Summary
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.
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http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=13778&hed=Skype+Gets+Personal§or=Industries&subsector=Computing
Details
Skype upgraded its Skype for Windows software on Thursday to add personalized ring tones, sounds, and pictures for members; improved sound quality on Skype's VoIP service; free call forwarding to landline and mobile phones; and Skype toolbars for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook.
The company is releasing the software only a few weeks after its $2.6-billion-plus acquisition by eBay earlier this month (see eBay Acquires Skype).
Google introduced Google Talk in August (see Google Learns to Talk).
Microsoft acquired VoIP provider Teleo in August (see MSN Steps Up the Voice Wars), and Yahoo is reportedly planning to launch VoIP capabilities as well.
Older VoIP providers such as Vonage also offer competition, even though their services are not free, as well as cable TV companies and phone carriers that are muscling in to the VoIP market.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Vonage's IPO will be underwritten by Citigroup, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Bear Sterns.
The Luxembourg-based company has signed deals with American Greetings, Qpass, and Wee World to provide personalization features that will allow Skype callers to establish their online identities with distinctive avatars, ring tones, and other features for ¬1 ($1.20) and up.
One of the most useful features will enable Skype users to forward their calls so they won't have to be sitting at their computers to receive their communications.
"People in the beta program were excited about call forwarding," said Saul Klein, vice president of marketing at
Skype.
Once the deal with eBay is complete, these features could also be useful on eBay, which plans to include a Skype Me button on its auction service, so potential buyers can talk to sellers to learn more about the merchandise.
The business for Skype is to build the world's largest Internet communications business.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, and he has created several downloadable courses on survival and preparedness, including his widely-downloaded course on personal safety and self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams co-founded NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing site that has now grown in popularity. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a veteran of the software technology industry, having founded a personalized mass email software product used to deliver email newsletters to subscribers. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Sunday, October 16, 2005
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