate has a Vodafone Netherlands voice and data plan and will let me know when she returns to Amsterdam this weekend if she can make Skype calls over Vodafone Netherland’s 3G network.

Skype for Symbian beta is claimed to be a “limited” beta; however, it supports:

• Free Skype-to-Skype calling
• Call phones with Skype credits or subscription
• Receive calls on your Online Number
• Instant Messaging
• Group conversations
• File sending and receiving

The important bottom line here is that Skype has finally released a mobile smartphone client that supports both 3G and WiFi from a full VoIP client with no intermediary servers as has been used on the 3 Skypephone over the past two years. Its use over the data plans of wireless carriers will test several aspects of smartphone services:

• Will carriers attempt to block VoIP clients’ services that bypass their inherent voice channel?
• Will smartphones have sufficient battery life to support a full day’s use of a VoIP client over a 3G network?
• How much data would be used during an average day’s use of Skype? (While many carriers claim to offer “unlimited” data plans, there are actually monthly caps of 5GB or more.)
• Where does a full Skype client provide an economic advantage over various voice plans, especially when it comes to making calls while roaming?

During my recent trips to Europe I have made heavy use of Skype for iPhone (and sometimes Truphone) over WiFi access points. Given the high charges for data while roaming, Skype for Symbian is still not a service that I would use over a “roaming” 3G network but I would continue to look for WiFi access points in hotels, restaurants and airports to access Skype on the supported phones. However, in my home country I can expect to make Skype calls from anywhere in Rogers 3G coverage areas using their relatively inexpensive data plan at little or no additional cost.

Update: Phil Wolff has more details and some caveats about this initial Skype for Symbian beta version over at Skype Journal.

Related posts:

• Is Rogers Setting A Benchmark for Net Neutrality Policies?
• WiFi: The Real Threat to the Mobile Carriers
• Skype Everywhere: Nokia and Skype Announce Ongoing Partnership
• 3 Pushes the Envelope Once Again: Offers Obligation-Free Skype Mobile Services
• iSkoot – Providing Carrier Friendly Access for Skype Calls

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• Skype for iPhone: Now Legally Available for Canadians (voiceontheweb.biz)
• Skype Beta Calls on Symbian Phones (gigaom.com)
• On iPhone, Apple Still Not Allowing VoIP Calls over 3G (gigaom.com)
• AT&T has change of heart about VoIP over 3G for the iPhone (arstechnica.com)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• As for the initial target market:
  

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

More background from the press release:

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

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

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

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• Blabbelon launches free voice chat for online gamers (games.venturebeat.com)
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• Blabellon, the net’s CB Radio. (saunderslog.com)

VoIP News has come out with a post discussing what author Jim Higdon deems are “The 5 Best Skype Extras”. Jim presents a most interesting perspective on the dyslexic nature of Skype with its superb technology and turbulent business performance in his statement:

With an unsteady performance since its purchase by eBay Inc., its founder’s costly departure, the emergence of Skype spam, significant competition, outages and poor customer service, many have speculated that Skype could be the next item for auction at eBay. Yet, despite all the bad news and crabby blog posts, more than 100 million people worldwide are registered Skype users, and 60,000 new users sign up every day.

A few comments:

• In my work I am finding that “collaboration” is a catch-all for any service providing an opportunity for a “group”, whether two parties or several hundred, and whether unilaterally or interactively, to concurrently communicate together, Yugma Skype Edition and Lotus Sametime Unyte are desktop sharing applications providing support for conversations, whether voice, text and/or video, while Convenos and Webex historically have provided fully-featured virtual office and virtual conferencing capabilities with voice as an embedded element of the overall collaborative experience.. Different tools for different target markets here
• With so many of my network of contacts acquiring Macs these days, I do find that, with Yugma’s cross-platform capability which Jim highlights, I am using it as my de facto desktop sharing application in presentations and discussions.
• Having had a chance to see both the Sony PlayStationPortable and Sony mylo COM-2 at CES, I have to say the latter offers the more intriguing embedding of Skype. Whereas the PSP only offers voice, the second generation mylo offers both voice and IM along with use of Skype file transfer to send pictures and other files. In fact, I have seen one review where the new mylo should be considered as good competition for the iPod Touch.
• Hat tip to Andy for pointing out Jim’s post. Note Andy’s comments:

What I’m seeing with the add-ins is how Skype has really become a pipe within a pipe, something I felt was coming around the time of eBay’s acquisition. With each add-in it becomes easier and easier for two way communications users to build their world around Skype for many interactive, one on one activities, like web conferencing and desktop sharing. This Top 5 list bears that out once again.

Other Skype Journal posts on Jim’s Top 5:

• Skylook: A Skype Extras Success Story
• A Most Interesting Skype Mashup: OnState Expands Into Unified Messaging
• OnState CEO Provides More Background
• Brandon Holland and His Affinity for the Echo123 Girl (Skype on AppleTV)

Tags: Skype, Skype Extras, VoIP News, Jim Higdon, VoIP Watch, Sony PlayStationPortable, Sony mylo, Andy Abramson, Skylook, AppleTV, OnState Communications, OnState Unified Messaging

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Robert Poe at VoIP News has written a detailed report on how OnState Communications Call Center works, making a couple of points we had overlooked in our coverage:

Fully a software solution with no servers:

Onstate Communications’ CallCenter service bundles Skype’s business offering with its own software-based ACD (automatic call distribution) capabilities. Unlike with either on-premise or hosted solutions, no calls go through OnState Communications’ facilities or equipment — all the CallCenter software does is tell Skype where to send the calls. “It’s true software as a service,” said OnState Communications co-founder and CEO Pat Kelly. “It’s without parallel given the marketplace we’re going after.”

CallCenter’s software-based architecture is the key to OnState Communications’ low price. “We have to some degree an unfair advantage, because we don’t have to buy massive racks of equipment like [hosted call-center providers] do because all their calls have to run through them,” Kelly stated. The cost of toll-free or local phone numbers, and of SkypeIn and SkypeOut calls, are in addition to the service’s basic fee. Adding the ability to record 100 percent of agent calls runs a mere $10 extra per month.

A truly international solution:

The Call Center service originally worked only with Skype calls and callers, according to Kelly. OnState Communications soon added SkypeIn and SkypeOut capabilities, which made it possible to call or receive calls from anyone, anywhere. And an upgrade announced on Jan. 9, 2008 expanded the “anywhere” part to international locations. U.S. companies can now get inbound numbers in a variety of overseas markets and have the calls come to their offices via Skype.

Similarly, non-U.S. companies can get toll-free U.S. numbers and send their incoming calls to agents anywhere in the world that Skype goes, for the same flat rate of around 3 cents per minute. “For people providing international support, that’s a big thing,” said Kelly. “If you’re a European provider and want to give your U.S. customers support, you pay big bucks to get a U.S. 800 number to ring in Denmark.”

Another case of Skype and a partner’s offering disrupting business: Fifteen years ago my employer was paying over $10,000 per month to have support calls routed to Europe (Ireland) via a T1 line during hours when the Los Angeles based headquarters was closed. And that’s another saving besides dropping the need for a six figure PBX to run a call center.

Tags: Skype, OnState Communications, OnState Call Center, Robert Poe, VoIP News

Recall our “Note to Innovators: Market Thyself” post over the weekend triggered by Andy’s VoIP Watch post on Why Some Innovate and Die, discussing the importance of marketing considerations in building a business. Alec Saunders has responded with several low cost suggestions for doing market research that don’t involve hiring a Forrester or Gartner:

Bottom line, there are many ways you can do effective market research without having to spend a bundle of money. Effective research will help you find the need and be customer focused.

Read the entire post for Alec’s comments on customer focus, distribution models and the role of retail.

Garrett (Smith on VoIP) contributes insight, from his perspective as a largely web-based distributor of VoIP and related hardware, built around three themes:

• Marketers Create Products, Engineers Build Them
• Use Your Money to Build a Great Product; Then Sell It Online
• For Retail VoIP the Numbers Don’t Add-Up

The last one comes from his experience with Vonage retail kiosks: As an example:

“…. The vast majority of consumers you will encounter in a mall kiosk setting (or even at radio shack) just are not able to comprehend the technology. Not that it is that hard to comprehend, but from my own “market research” during the kiosk trial you wouldn’t believe how many people think AOL “is the Internet.”

Garrett goes on to talk about the difficulties of hiring experienced staff at the retail level and the role of subscriber commissions and ARPU in generating sales. Interesting perspective….

In case you missed its referrals on other (VoIP) blogs, check out VoIP News’ “25 Tips to Improve Your Skype Experience”. Some tips are simply pointing out features of Skype (Call Forwarding) while others are innovative applications for Skype (A DIY Home Security System). The “Silliness” section includes mention of a Voice Analysis Love Detector and a NotMyNumber Directory.

And you can read about the DemoCamp 12 event I attended Monday evening in posts from Alec Saunders, Matthew Ingram and Jon Arnold (who has video’s of Alec’s presentation). Two key rules for participation: 10 Minutes and No PowerPoints! Now if they WiFi link had been more robust…And if you’re looking for a photo site that is for non-geeks, check out BubbleShare (whose Albert Lai presented an update on his Bubbleshare’s recent sale to Kaboose). It is a prime example of the need for simplicity in consumer products. I speak from experience; several non-geek friends have been using BubbleShare to share family pictures via the ‘Net.