I just got out of the Internet Telephony Expo keynote featuring Niklas Zennstrom, CEO from Skype, a real rebel trying to establish a business plan for Skype while at the same time maintaining their loyal and rabid following of fans that is currently 12 million users and growing.
Here are some of the highlights:
- SkypeIn for inbound calling from a PSTN number to a Skype user will be launched next year - around July 2005. This will be a major milestone for Skype, since currently right now, Skype users can only reach other Skype users or make outbound PSTN calls. Once Skype offers inbound calling via a PSTN number assigned to the Skype user, then Skype will have all the major bases covered.
- Skype for business will launch next year and feature the following:
- A single Skype account for managing multiple Skype users for easier billing/management
- A web admin interface for managing multiple Skype accounts
- When you dial a single Skype number, you can have it ring multiple Skype users' client software.
(this is similar to a PBX's hunt group's feature)
- Account codes for billing and fraud detection purposes.
- Niklas announced an API for third-party vendors to integrate PIM/CRM apps and other applications with Skype.
- Skype announced a deal with Siemens to create a USB-based wireless Siemens phone that will use Skype technology. I have to go check to see if this is simply a USB phone that uses the Skype API to initiate dialing from the cordess phone, or if the integration is much more complex than that. That is, does the Siemens phone actually have Skype technology embedded within the phone itself?
The distinction is important because if the technology is NOT embedded within the Siemens phone and the phone merely is a "glorified handset" used to initiate dialing through the Skype software installed on the PC, then all this product really does is allow users to not be tethered to their PC when initiating a call. It's a nice feature to have, for sure, but I'd like to see a phone product with Skype technology embedded that DOES NOT REQUIRE a PC to be on to work!
If this Siemens USB-based "Skype" phone does require the PC to be on, then this reminds me of the miserably-failed Microsoft Cordless Phone System - a USB phone with speech-rec dialing and text-to-speech email reading capabilities. I actually got one of their first models to review, and I used it for a week and really loved its cool features, but because I had to leave my PC on 24X7 for the features to work, I finally gave up using it. That and the battery died and Radio Shack didn't carry a replacement battery for it. figures Microsoft would use a proprietary battery!
Those are some of the highlights of the Skype keynote. Greg Galitzine and Johanne Torres are going to post more info soon, so check the hyperlinks on their names.
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Dear Tom Keating
The Siemens 'phone' is a USB DECT (M34) device acting as a 'basestation' for a DECT Phone.
http://213.221.108.234/gsmnews/news.php?id=1194
The following phones work with M34: Gigaset C340, C345, S440, S445, S1, SL74, C34, S44, SL440.
Tonys
If you're looking for a device that allows you to use Skype without having a PC turned on, go for a PocketPC with WLAN support. That's already available.
Jürgen
Dear Tom,
We have a standalone phone that runs skype.
Would you be interested in more information on this?
Regards,
Baljeet
IPMind, Inc
Dear Baljeet:
I'm interested in your phone runs skype.
Is it available now?
Does your phone need work with an always-on PC?
We have created a Voicemail application for Skype and other VOIP applications. If you like to Beta test it visit our website.
http://www.voipail.com
You know, I like Skype and I think it is the first massified service using VoIP. Sure we had others, but this one reaches higher because of the client base, because of the ease of installing the client, because basically it just works without much hassle. And the SkypeOut prices are a killer to all the other services.
But there are things I don't like, it's proprietary. I would like to see it based on open standards and not a closed voip island.
If they made the service using SIP I would consider it a killer. As far as I know, they somehow use SIP but not 100%.
If they made it SIP compliant, you wouldn't be complaining about a phone without the requirement to have the PC on... the market now has DSL gateways with FXS ports (zoom, linksys, others...).
Two major services they are missing is Voice Mail (with a mail gateway as well) and SkypeIn. Some call forwarding features would also be nice :-)
Does anyone know of a way to place calls out of the Microsoft Outlook contact entry through SkypeOut? If so how can I get this plug-in or macro?
Thank you.
@stan: Sorry Stan, I don't know the way to do it in Microsoft Outlook. But I have an AppleScript for MacOS' Address Book. Thus, for those searching for a solution there have a look copy the following script and save it in Libarly/Address Book Plug-ins/. Restart the Address Book and things work.
------------
Script:
------------
using terms from application "Address Book"
on action property
return "phone"
end action property
on action title for p with e
return "Call using Skype Out"
end action title
on should enable action for p with e
return true
end should enable action
on perform action for p with e
set phone_num to the value of e
skype_out(phone_num)
end perform action
end using terms from
on skype_out(phone_num)
tell application "Skype"
set call_string to "callto:" & phone_num
get URL call_string
end tell
end skype_out
------------
Once you have added this to the system, SkypeOut is under your right mouse bottom. Have fun!
Your script made slightly more rugged - this one formats numbers from address book, replacing leading zeros with country codes as appropriate. (Note that this is customised for a UK user, +44 being the UK prefix)...
using terms from application "Address Book"
on action property
return "phone"
end action property
on action title for p with e
return "Dial with Skype"
end action title
on should enable action for p with e
return true
end should enable action
on perform action for p with e
set phone_num to the value of e
set prefix to ""
set cutoff to 0
set taster to character 1 of phone_num
set taster to taster & character 2 of phone_num
if taster is "00" then
set prefix to "+"
set cutoff to 2
end if
if taster is in {"01", "02", "03", "04", "05", "06", "07", "08", "09"} then
set prefix to "+44 "
set cutoff to 1
end if
set new_num to prefix
repeat with i from cutoff + 1 to the number of characters in phone_num
set new_num to new_num & character i of phone_num
end repeat
set phone_num to new_num
skype_out(phone_num)
end perform action
end using terms from
on skype_out(phone_num)
tell application "Skype"
set call_string to "callto:" & phone_num
get URL call_string
end tell
end skype_out
Sorry. Forgot to deal with brackets, eg (01273) XXX-XXXX
-- modified by Benet Allen to format phone numbers in international style. Non-UK users will want to put their own international prefix in here!
using terms from application "Address Book"
on action property
return "phone"
end action property
on action title for p with e
return "Dial with Skype"
end action title
on should enable action for p with e
return true
end should enable action
on perform action for p with e
set phone_num to the value of e
-- strip non-numeric characters
set numeric to ""
repeat with i from 1 to the number of characters in phone_num
if character i of phone_num is in {"+", "0", "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9"} then set numeric to numeric & character i of phone_num
end repeat
set phone_num to numeric
-- replace local prefixes "0" or "00" with international prefix
set prefix to ""
set cutoff to 0
set taster to character 1 of phone_num
set taster to taster & character 2 of phone_num
if taster is "00" then
set prefix to "+"
set cutoff to 2
end if
if taster is in {"01", "02", "03", "04", "05", "06", "07", "08", "09"} then
set prefix to "+44 "
set cutoff to 1
end if
set new_num to prefix
repeat with i from cutoff + 1 to the number of characters in phone_num
set new_num to new_num & character i of phone_num
end repeat
set phone_num to new_num
skype_out(phone_num)
end perform action
end using terms from
on skype_out(phone_num)
tell application "Skype"
set call_string to "callto:" & phone_num
get URL call_string
end tell
end skype_out
Hi, if anybody is interested in the Gigaset M34 USB Adapter..you can buy it in the following Webshop http://www.cordless-ip-phones.com
I bought one and it work fine
Sandra
If you want to find a real skype standalone phone.
You may surf on my blog.
##############################################################
http://skype-standalone.blogspot.com/
##############################################################
I am interested in the standalone skype gateway operating without turning on the PC.
If you have the information pls email to me at leeseekok@gmail.com thanks