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Skype Releases PocketPC Version Of VoIP Software
An anonymous reader writes "According to WindowsForDevices.com, Skype Technologies has launched a free beta release of peer-to-peer voice calling software for WiFi-enabled handheld devices running Microsoft's Pocket PC software platform. PocketSkype is a 'thin' version of Skype, the company's original peer-to-peer voice-calling for Windows PCs which was released in August 2003. Like Skype, PocketSkype can be used to make free, unlimited, and unmetered calls anywhere in the world."
brought to you by the malkers of kazaa
is there any spyware for the pocketpc that predates? I hope they got a patent on it..
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
How is this diferent then the VOIP software that came with my PocketPC?
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
Suddenly, WiFi monitoring becomes incredibly worthwhile.
Google News' main page SciTech section has been going off on this for the last 2 days. Perhaps we need Slashdot powered by Google News SciTech?
Hey don't rag on them too badly! They are Hiring Linux Developers.
KDEphone here we come!
read this link please . and then decide
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Voiceware released one like this in 2001.
sounds like they need to watch their advertising standards, unless i can phone any telephone number in the world - for free , anytime
otherwise its just a long range walkie talkie
Why not use xten software? xpro for pocket pc connected directly to your asterisk server.
-------
Free mobile porn
The way this is going, it feels more and more that mobile data and communications is going to a very critical place.
On one end we have giant phone companies with large infrastructure assets trying to push tech like G3 and GPRS with a very high per minute/packet charge over cellular networks.
On the other hand, we have hotspots sprouting up all over the place with subscriptions going from nothing to a cup of coffee. While coverage is still spotty, its capabilities are blurring, with everything from voice to data being possible over IP.
Developments would be interesting to watch.
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
I don't understand the fuss about all of this VOIP stuff. I still can call only another VOIP user at this point, right? If that's the case, there are plenty of tools out there already that enable this, even on PocketPC, which an earlier post pointed out. I'd rather pay my $50 a month for my cell and call anyone I want from wherever I want. I do value the aspect of getting everyone to switch to VOIP, which is what I think skype (among others) are trying to do. Once that happens and that wimax stuff takes off, then we'll be much better off, methinks.
I also reply below your current threshold.
Like Skype, PocketSkype can be used to make free, unlimited, and unmetered calls anywhere in the world.
Only to other running instances of skype though, or does it interface with POTS for free (doubt it)?
I mean, cool and all, but what's skype got that netmeeting/cucme/et al haven't had forever?
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I am running around the office screaming like a girl right now.
This is a good thing.
We use smartphones at our work and do alot of house calls where are clients would always have highspeed internet with avalable wireless but not always cell service.
Made my damn day.
It just better work!
I tried this program and maybe I missed the point somewhere, but what is the big difference between this program and any other I.M. program that allows voice? It looks like it will only connect to other skype users, so what's the big? I would love to RTFA, but I am behind a proxy and can't get there (boo). Anyone want to illuminate this for me?
The company I work for uses skype for phonecalls (we all work from home). It's really handly, esp since we outsource some of the development work to India and Vietnam, and we can call the team leads over there at no cost.
How do I get front-page coverage for _my_ vaporish beta?
Now, I know everyone loves P2P, but why is this something new? Yahoo messenger, AIM, and MSN all provide the same functionality when it comes to voice chat with other users. Skype is just a dedicated voice chat client, with a smaller user base than any of the other current chat clients. Now, if Skype made some users share their modems (yes, I hear some people still use those things), then it would be a true P2P interface to the local phone system, which I believe is the only thing that could give Skype a real chance. Any thoughts on this?
I've been using Pocket GPhone which comes on my Toshiba E805 for a few months now. You can check it out at http://www.vliusa.com/prof_personal/index.php The version I am using is 3.0 which is much, much better than the 1.0 version that comes on the E805. Works pretty well, with the typical pauses due to the network, and you do want to use it with a headset to prevent echoing, but the cool thing is they are hooked up to some sort of VoIP network and for $20 for 600 minutes you can make calls to virtually any phone. The rates for International calls are the best I have seen, anywhere. $0.05/min for most countries. You can use it for free for PDA-PDA (or even PC) calls for 60 days but then you have to pay them something to use their 'Buddy' service, but even then you can still make direct IP address based phone calls. No affiliation, just a relatively satisfied user. Marc
Mmm. Condi could make my "PocketPC" very happy indeed...
Can this program call telephones or just people on the network?
spend money here
Im reading alot while doing some searches on google that skype has spyware in it even tho if you go to their site they claim they dont.. im not talking pocket pc right now.. BUT i hear there are sleeping spyware dlls for skype on the pc.. ?? anyhow. on top of that. im about to launch a new sync system all your pocket pc owners if you want a beta hit us up at http://www.syncalot.com sorry for the shameless plug. :)
Pocket Girls. Mobile Adult Mini Mags for your Phone.
Might be more complex, but you can set up your own VoIP PBX with Asterisk. It's free software that runs on Linux and supports industry standard SIP protocol so you can connect all kinds of devices like hardware IP phones, analog telephone adapters, and IP softphones on PCs and PDAs.
I think the next step is using skype with your current phone system and route calls. Maybe more to the PBX or Cisco's VoIP solution.
Subzerorz
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you acknowledge that installation of the skype software will allow third parties who are not affiliated with skyper the ability to communicate with your computer ("outside parties"). you agree that skyper will not be liable for any damage, claim or loss of any kind whatsoever
skype.com/eula.html
no spyware egh ? Morpheus P2P also make a big deal of the fact that it's "doesn't contain spyware" but the reality is it's riddled with it, this is the internet, people lie. these people came up with Kazaa a product built on piracy filled with the worst spyware on the planet and you expect me to trust them?!
trust once lost is rairly gained again and that EULA just confirms their stereotype
Read the entire story here on Techtree.com. They have some interesting observation and comments too.
"However, there are various issues raised over "voice-over Wi-Fi." Firstly, there isn't enough Wi-Fi coverage yet to make it feasible for the executives who are the primary users of pocket PCs to own only that device. Most people who would want to use that service need a reliable network. Also, the sound quality offered is poor."
There are more free service providers listed here: VoIP Service Provider http://www.isolvesystems.com/
http://www.isolvesystems.com - Technology Marketplace
Why is /. flooding itself with trivial stories, is it supposed to make the site look better, more on top of things, to post a new story every 20 minutes? Hint: it doesnt.
Who fucking cares about some kazaa spyware voip app?
Anything us humans do is culture. Even taking a dump.
Don't be an elitist.
...because the first 6 months' conversations will be mostly variations on this theme:
"Yeah, I'm calling you on my PocketPC! Yeah! VOIP! Yes!
What? 'Voice Over IP'.
What? 'Internet Protocol'.
Skype is better because:
a) the voice quality is by far better, especially with narrow-band connections (I'm speaking form experience)
b) Skype is able to get even through quite tightly configured firewalls, where NetMeeting, ICQ, MSN etc. have a number of problems that only can be solved by changing firewall settings.
WiFive is another free VOIP app for PocketPC. With WiFive you can connect to other WiFive users, Netmeeting, or if you have your own Gatekeeper (call server), you can make calls through the PSTN as well.
no comment
I don't want to wait for hours for another story.
loser.
Can anyone suggest a compatable phone? my main considerations are price & functionality. please give a little about your Personal experience using the recomended type...
I'm "stuck" with my Toshiba e550g genio - I love the screen, and it's got a 400MHz XScale CPU, but there is no 2003 upgrade for it. PPC2002 is as far as it goes. I don't understand why, or what the difference there between it and a PocketPC that is upgradable to WM2003.
How hard would it be to put linux on this thing ?
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Skype seems fine to me. It has much better sound quality than regular telephones. I use it to talk to a friend in France. Neither of us have ever seen any bad behavior in Skype, in several months of use.
For those who want to use the traditional communication device, BigZoo and OneSuite are excellent. OneSuite is 2.9 cents per minute from the U.S. to France. BigZoo is 2.8 cents per minute.
I'd like to have a USB sound card so that I could isolate the audio from the electromagnetically noisy computer, however. Any ideas?
Sorry but your page of "Free" providers is nothing more than a link to a bunch of commercial services which cost money. How can companies that charge $24 a month or charge by the minute be considered "Free service Providers"? If they were really Free than there would be no fees for the service.
You might as well have linked to a bunch of Cell phone plans and said "Free Long Distance Providers"....when you sign up for their $50 a month plan.
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
Another thought: What we really need is an open source version of Skype.
Also, note that Skype works over heavily firewalled systems. It communicates over the browser port 80, if necessary. Skype is an excellent demonstration that firewalling does not necessarily create real security. ZoneAlarm's outgoing firewalling is good in this case, however.
Um.
"Communicate with [...] outside parties" == talk to the people who call you on your lovely new Skype kit, perchance? (after all, the whole point is to communicate with third parties, isn't it? or did you just want to talk to the folks at Skyper all day?)
"Distributed by third parties". Third parties, eh? Like tucows and c|net? Those third parties? Or maybe they mean "third parties" like those promiscuous P2P folks that allow the system to work in the first place. This sounds Really Dangerous. Really.
"Skyper will not be liable for damage". I mean. No shit. The GPL has similar verbiage, and so does every other bit of boilerplate in the world.
How you manage to read promises of spyware into those paragraphs, I'll never know.
Kid-proof tablet..
Apr. 07, 2004
Skype Technologies has launched a free beta release of peer-to-peer voice calling software for WiFi-enabled handheld devices running Microsoft's Pocket PC software platform. PocketSkype is a "thin" version of Skype, the company's original peer-to-peer voice-calling for Windows PCs which was released in August 2003. Like Skype, PocketSkype can be used to make free, unlimited, and unmetered calls anywhere in the world.
"PocketSkype users need only an affordable headset to use their PDA for telephony," the company says.
According to Skype, PocketSkype is easy to download, simple to use, and offers superior call quality and security. PocketSkype features are said to include free Skype-to-Skype calling, conference calling, instant messaging, access to a "global decentralized directory," online presence, and contact lists.
Analyst firm Gartner predicts that by the year 2008 there will be more than 167,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots around the globe and over 75 million Wireless technology users worldwide, according to Skype.
The free beta of PocketSkype is available for download here. PocketSkype supports handhelds running Pocket PC 2003 with a 400MHz or faster processor, and equipped with WiFi; addition of a headset is recommended. A PocketSkype user guide and FAQ are also available on Skype's website.
Since its launch in August 2003, the Windows PC version of Skype has been downloaded more than 9.5 million times, Skype says.
Great, but now can we _please_ have a unix port!?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
If anyone is interested:
I just installed it on my Viewsonic V37 (Pocket PC 2003), which has only an SD slot for expansion. There is only one SD WiFi card. It's the Socket one, which is sold under the names Socket, Viewsonic and Sandisk. Same card, same driver.
In my office, that's paired up to my Linksys WAP11, connected to world through a cable modem. Actually, that part doesn't matter, since it was an in office call.
The sound quality was fairly bad, but the processor usage was low. The lag was about 5 seconds. I could understand what was being said, but the words seemed stretched out. Much less quality then a PC to PC call, normally. I had echo cancellation on, but it didn't seem to work well, as I could hear a message bouncing back and forth. This was Pocket PC to regular PC that had already been using Skype.
If anyone has any ideas to try, or questions about it, let me know. I'll give it a shot.
-Patrick
"They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
I voted for more CowboyNeal!
I just tried it on my iPaq 5450, connecting via 802.11b to an ADSL 512kbit internet link. It works fine, just as well as the desktop version - quality was clear, and holding the PDA to my ear like a phone was a new experience..
Everything in the title.
maybe "3rd parties" is too broad a description as "other skype users communicating" were specifically identified in section 3 of the EULA , the "third parties" later on effectivly overides this so why bother mentioning skpe users specifically earlier ? exactly which 3rd parties are which ?
but this highlights the trust issue with Skype, even the first poster said "spyware on pocket pc's !!"
because thats instantly what comes to mind when mentioning these people in the tech community.
perhaps cos we know their history of exploiting and abusing their users with what seems like contempt to the highest bidder that their new "free" projects are even deemed suspicious and subject to scrunity, after all these guys made spyware into why JoeShmoes families computer keeps crashing and still doesnt know why Google has 5 porn popups because he installed something he heard about on some RIAA newstory, is that how we are going to encourage more people to use computers ?
whats to say they have changed ? i really hope its genuine and they have left all their previous dodgy shenannigans behind them, im totally up for people who want nothing more than to provide a good product, just as long as you aint the product
For some values of anywhere. As long as anywhere means "another Skype client" or "paying for a PSTN termination".
Skype rhymes with Hype for a good reason.
The FCC has been muttering about/threatening to regulate VoIP as telephony. This would allegedly have some "benefits" like 911 service working from VoIP and "reliability" [...]
My impression was that the telephone companies were going to court and DEMANDING that the FCC regulate VoIP as telephony, and the FCC was doing its flat-out damdest to fight this, since the current FCC is hell-bent to keep the government's hands off the interenet (including especially hands in the other branches and levels of government.)
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
I use Skype for providing Tech Support for friends. I can talk someone through a troubleshoot faster than those remote things like VNC, RemoteAdmin and that RemoteXP crap. YMMV but
the only thing I see as a downside to Skype is the future, where they may provide a true conferance call capability, with video and clear audio. That would be worth paying for. Nothing outrageous, but a small one time fee, say 25 dollars, and they would make a ton of money and recoup their development costs, and put food on the table.... plus the user base would rise daily.
Subscription service is NOT the way to go.
So.. attack the server. ;-)
Ok, now that the "attack the server" joke is out of the way, chew on this: I bet the government will be allowed access to the server, should it be deemed necessary. I wonder who else will have access. I bet nobody will ever know. Or ask. Or say anything, should it ever be compromised.
Will users be able to configure the phones to use some other party as an introducer, or let people exchange keys themselves, out of band? Somehow I doubt it.
That's why I want open phones. :-) Rip out the I-always-trust-this-one-CA crap, and replace it with PGP.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
If the doubters read the FAQ and tried the software they would know that 1) it IS based on P2P and 2) the quality is nothing short of AWESOME. I've tried other popular voice chat progs and they were a bad walkie talkie. Skype actually IS BETTER than a land-line phone call. Seriously.
If you don't mind a bit more messing around and can deal mentally with the stress of not actually having something that "makes calls", check out TeamSpeak or Ventrilo, both great voice communications packages.
I don't get what's so awesome about a peer-to-peer voice communications system. The fact that its encrypted sure is neat, but it doesn't seem to be a quantum leap over most of the other stuff we have now. Its not like a regular p2p system where you're going to get massive advantages - each voice call is different so its not like your client is going to be able to search these peers to get improved performance.
Surely, to decrease latency, you're going to connect directly between the peers anyway - hence, 'p2p', but it seems the marketing department are just focusing on the phrase 'p2p' to try and encourage more users to check it out. I found the explanation of Intelligent Routing on their p2p explained page a bit vague.
Anyway. Looks good for the newbies.
Also, there's a bunch of posts earlier whining about how Skype will be soon full of spyware. I'm not, and have never been, a Kazaa user so I'm not sure at which point the spyware stuff was introduced, but I feel its worth pointing out that the guys making Skype are NOT the same guys that currently manage Kazaa these days.
there is already a bunch of SIP talking linux soft-phones and supporting software.
kphone
linphone
some other supporting software
galago
sarp
sipimp
look at the freeworlddialup forums for lots of chatter about SIP softphones and using images on cisco hardware.
assorted other softphone downloads here.
I guess you meant irrelevant... :)
I know what you mean. Mostly I couldn't resist pointing out that SOMEONE was actually hiring for Linux in this lousy job market!
I had the impression that this phone app would connect you to a physical telephone. If not, anything that isn't an extension of Gaim, Kopete, or Jabber is a waste of time. (not that I'm working on one)
(I'd also just changed my sig and wanted to post something)
your spelling correction is clearly relevant :D (I'll actually spell check things this time)
I haven't seen too many problems with people out of work in linux (well.. lately anyway). I've seen a lot of consulting and contracting ops and contract-to-hire positions popping up for the last six months, and in the last three months fairly heavily. Good times should be back soon, methinks.
I was even inspired to ramble briefly in my lame blog, and one of the projects I linked to above did incorporate SIP into IMs in somekind of way, though I have not tried it.
I would think it more likely that this would be merged into gnomemeeting in some kind of plugin fashion in the future, but hey. I'll be happy with however it works out.
POTS to VOIP interoperability will likely be sticky for years and years. I anticipate running my own until the market gets to where I want it to be.. likely in several years.
Until then, it's a nice toy. Everyone I've heard about (large office structures possibly accepted) have had huge headaches in their adoption.
First spyware on Linux too !
Yepeee !
Look like theses guys will soon enter in the Guiness Book