Skype News

Saturday, April 11th

• Founders Plot Buying Back Skype from Ebay

  The founders of Skype, who sold their internet telephony company to eBay in 2005 in a deal that has yet to pay off for the online auctioneer, seem to be positioning themselves to buy the company back, the New York Times reports....

Friday, April 3rd

• FCC Asked to Investigate Skype for iPhone Restriction

  Since its release on Tuesday, Skype for iPhone has been downloaded more than a million times -- that's a rate of six downloads a second, according to the company. All this despite the fact the software only works via the iPhone's Wi-Fi connection, and not AT&T's 3G network....

Tuesday, March 31st

• Skype for iPhone Promises New Features

  Today, just in time for CTIA Wireless 2009, the big phone conference in Las Vegas, Skype is releasing its application for the iPhone. The company said a BlackBerry version would soon follow....

Sunday, March 22nd

• Skype VoIP Version 4.0 Improves Skype Video Calling

  Skype Limited has rolled out a new release of its VoIP communications software on Tuesday. The new 4.0 version enhances voice-over-IP video calling and has a built-in Internet bandwidth manager which provides faster data transfers using a microphone or webcam. In addition, it offers users state-of-the-art wideband audio quality during phone calls....

Tuesday, March 3rd

• Skype Gives Back to VoIP

  One of the first pieces of good news to come out of eComm Tuesday in San Francisco is the announcement from Jonathan Christensen, Skype’s General Manager for Audio and Video, that the company’s SILK wideband voice codec will soon be provided to third party software and hardware developers with a royalty-free license....

Thursday, October 2nd

• Is China Looking over Skype's Shoulder?

  The New York Times reported that human rights advocates and security researchers have evidence that the Chinese government can (and does) read IMs (instant messages) sent on Skype. It seems that a joint venture between Skype Ltd. and Chinese wireless carrier Tom Online was allowing the authorities to monitor and filter conversations with certain forbidden words. Skype said it's an administrative problem and not a security issue, and has ask Tom Online to knock it off. Tom Online said it will have a fix in place within a day....

Friday, September 12th

• The future of Skype

  Revenue at eBay-owned VoIP service Skype was up 51% in the most recent fiscal quarter -- a rate of revenue growth that is twice that of the same quarter a year ago. But the larger question of how Skype fits in with eBay's overall strategy is still up in the air, and a sale is a possibility, according to this article...

Wednesday, July 30th

• Talking is cheaper with VoSky

  VoSky announced it has added Exchange Pro VIT1/E1 to its PBX-to-Skype gateway family. The new appliance integrates existing PBXs with T1 or E1 digital interfaces....

Wednesday, June 18th

• New Skype Beta Makes Video VOIP a Snap

  Skype delivers a unified communications service with better video calling access and conversation management....

Thursday, April 24th

• Skype Tries Mobile Phone Beta; U.S. Must Wait

  Skype continued its phased roll-out of mobile services on Friday with the release of a beta 'mini version' of the VoIP service for cell phones. ...

Sunday, April 20th

• Skype's New Packages Shows VOIP Becoming Commodity

  Skype has announced a flat rate for international calls, further showing how difficult it is to make money from telephony, according to analysts....

Thursday, January 3rd

• Skype VoIP headed to PSP

  One of the more anticipated new features is voice over IP support, which was announced during the Leipzig Games Convention as coming to European PSPs this month as part of the Go!Messenger service. At the time, Sony limited its reveal of the Internet-enabled phone service to PAL territories, but it now appears phone functionality will indeed be coming to stateside PSPs as well. ...

Tuesday, December 11th

• Critical hole in Skype VoIP client remedied

  It has been announced that Skype has remedied a critical security hole in version 3.6 of its VoIP software for Windows, released in mid November 2007. ...

Thursday, November 29th

• Study Finds 95 Of VoIP Traffic Is Skype

  German traffic management company, ipoque, has released a study that shows 95 per cent of all Internet VoIP traffic is Skype traffic. The study was conducted in five regions during August and September 2007 and looked also at P2P traffic, video streaming, instant messaging (IM) and file hosting. ...

Friday, November 23rd

• Skype Encryption Baffles German Police: Police Want to Access Your Hard Drive Remotely

  German police cannot break the encryption used by VoIP service Skype. According to German president of police, Joerg Ziercke, the combination of strong encryption and the methods inherent to VoIP – routing calls in packets along many different paths – means that wiretapping is impossible. Ziercke told Reuters....

Sunday, November 4th

• Can Skype really match the hype?

  CONSUMERS have been warned that using Skype, the software that offers cheap or free phone calls over the internet, could cost you more than traditional calls....

Friday, October 26th

• 3 UK brings VoIP to cheapskates

  3 UK has admitted that it's working on a Skype phone to bring VoIP connectivity to more of its mobile customers....

Wednesday, October 17th

• Skype Brings VoIP to MySpace

  MySpace will give its millions of members the ability to engage in free voice chats via the MySpace instant messaging service, thanks to a partnership with VOIP provider Skype....

Tuesday, October 9th

• Skype Co-Founder Says eBay Overpaid For VoIP Company

  In a comment sure to warm the hearts of all eBay stockholders, one of the co-founders of Skype says that the online auction company over paid for the VoIP telephony company....

Thursday, October 4th

• eBay, Jajah in VoIP Showdown

  Internet voice service provider Jajah on Thursday said that web auctioneer eBay blocked the use of the startup's embedded voice links on its auction site, a move Jajah said raises concerns about anti-competitive behavior....

• Skype Shuffle: Is It a Stumble (Upon) or a New Paradigm for eBay?

  This week's news about eBay and Skype seemed pretty bad at first. Ebay is taking a $1.4 billion charge against its Q3 earnings to pay off Skype's shareholders early as part of its original deal to buy the VoIP upstart. Meanwhile, the remaining founder of Skype is stepping down as CEO. Most press coverage summed the news up as a sign that eBay paid far too much for Skype in the first place and is only now accepting that reality. Very little thought or attention was paid to the underlying questions of what eBay is going to do with Skype....

Saturday, August 18th

• Skype back in service after two-day outage

  Skype Ltd. announced late Friday that all users could now again log on to the voice-over-IP service, marking the end of an outage that affected millions and lasted more than 48 hours. ...

Friday, August 17th

• Skype outage could test users’ loyalty

  Engineers at Skype, the internet-based telephone and message service, appeared to have solved a software problem on Friday that had shut down the system for more than 24 hours and left many of its 220m customers without service....

Thursday, August 16th

• Skype VoIP Network Experiences Ongoing Software Glitch

  Many users of the online VoIP service, Skype, have been affected by a software glitch today, preventing them from logging on and using the popular internet voice platform....

Tuesday, August 14th

• Get Skype On Your iPhone

  Do you want Skype on your iPhone? Well, you're in luck. Shape Services has launched a version of Skype for the iPhone, no hacking required....

Saturday, April 28th

• Hardware Makers Give Skype VoIP Users the Gift of Mobility

  Over the past couple of years, Skype has gained acceptance as one of the easiest ways to save money on long-distance phone calls, allowing users from anywhere in the world to converse for free over the internet....

Wednesday, January 31st

• Skype Licenses HelloSoft's VoIP Technology

  Promising to enhance the performance of Skype for Windows Mobile, Skype has teamed up with HelloSoft. HelloSoft, a provider of VoIP products, announced today that Skype has licensed its Internet telephony technology, which will be incorporated into Skype’s communication software. HelloSoft’s technology will allow consumers to enjoy free, high-quality voice calls anywhere their smartphones and Pocket PCs can connect to the Internet. ...

Friday, January 26th

• Zoom around the Globe with a Pocket-sized VoIP Adapter

  Odds are good that you, or at the very least someone in your family, has 'Skyped' someone. You probably plugged your headset into your PC, logged onto Skype, and dialed away.
  
  And why not? It’s a remarkably inexpensive way to talk to colleagues, family, and friends.
  
  But wouldn’t it be easier to simply pick up your phone and call — without sacrificing the cost benefits of VoIP?...

Wednesday, January 24th

• $4.1 Billion VoIP Service Lawsuit against Skype Dismissed

  According to an AP news report, U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper has dismissed the more than $4.1 billion antitrust lawsuit filed by StreamCast Networks against VoIP service provider Skype, eBay and more than a dozen defendants....

Monday, January 22nd

• ClearLink Ships VoIP USB Phone Adapter for Skype

  TRENDnet has started shipping its ClearLink VoIP USB Phone Adapter (Model TVP-SP5G). This pocket sized product links your telephone to your computer via USB connection and allows you to make Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls, using Skype, from your standard phone. Now you have the choice to make and receive either a standard call or a Skype call when you pick up your phone. Users can take advantage of free Skype to Skype calling, Skype subscription plans, or keep in contact with regular phone users with their existing telephone. ...

Wednesday, December 13th

• Skype Intros Unlimited VoIP Calling Plan

  Skype introduced today a new annual, paid subscription Unlimited VoIP Calling plan. This is the first time that Skype is giving its users the opportunity to sign up for a whole year of unlimited SkypeOut calling to any phone within the U.S. and Canada for less than $15. ...

Friday, December 8th

• India Bans Skype and Other VOIP Options

  The Indian Government claims that they are losing alot of money due to the increasing popularity of Skype and VOIP. They are missing out on the 12% tax and 6% fees....

Friday, December 1st

• Skype's VoIP Client now Available on X-Series from 3, Enabled by iSkoot

  Originally set to launch on December 15th, the Skype enabled X-Series handsets from 3 are actually available today in UK. The devices, which use the iSkootMobile software, are currently available in 3's UK stores, and also in 3's other markets around the world beginning early 2007. ...

Sunday, November 12th

• Waiting for Skype to pay off for eBay

  The managers of eBay, the world's largest online auctioneer, had something else in mind in September 2005 when they decided to pay at least $2.6 billion to buy Skype, the pioneer in Internet telephone service then based in Luxembourg....

Thursday, September 21st

• Thomson and Skype to release GE 28300EE2 VoIP phone

  You know something's gone mainstream when corporate giants like Thomson and GE get involved, and these two are presumably validating the internet calling craze by teaming up with Skype to release a GE-branded VoIP / conventional landline phone. The GE 28300EE2 isn't too much different than the other computer-free units we've seen, and sports the DECT 6.0 protocol as well as a color LCD screen to view Skype messages and traditional caller ID data. Aside from handling both VoIP and landline duties, the device sports speakerphone, conference calling, a 100-name address book, and 10 hours talk / 120 hours standby time. GE throws in two (conservatively styled) handsets to get you started, but since six units are supported, you can snag a few more to prevent having to move a muscle to communicate with your entire household....

Monday, August 28th

• Keyspan Unveils Skype-Compatible, Cordless VoIP Phone

  Keyspan on Monday announced that its new cordless voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone, which is Skype-compatible and goes for about $80, will ship before the end of August, according to an Aug. 28 press release on XTVWorld.com....

Friday, June 9th

• 
  http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20060608VL203.html title="Skype Provider News"> Suncomm shows off VoIP, WiFi and Skype-enabled products at Computex

  At Computex, Taiwan communications specialist SunComm Technology is showing a GSM-based VoIP gateway, model SC-375. The unit, located either at the ISP or telco, enables calls from a GSM mobile handset to be routed over IP. Model SC-375C enables calls from a CDMA handset to be routed over IP. The units use the standard SIP protocol (RFC 2543, RFC3261), and the G.711, G.723 or G.729 codecs. Joan Wang, manager of VoIP sales at SunComm, indicated that G.711 is bandwidth heavy, at 64Kbps, and use of G.723 or G.729, or the more recent G.726 codec, would be preferable. The SC-375 gateway is already shipping to the US, Australia and Europe, priced at US$170, in volumes of 140. ...

Thursday, May 25th

• Skype Sued for $4 Billion Over VoIP

  StreamCast Networks, the company behind the Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing program Morpheus, has sued 22 firms including eBay over patent infringement of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology....

Thursday, May 18th

• Skype VoIP freebie could put Vonage on the ropes

  The bare-knuckle bout for VoIP supremacy is still in the opening round, but Skype Technologies has thrown what could be a haymaker punch....

Thursday, May 4th

• eBay Releases Beta of Skype 2.5 Internet VoIP Software

  eBay’s internet VoIP division, has released a beta version of Skype 2.5, the latest version of its highly popular free online communication software....

Wednesday, May 3rd

• Skype to launch webcasting software

  Skype is almost ready to release a trial version of its Skype Cast software, which will allow up to 100 people to chat online at the same time. ...

Monday, May 1st

• What the Skype/Polycom News Means to VoIP

  On the surface, it may not seem like big news... Polycom a leader in conferencing and Skype a leader in VoIP come together to make a new product -- a portable speakerphone that works with Skype. But, aside from allowing you to have conference calls with other Skype users the product is a harbinger of great things to come.
  ...

Friday, April 28th

• Skype rocks out to music ringtones

  Skype has signed deals with three music publishing giants that will let its phones rock out to Green Day and 'Chilli Pepper (pictured) ringtones....

• Skype hits 100M subscriber mark

  Skype said Friday that it now has more than 100 million registered users of its free Internet-based calling service, nearly double the number of registered users it had in September 2005....

Monday, April 24th

• Skype in EMI distribution deal

  eBay's internet telephony wing, Skype, yesterday announced that it had agreed a deal with EMI Music Publishing to distribute its music catalogue online....

Saturday, April 22nd

• Skype The Latest Firm To Comply With China's Censors

  Skype is the latest technology company to accept censorship and do business with China....

Thursday, April 20th

• Skype in China censor row

  Following news that official Chinese court documents show Yahoo provided Chinese authorities with evidence against a jailed cyber dissident, Skype creator Niklas Zennström says its OK for Chinese partner Tom Onlineto censor text messages....

Tuesday, April 18th

• Speakables for Skype for voice control

  Speakables has released Speakables for Skype, its first product for the high growth VOIP market. The company said that the softwarew was developed by speech recognition experts, including a key developer of Apple's Speech Recognition technology. Speakables for Skype works with popular Skype VOIP service, allowing users to manipulate the service using voice commands. Users create a Skype contact list and can initiate calls by just saying the person's name. Skype users will be able to initiate and answer calls, as well as disconnect ongoing calls remotely by using a simple voice command. Speakables for Skype works with Apple's Speakable Items technology which is already included in the Mac OS X platform. It is available for free for Mac OS X 10.2 or later....

Monday, April 10th

• Skype buys VoIP start-up

  Skype has purchased VoIP provider Sonorit for about $27m in eBay stock. The transaction includes Sonorit's US subsidiary Camino Networks....

Wednesday, April 5th

• IOGEAR Simplifies VoIP Calls for 40 Million Skype Users

  IOGEAR is turning desktops and laptops into Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems for small and home office users (SOHO) with the introduction of its USB VoIP Skype Calling Kit....

Wednesday, March 29th

• Skype in more hot water over VoIP services

  Skype is in trouble again, this time with a company called StreamCast Networks (the developers of Morpheus). StreamCast claims that the P2P technology developed for their Morpheus software is being used without permission by Skype for their telephone services, and thus has filed a lawsuit against them. In a unique twist of things, Skype didn't directly do anything – they continued to operated like normal, while other politics resulted in the infrastructure supporting Skype changing hands. ...

Tuesday, March 28th

• Skype coughs up to UK phone snag

  Punters complained that their SkypeIn service, which gives them their own regular phone number so non Skype users can call them, was floored for most of last week....

Monday, March 27th

• StreamCast names Skype, Kazaa in lawsuit

  StreamCast Networks, creator of the Morpheus file-swapping software, has filed a lawsuit naming Kazaa and Skype Technologies, among others, as defendants....

Sunday, March 26th

• USRobotics Customer Support Offers Access via Skype

  USRobotics, a Platinum Equity company, announced the addition of Skype to its Customer Support infrastructure recently. This allows USRobotics customers to call Customer Support via the popular Skype Internet communications software, instead of using their landline telephones....

Thursday, March 16th

• Connect Any Phone To Skype, Including Mobile Phone

  Skype is a wonderful program that allows people to talk to each other for free, through the beauty of the internet. Initially users utilized simple mics to communicate, but as the power of the program was discovered, specific phones were designed with the program in mind. While this offers people a free way to make calls, Skype presents a lot of boundaries, which drastically affects the amount of users able to take advantage of the system. Luckily for them, the VoSKY Call Center from Actiontec makes the whole process infinitely more effective and simple....

Tuesday, March 14th

• Skype on 3G Mobile Devices

  Skype, the fastest growing Internet Communications Company and Hutchison 3 Group, the leader in 3G mobile services, today announced an agreement to enable Skype communications on 3G....

Monday, March 13th

• BT, Skype woo SMEs

  BT has unveiled a computer security service that remotely checks the status of PCs using a broadband line. Typically, a test takes around half an hour and checks a range of potential online threats, including spyware and other known vulnerabilities....

• AvaCon for Skype Video Conferencing

  My Skype buddy list is a nice example of unscientific, experiential evidence that the Skype installed userbase is growing exponentially. Not only did several of my existing MSN, AIM and Yahoo! buddies recently sign up for a Skype account, but I'm also rediscovering dear old friends and adding new connections daily. Some of these new connections originate from my recent decision to become a member of the social business networks Ecademy, LinkedIn and OpenBC, other new connections are with software vendors and geeks—of course it's not surprising these people embrace Skype's sheer unbeatable offering. Skype has become even more popular thanks to over a hundred priceless plugins of diverse origin and functionality scope. Browse the Skype Extras Gallery to see which plugins have the most page views. ...

• Panasonic teams up with Skype

  Panasonic has announced a dual VoIP and DECT landline phone in conjunction with Skype at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. ...

Thursday, March 9th

• Skype banishes outlandish fees for calls from foreign lands

  Calling the USA from foreign soil can be a hassle. Not all mobile phones work abroad. Rates are often prohibitively expensive. Prepaid calling cards can be confusing....

Tuesday, March 7th

• Skype Funders Back AllPeers

  File-sharing company AllPeers said Tuesday it received a first round of funding from two venture capital firms that backed last year’s huge peer-to-peer winner, the VoIP service Skype....

Monday, March 6th

• Skype limit on AMD conference calling hacked

  Maxxuss, Apple Computer's favorite hacker, has turned his attention to Skype 2.0 and found a way to bypass the limitation of 10-way conference calls to Intel-based PCs....

Saturday, March 4th

• Maxxuss: 'I've hacked the Skype-AMD 5-person call limit'

  You're looking at a screen grab of a 10-participant Skype conference call- on an AMD X2-powered CPU. ...

Thursday, March 2nd

• AMD subpoenas Skype over VoIP deal with Intel

  Advanced Micro Devices Inc has served Skype Technologies SA a subpoena demanding documentation relating to a new Skype feature for Intel-only machines, as part of its ongoing antitrust case against Intel Corp....

Monday, February 13th

• Skype Launches Internet Phone Service for Korea

  The competition to preempt South Korea's Internet-enabled phone market intensifies as Skype, the world's top Web-based telephony service provider, launches full-fledge offerings here....

• Skype to Boost Retail Presence in Europe in Partnership with Dangaard Telecom

  Skype is planning to establish a large retail presence in Europe, through a new distribution and retail programme with Dangaard Telecom....

Friday, February 10th

• Skype adds presence feature to VoIP app

  Skype on Thursday unveiled a presence feature in its internet telephony software that a company could add to its website so users could see who is available for phone calls....

Thursday, February 9th

• EQO Brings Skype Calling and Online Buddy Lists to Mobile Devices

  The EQO Mobile Internet Phone Service for Skype is a new offering that enables individuals to take their Skype buddy lists with them on their cellular phones. With the EQO Mobile Internet Phone Service, users can access Skype, view presence and availability of their buddies, and initiate and receive Skype calls from their mobile phone. ...

Tuesday, February 7th

• Google and Skype fund FON as Cisco joins board

  Google and Skype Technologies have taken part in a first round of funding for community WiFi developer FON, while Cisco Systems and both Skype's founding members have joined the board of the Spanish company....

• Meg Whitman says eBay transformation is under way

  EBay Inc. is fast moving away from its roots as an online auction site and becoming an electronic-commerce site, President and Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman said at a press conference Tuesday in Brussels....

• Skype's Still Talking to Itself

  Now that it's owned by eBay Inc., Skype Technologies may be close to reversing its long-held policy of not allowing its VOIP calling and instant messenger services to work with other IM and VOIP software clients....

Wednesday, February 1st

• Skype gets music ringtones from Warner Music

  On Monday, Warner Music Group announced it agreed to make music available as ringtones for Skype....

• Skype Plans Boost in Audioconferencing

  Skype Technologies plans to turn intimate get-togethers into block parties through an audioconferencing service that will allow for conferences with as many as 500 callers....

• Skype figures don't add up

  Skype, once by far the dominant IP telephony service, has had its market share cut in half over the past year, according to a new study from network monitoring firm Sandvine....

Sunday, January 29th

• Skype brings Warner ringtones to VoIP

  Skype, a pioneer in voice over IP (VoIP) software, is bringing a phenomenon from the mobile world to internet telephony....

Tuesday, January 24th

• Skype battles to stay ahead

  Mention the idea of making phone calls over the internet and one word is bound to come up. That is Skype, the name of the company that pushed the idea into the public consciousness. It has grown at break-neck speed since it was launched in April 2003....

Monday, January 23rd

• http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/PCWorld/story?id=1532057&ad=true

  The big news with this new version of Skype's software is video: Version 2 of Skype's software allows you to make video as well as voice calls over the Internet. Skype isn't the first to offer this capability, though: Programs like Yahoo Messenger and ICQ have been offering video chat for some time. ...

Wednesday, January 18th

• Skype's coming wake-up call

  Skype skeptic Matt Asay just got his hands on the Ipevo free.1 phone and confesses that he is having a great time with it. Even though he's finally able to comfortably field an incoming call, that's not to say he's buying the idea that businesses will widely adopt the service. 'I still think Skype and others that rely on someone else's network are going to get a wake-up call at some point. But for now, it's nice that it's free. By the time it's not, it may well be worth paying for,' Asay maintains in My Skype repentance....

• eBay Bristles at Skype Gripe

  Shares of the San Jose, Calif., company fell more than 25% last year amid concerns about the company's $2.5 billion acquisition of Internet phone provider Skype Technologies. But this year they are up 5% as analysts point to the healthy growth in eBay's listings of items ranging from jewelry to oddly shaped sweet potatoes. The revival comes as the popularity of Internet shopping soars....

Monday, January 9th

• Skype releases latest Mac version

  The free software adds a number of new features to the service, including call forwarding and auto-answer. It will also automatically pause iTunes when a Skype call is answered. Mac OS X version 1.4 is also available in Japanese for the first time....

Thursday, January 5th

• Skype Certifies More VoIP Devices

  Skype Technologies S.A. has been making a lot of noise in the news lately. The VoIP service provider has made announcements left and right about deals with multiple electronics manufacturers in order to certify headsets, wireless phones, and other VoIP devices so they are compatible with Skype's Internet telephony service. The latest to join the group is mobile phone headset manufacturer Aliph of San Francisco, Calif....

Tuesday, January 3rd

• Kodak takes telecom partner for 'net Photo Voice

  Rochester's largest employer and Skype, the up-and-coming Internet telephone company headquartered in Luxembourg, will cooperate on technology that will allow customers in different locations to view images and talk about them live over personal computers. ...

Tuesday, December 27th

• Linksys to launch VoIP handset for Skype

  The telephone, called Linksys CIT200, will be launched in Brazil and is targeted at Skype users, enabling them to call anywhere via their home computer. The phone operates up to 20 meters from the PC, according to the report....

Friday, December 23rd

• Skype and Google Talk Users Unite with Festoon Unity Plug-In

  Santa Cruz Networks has added a new feature to its popular Festoon plug-in, which has the potential to unite the approximately 453 million global instant messaging users. Festoon Unity now connects users of Skype and Google Talk and support for AOL Instant Messenger is slated for 2006....

Tuesday, December 20th

• Skype update - what's next?

  Last week, we hosted Michael Jackson, Director of Paid Services at Skype, for an update on his company's progress. Jackson runs the revenue-generating part of the business, which includes most of Skype's activities, apart from the core activity of software development (which now includes some 200 software developers). Jackson is something of a veteran in the competitive voice market; for example, being Tele2's first employee outside Sweden. ...

Monday, December 19th

• How to: Record Skype calls with Nicecast

  Podcasting is all the rage and we at journalism.co.uk have been searching for a neat solution for recording our key Skype telephone interviews straight to MP3 files....

Sunday, December 11th

• Skype 2.0 eats its young

  Skype, a division of eBay launched Skype 2.0 beta for Windows. Just in time for some customers who got their passwords compromised. The elaborate press release and WSJ review while impressive don’t help mask the fact that, Skype is short on new ground breaking ideas. ...

• China Netcom Denied Contact with Skype over VoIP Service

  A China Netcom official denied rumor that the mobile operator is in talks with Skype on promotion of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service. At the moment, a handful of Internet users have subscribed for the VoIP service, and it is hard to say whether the Internet is capable of bearing huge traffics if the service is in commercial use, the official said.
  ...

Friday, December 9th

• Skype partners Thomson for local search

  Internet telephony firm Skype has signed a UK partner deal with Thomson Directories to boost its toolbar with new local search features...

Thursday, December 8th

• Skype offers Click to Call

  Net voice calling company Skype has made its first Click to Call offering, where you can simply click a number within a web page and automatically connect a VoIP call to the number....

• Is Skype Headed For The Skids?

  Skype may seem as if it's riding high right now, but there are disturbing signs that it could be heading for the skids, several months after eBay paid more money for it that you and I can count....

Wednesday, December 7th

• Review: Skype handset makes VoIP easier

  If you live outside your home country or phone overseas often, chances are you've heard of Skype, the voice-over-Internet service that allows you to make free or cheap voice calls through your computer.
  ...

Saturday, December 3rd

• Canadian Company Vbuzzer Challenges Skype on Their Proprietary Approach

  Canadian company Vbuzzer challenges Skype on the use of their proprietary approach, maintaining their position that an open standard protocol is best for VoIP users....

• Canadian Company Vbuzzer Challenges Skype on Their Proprietary Approach

  Canadian company Vbuzzer challenges Skype on the use of their proprietary approach, maintaining their position that an open standard protocol is best for VoIP users....

Wednesday, November 30th

• Clues emerge in PayPal's Skype integration roadmap

  First, the easy stuff. As eBay properties, Skype and PayPal are now siblings of a sort. And PayPal, Internet payment processing wizards that they be, has the infrastructure to offer all sorts of payment options to various classes of Skype users....

Tuesday, November 29th

• Confessions of a VoIP guru: why I sold Skype

  Selling to eBay was a “good” move because it empowers Skype to thwart competition from Web giants like Microsoft and Google, Niklas Zennstrom, company co-founder has revealed, in a declaration that should settle industry wonder....

Monday, November 28th

• A speaker phone for Skype users

  Internet phone calls can be free, but it's a nuisance when you have to make the calls on an uncomfortable headset connected to your personal computer....

Sunday, November 27th

• The Andrew Davidson Interview: Skype chief takes his place as tech hero from zero

  London-based Niklas Zennström sold his internet start-up for $2.6bn last month. But don’t ask him how he is going to spend his share...

Friday, November 25th

• Skype goes mobile

  A new Skype-certified Motorola Bluetooth-enabled headset enables mobile phone users to make Voip calls as well as conventional mobile phone calls....

Thursday, November 24th

• Google Beats eBay-Skype with Click-to-Call Feature in AdWords

  Blogger Greg Yardley posted images of a new Google service called Google Click-to-Call, along with a link to the FAQs page on Google (http://www.google.com/help/faq_clicktocall.html). A phone icon appears next to certain advertisements allowing viewers to contact the advertiser by phone at no charge (http://www.yardley.ca/blog). ...

Tuesday, November 22nd

• Skype Thinks Outside the PC Box with Partner Push

  Skype Technologies, S.A. recently announced that it has signed a deal with RadioShack Corporation to distribute the first Skype-certified Motorola Bluetooth-enabled phones and headsets in America, making it the first U.S. retailer to offer this Internet phone service....

Sunday, November 20th

• One Voice Announces Availability of Media Center Communicator Version 2

  One Voice Technologies, Inc., developer of 4th Generation voice solutions for the Telecom and Interactive Multimedia markets, today announced the availability of its new version 2 of Media Center Communicator(TM)....

Friday, November 18th

• Skype to make U.S. retail debut

  The Luxembourg-based Net telephony company, founded by the people behind the Kazaa peer-to-peer service, is expected to announce on Monday that it has struck a partnership with consumer electronics chain RadioShack. ...

Monday, November 14th

• Actiontec Unleashes Skype Speakerphone

  The VoSKY Chatterbox is a plug-and-play device that connects to a PC's USB port. Actiontec's Chatterbox is small but capable; it has a voice pick-up range of 12 feet and offers enhanced sound quality through digital signal processing (DSP) and echo cancellation. The full-duplex speakerphone is equipped with a mute feature, volume control, and headset jack....

Wednesday, November 2nd

• USRobotics Ships USR809600 Skype-compatible USB Handset

  USRobotics, a leader in internet access and networking known for quality, innovation and performance, today announced the shipment of its USB internet Phone, the USR809600. The phone, the first from the companyâs new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) product line, is designed to integrate seamlessly with the Skype internet telephony application....

Wednesday, October 26th

• Experts warn of highly critical Skype vulnerabilities

  Security experts today warned of a trio of 'highly critical' vulnerabilities that has been discovered in Skype’s VoIP client software, which can be exploited by malicious hackers to cause DoS attacks, or to take remote control of compromised systems....

Monday, October 17th

• Skype sees Microsoft as biggest VoIP rival

  Internet phone-calling phenomenon Skype Technologies SA, which was bought by on-line auction company eBay Inc. for almost $4-billion (U.S.) last week, said it sees computer giant Microsoft Corp. as one of its biggest potential rivals....

• Skype's Zennstroem back to work after $4 bln sale

  Three days after closing the sale for close to $4 billion of the business he started two years ago, Skype's chief executive and co-founder Niklas Zennstroem said on Monday it was back to business as usual....

Sunday, October 16th

• Skype personalizes VoIP with ringtones and pictures

  Skype's version 1.4 for Windows includes ring tones, sounds, pictures, improved sound quality and free call forwarding. Users can forward their calls to any other phone (landline or cell) or send the call to another Skype account....

Wednesday, October 12th

• The New Skype-EBay Ecosystem

  When eBay agreed to plunk down $2.6 billion for Internet phone company Skype (a deal that could exceed $4 billion if certain milestones are met), both companies gave a 78-slide PowerPoint presentation. Several of the slides mentioned upstart company Jyve, which develops applications for the Skype platform....

Tuesday, October 11th

• The Skoop on the Skype phone

  Tom Keating offers a nice scoop about the new 'Skype phone' from Linksys on his blog. It’s basically a wireless home-style phone that lets you talk to folks on Skype while you cook, clean, and help your kids with their homework. Here are the features I think are cool about it:...

Monday, October 10th

• Skype Eyes Mobile Workers

  The voice-over-IP company's latest deal continues its expansion beyond consumers; with the new setup, users can initiate free VoIP phone calls on their PDAs or laptops....

• ADS-click Adds Skype-Based Pay-Per-Call Advertising Capabilities

  ADS-click will present at ad:tech New York, November 7-8, its private-label online advertising solution. It will feature a new pay-per-call service connected to Skype....

Thursday, October 6th

• GoRemote and Skype Bring Free Internet Phone Calls to Mobile Workforces

  GoRemote today announced a strategic partnership with Skype, the Global Internet Communications Company, that will further the capabilities of remote working for today's professional. Now, IT managers and CIOs can provide their mobile workers and teleworkers with free Skype phone calls to anyone with an Internet connection using GoRemote's secure mobile broadband solutions: GoRemote Mobile Office and GoRemote Teleworker. This agreement stands to accelerate the adoption of free calls over the Internet for mobile workers by combining the capabilities of Skype with the GoRemote Global Network, the world's largest virtual business network....

Saturday, October 1st

• Skype unleashes host of new services, plans online video offering

  Internet Telecoms Company Skype has unveiled an ambitious plan to offer online video services in the near future. The firm, which was acquired by eBay last month forays into unchartered waters with this move....

Friday, September 30th

• Skype's Next Phase

  Not surprisingly, eBay's multibillion-dollar deal to acquire Skype suddenly thrust Skype, and VOIP, into the limelight. But what does this mean for a company that started off as a cool way to chat across the Internet? ExtremeVOIP's Mark Hachman sits down with Skype's head of developer relations, Lenn Pryor -- virtually, of course, across a Skype connection -- to ask about the company's integration plans, Skype as a development platform, and how Skype will migrate from the PC and to the mobile phone....

Thursday, September 29th

• Why Is Skype Exempt From VoIP Wiretap Laws?

  Here's one more reason why the FCC's ruling about VoIP and wiretap laws is thoroughly wrong-headed: Under it, Skype, as well as other PC-to-PC VoIP systems like Google Talk, are exempt. But VoIP providers like Vonage need to comply....

• VoIP buzz focuses attention, and dollars, on Skype and Vonage

  The skyrocketing interest in the promise of Internet-based voice and data services is apparent this week in news about VoIP providers Vonage and Skye....

Wednesday, September 21st

• Big Payday for a Skype Investor

  The news of eBay's purchase of Skype for $2.6 billion dominated the tech blogosphere last week -- with good reason. The deal conjured up memories of wilder Internet days, when major acquisitions were commonplace, despite vague business models and scant revenues. It also reminded us how quickly an idea can command real value from investors (Skype is just two years old) and how lucrative the venture capital business can be....

• eBay and Skype - Where now For Telcos?

  It has been a very busy few weeks in the IP telephony market. Two weeks ago Microsoft dived in and bought Teleo. Last week the best known VoIP (Voice over IP) supplier, Skype, announced that it had reached an agreement to be acquired by eBay. These moves do more than simply confirm the growing use of VoIP as an acceptable form of communications. They indicate that the worst fears of the large Telcos may be about to come true – and start hurting their long cherished, and highly profitable, telephone call revenues....

Monday, September 19th

• Skype's "Aha!" Experience

  Eyebrows were raised from Wall Street to Warsaw when online auction giant eBay revealed on Sept. 12 it would acquire Internet telephony darling Skype for $2.6 billion, and cough up an additional $1.5 billion if certain performance goal are reached. Incorporated in Luxembourg and based in London and Tallinn, Estonia, Skype may well have been the fastest-growing Internet service ever, piling up an eye-popping 54 million users in just over two years....

Friday, September 16th

• Skype Me: VoIP Market Surging

  Market revenue for wireline VOIP equipment is expected to more than triple between 2004 and 2010 due to an explosion in the number of residential VoIP users during the next few years....

• New USB phone aimed at Skype users sells out in 2 days

  The first USB (universal serial bus) phone developed by a new Taiwanese venture focusing on hardware products for use with Skype's VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) software sold out in just 50 hours in Taiwan, a company representative said Friday. ...

Thursday, September 15th

• Skype looks set to become intercom of the Internet

  Skype's value-added services - SkypeOut, SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail - provide the company with a small but growing revenue stream, and enables users of the software to call regular fixed-line and mobile phones at discounted rates....

• Will Skype Be Worth The Hype?

  This week was marked by two blockbuster deals, the first being Oracle's purchase of rival business applications software developer Siebel with the other, and more interesting deal being eBay's $2.6 billion purchase of voice over Luxembourg based internet protocol (VoIP) provider Skype....

Monday, September 12th

• Why eBay Is Buying Skype

  Here's my quick take, below, an edited version of which will appear in a few hours at businessweek.com. CEO Meg Whitman & Co. gave an impassioned rationale for the deal. I can certainly see that if Skype meets its ambitious goals, the deal could pay off eventually. It's also a heckuva lot of money for a nascent business, no matter what the growth and the promise--and one in an entirely new area in which eBay has no experience. No matter how you look at it, it's a whale of a bet....

Sunday, September 11th

• Whitman's EBay 'Snipes' Skype For $2.6B

  Led by Chief Executive Meg Whitman, the online auctioneer 'sniped'--lingo for smiting auction rivals--Skype Technologies for $2.6 billion....

Friday, September 9th

• Why Skype Can Play Hard to Get

  Another week, another report that Skype's in talks to sell itself. In the past month, the Web-calling dynamo has been linked with Internet portal Yahoo and media powerhouse News Corp. This time, say The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, Skype may be snapped up by online auctioneer eBay. ...

• Skype Blocked in China

  The Shenzhen branch of China Telecom, China’s largest telecommunications carrier, has begun blocking VoIP calls in a possible effort to stanch the massive loss of revenue it could sustain if a substantial percentage of that country’s 100 million Internet users switch their long-distance calling to services like Skype....

Thursday, September 8th

• Skype updated with new features, improvements

  Skype Technologies S.A. has released Skype 1.3.0.8, a new version of their Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony program. The free software enables you to voice chat, instant message or transfer files for free to other Skype users, make calls to cell phone numbers and land lines using its paid SkypeOut service, or accept incoming phone calls using the optional SkypeIn service....

Monday, September 5th

• Skype signs first 3G mobile partner

  Skype has secured a deal with German network operator E-Plus, representing the Internet telephony firm’s first 3G partnership. Starting in October, the deal will see Skype software included in E-Plus' flat-rate data subscription, allowing people to gain both a high bandwidth Internet connection and free, Skype calling over the mobile network.
  ...

• Skype signs VoIP JV in China

  Skype is looking to make inroads into the potentially lucrative Chinese market after inking a joint venture (JV) agreement with wireless internet operator TOM Online....

Wednesday, August 31st

• Skype Insists It Is Not For Sale; IPO Another Question

  The 'for sale' rumors have been circulating in recent days along with the report that the firm has hired investment banking firm Morgan Stanley & Co. to perhaps float an IPO....

• Skype Partners on 400 Products

  Skype said on Wednesday that 400 products from approximately 260 developers competed for a prize the VoIP provider sponsored to select the best add-on product, with the prize of €2,000 ($2,443) going to Jyve for a plug-in that allows call forwarding and auto-response features. ...

Wednesday, August 24th

• Skype Opens VoIP, IM Platforms

  Close on the heels of Google's announcement that it will offer VoIP and instant messaging services, Skype Technologies, the VoIP leader, announced that it will open its VoIP and IM platform to online communities and developers. ...

Friday, August 19th

• Skype VoIP Internet Telephony Leader Hits Over 150 Million Downloads

  SkypeIn customers choose a country and area code and are assigned a regular telephone number. Anyone may call the SkypeIn user at their SkypeIn number wherever the user travels, providing huge cost savings compared to mobile roaming rates and flexibility for the Skype user to receive calls at home, at the office or at a hotel anywhere. Users may purchase up to three numbers from their home country in Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States during the beta period....

Tuesday, August 16th

• Two ways of calling Skype wirelessly: DECT and Nokia

  Two wireless Skype solutions have been uncovered. One uses a standard DECT phone to make calls, the other harnesses the Nokia Series 60 Symbian software interface....

Sunday, August 7th

• News Corp in $3bn talks with internet phone group Skype

  Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is understood to have made a bid approach to the fast- growing internet phone group, Skype, which may have valued the two-year-old operation at almost $3bn (£1.7bn)....

Monday, August 1st

• Start-Up Intros Software For Skype Calls Over Cell Phones

  With more than 45 million users, Skype Technologies has carved out a market by piggybacking on the world's telephony networks; now start-up iSkoot is piggybacking on Skype to bring free international phone calls from cell phones....

• Another VOIP Service for Skype

  Well, it’s not a surprise to me anymore that so many new emerging companies are offering VOIP services for Skype. Now, iSkoot is one of them. This service allows users to make Skype VOIP calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world with from mobile phone. The service has a $10/year software license fee, but otherwise is free. You can use the service to forward any inbound Skype calls from your PC to your land line or mobile phone, and you can even initiate a Skype call from your mobile phone by sending a text message to an iSkoot email address....

Sunday, July 31st

• Too early to sell Skype

  Selling Skype now would be to misunderstand its valid potential to be a global brand and to invite its replacement with an even more corporate-unfriendly incarnation....

Thursday, July 21st

• Skype embraces video phones

  Internet telephony operator Skype has tens of millions of users but envisions attracting billions with the help of video phones, says the man who co-founded the company....

Tuesday, July 12th

• Skype and Boingo Merge Internet Telephony and Global Wi-Fi Access

  Boingo Wireless, the leading Wi-Fi aggregator and software company, and Skype, the Global Internet Telephony Company(TM), today announced Skype Zones - Powered by Boingo service, offering global Wi-Fi access to Skype customers at revolutionary prices....

Saturday, July 9th

• Skype VoIP Internet Telephony Leader Hits Over 130 Million Downloads

  The exponential growth of downloads and the time devoted by Skype users to communication via Skype is responding by making Skype its first choice in internet telephony....

Monday, July 4th

• Skype Dominates VOIP

  Most people have heard of Vonage, but Skype-which still causes eyebrows to lift when I mention it to audiences-dominates the Voice Over IP (VOIP) market in North America....

Friday, June 24th

• Research and Markets: Emerging Business Models in Voice: The Impact of Skype and Other Private VoIP Applications

  Research and Markets has announced the addition of Emerging Business Models in Voice: the Impact of Skype and Other Private VoIP Applications to their offering. ...

Wednesday, June 22nd

• Coming Soon: Free Long-Distance Cell-Phone Calls Via Skype

  A Norwegian company has developed technology that links cell phones with Skype Technologies' VoIP service in a configuration that enables users to make worldwide calls at local rates....

Monday, June 20th

• Skype claims VoIP lead

  Skype has claimed the top spot in the global voice over IP league, according to web traffic analysis by broadband management firm Sandvine....

Wednesday, June 15th

• Skype Rules North American VOIP

  Calls using Skype Technologies SA account for nearly half of the VOIP minutes used (46.2 percent) and about 40 percent of the VOIP bandwidth used in North America, according to an analysis done by broadband management company Sandvine Inc....

Tuesday, June 14th

• Skype Takes Voicemail Live

  Taking the guesswork out of finding out who else has signed up for the service, the software now includes a feature that checks a user's address book against the full database of Skype users. The software looks for matches in the e-mail address book in Microsoft Outlook or the MSN software....

Monday, June 13th

• Nokia: Skype must change or die

  According to Nokia chief strategy officer, Tero Ojanperä, Skype must branch out or die. 'Someone needs to make money... [Skype] cannot survive on voice calls alone, it needs to find a business model,' he said. ...

Wednesday, June 8th

• Palm vets put Skype on a thumb drive

  It isn't quite a phone, but it soon will be possible to take a Skype client with you and plug it into a barenaked PC equipped with a USB port. U3, the Silicon Valley start-up launched by Palm veterans earlier this year, says it will support a portable Skype on its flash-based platform from this fall....

Sunday, June 5th

• Fusion Communications to tie up with Skype

  Internet protocol phone service company Fusion Communications Corp said Monday it will tie up with Luxemburg-based Skype Technologies SA to develop a device that will allow users of Skype's free Net phone software to get access to Fusion's IP-phone systems....

Friday, May 27th

• Skype to release VoWLAN phone

  The CEO of voice-over-IP provider Skype told a conference earlier this week that the company plans to offer its customers a phone that can connect to its voice network via Wi-Fi networks, the Reuters press service has reported....

Wednesday, May 25th

• Skype Positions Itself as 'Enhancement' VoIP, Not Responsible For 911 Service

  With three million users in the U.S. and a rapidly-growing group of partners in its new affiliates program, Skype Technologies is facing a unique challenge presented by the FCC's order that VoIP providers must provide access to emergency 911 numbers....

• Skype to be cash-flow positive in 2005

  Internet phone services company Skype will launch new services this year, including video calls, cheap corporate calls and a dedicated Wi-Fi phone, and expects to be cash-flow positive in 2005, its chief executive said on Wednesday....

Tuesday, May 24th

• Cool Skype phone at VON Europe

  DANISH MANUFACTURER RTX was showing off the LAN cordless version of its Dualphone at VON Europe in Stockholm. Unlike the previous version, which uses USB, this product will work even when the PC is switched off....

• Skype's CEO: 'Phone calls will be free by 2015'

  Voice over IP will force traditional telephone companies to stop charging for voice calls and ensure emergency services update their use of technology, according to Skype CEO Niklas Zennström....

Friday, May 13th

• Premium Services Launch as Skype Hits 100 Million Downloads

  Skype, the Global Internet Telephony Company™, today announced the public beta launch of SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail, two new premium services available in the latest download versions of Skype software for Linux, MAC OS X, Pocket PC and Windows platforms...

Thursday, March 24th

• Skype increases desktop integration

  The latest version of the free VoIP software includes features that allow it to integrate with MSN Messenger, Opera and other PC applications...

Tuesday, March 22nd

• Skype's Plastic Problems

  While some VOIP companies have trouble signing up new customers, Luxembourg-based VOIP provider Skype Technologies SA has a different dilemma: It can't take credit card payments from its current customers....

Friday, March 18th

• The Skype ecosystem: A labour of love

  The popular VoIP tool Skype has spawned not only a community of loyal users but a cottage industry of software and hardware products that are adding to its appeal. Sylvia Carr reports....

Thursday, March 17th

• Square7 Launches First Cordless Skype VoIP Phone

  Square7 has launched the first cordless DECT phone that's compatible with the popular Skype VoIP service. The Olympia Cordless DUALphone is a cordless telephone that can be connected to a normal telephone socket and a USB port on a PC....

• Skype goes for the gold

  Net phone phenom Skype is preparing to expand its menu of paid services, hastening its efforts to evolve from a free provider of niche services into a profitable company that could give industry giants a run for their money....

• Skype has no fear of telcos

  In recent weeks, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Luxembourg-based Skype Technologies SA has signed a string of deals with wireless handset manufacturers. Carrier Devices...

Monday, March 14th

• Skype brings the world's phones to your desk

  Fancy a phone number in America? You can have one, for €30 (US$40.30), if you are a user of the free Internet phone system, Skype. Skype Technologies SA went live with its beta-test version of the "Skype-in" service Friday, including free voice-mail....

Friday, March 11th

• Skype Signs One Millionth Paid VoIP User

Friday, March 4th

• Skype, Broadreach Combine VoIP, WiFi for Free Calls

Thursday, February 17th

• Skype to co-market VoIP software with Xandros Linux and BenQ P50 phone

Wednesday, February 16th

• Skype callers: 'Customer service, please?'

Monday, February 14th

• Motorola to use Wi-Fi, VoIP to move cell calls to Net

Saturday, February 12th

• Skype to bring Wi-Fi VoIP to cellphones

Wednesday, February 9th

• Skype VoIP software merged with cellphone

Monday, February 7th

• Skype in deal with Hutchison unit

Monday, January 31st

• Skype Takes Mac, Linux VoIP Software Mainstream

• Skype creeps under phone giants' radar