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Skype-Ready Phones From Motorola

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the more-than-one-way-to-talk dept.

Hack Jandy writes "Seamlessly integrating VoIP and GSM might not be a fantasy after all, as Motorola announced their decision to build cell phones and handsets that have Skype Internet Telephony integrated into the devices. Obviously, one could use Skype for outgoing calls near wi-fi hotspots (essentially free) but default on GSM for outgoing calls in areas that lack coverage."

19 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. Great for college! by toetagger1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    We got wifi here in most places. Be it academic, residential housing, or in appartments. Even most employers have wireless infrastructure now. Could this be a major threat to the current telecommunication infrastructure and the breaktrhough for Skype and VoIP?

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    1. Re:Great for college! by trusteR · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I know the guy who created Skype and I also know that this development will take some years before its consumer ready. Cant tell the future, but "the man" himself, says that he predicts it will be the future leading technology.

      Woundnt surprise me...

  2. does it......... by SETY · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Does it:
    A) Hand off from Skype to GSM network when you go out of WiFi range?

    B) Spoof call waiting when you are on Skype?

    If it doesn't do these things it is fairly irrelevant for business.

    1. Re:does it......... by daveb · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Does it: A) Hand off from Skype to GSM network when you go out of WiFi range?
      ...
      If it doesn't do these things it is fairly irrelevant for business.

      You're kidding right? There's quite a few businesses that have phones that are gaurinteed to never be out of wi-fi range. Land lines aren't obsolete in the business world.

      Our business is currently swapping a LARGE number of landline's for cell phone - several hundred. I'm pretty sure that a voip option would be of interest even if a seamless handoff was not an option.

  3. Re:Wi-Fi is mostly free now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm talking on skype right now and DU Meter says it's using 3.9 kBytes/s up and down.

  4. [OT] is there any opensource equivalent of Skype? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Skype is doing really well in term of technology. Do they have competitors with as good tech? How about open source?

  5. So should be we all buy Skype stock now? by aquarian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Will Skype be the next dotcom sensation?

  6. Call ANYWHERE without GSM by mboverload · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Do not forget the bounty of unsecured networks around the nation. Drive up to someone's house and you get a free call.

    If they don't care enough to lock down their connection, then it is free for the taking.

  7. It's almost there. by smartsaga · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If Motorola is making it then it might just happen.

    Most of you out there are thinking that it will require a WiFi hot spot, maybe it does. Now, what about the possibility of the internet becoming a public service like the street cleaning or garbage collection, just saying, that it will become a part of our every day lives, it will be available everywhere. If it becomes available everywhere, then most mobile phone service providers will include internet service free of charge or low cost. Paying a low monthly fee and being able to make long distance calls under that same fee sounds good to me.

    Now, can somebody make a Point to Point tunnel with SSH for phones so that uncle sam can't packet sniff your conversation about whether you are going to wear a tin foil hat or not in your birth-day with a giant penguin coming out of the cake?

    Have a good one.

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    ===== "Every head is a different world so don't invade mine you FREAK!" smartSAGA said
  8. Re:Article Text by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Good luck getting major carriers to pick these phones up.
    This creates direct competition with regular cell service.
    With an unsubsidized price, I don't think most people will find this option very attractive.

    Of course, this could also prove to be a tool for the Wireless carriers to help potential customers drop their landlines. If your house has wifi then you don't need to worry about cell minutes.

    I wonder how this will end up and how much they will cost.

  9. Bluetooth & Skype by BorgDrone · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm a bit disappointed with mobile phone companies regarding the number of bluetooth profiles phones support.
    For example, GSM's don't support the headset profile, so you cannot use a GSM as a headset for another GSM or as headset for Skype. This is a big miss because the hardware to support this is all there, it's just a software issue. So now I cannot use my GSM with skype while at home.

    If you design hardware with bluetooth, please support all profiles your hardware could possibly support, even if it doesn't seems usefull, it might in the future.

  10. Re:People Keep Talking by balloonpup · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It may not be a standard in and of itself, but there are standards within VOIP.

    As to your issues, I'm just not seeing them. Granted, you're right about Skype, but it doesn't follow any standards at all. I'm all against proprietary system.

    I run Asterisk PBX in my own home office. The client phones? Two POTS regular phones, a Cisco 7960, a Polycom SoundPoint IP, and some cheapo wifi SIP phone that I don't recall the make/model of. Guess what? It does just work. Beyond that, you know what? We're working on getting Skype to work with it too, just for kicks. It's an ugly hack, but it appears to be working fairly well so far...

    Before you go and spout off junk like that, why don't you actually TRY something, hmm?

    Oh, wait, IHBT. Never mind...

    --
    I sing the doggie electric!
  11. Short Memories by NiteHaqr · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Why is it everyone seems to forget that the creators of Skype are known spy-ware peddlers?

    They have proven that in the past they are willing to use such dubious business practices, so why should we give them any business now?

    Yes Skype may be good and useful, but its a proprietary protocol.

    What we need is for someone to get behind the open VoIP protocols and give us phones that use those, preferably with encryption.

    1. Re:Short Memories by luvirini · · Score: 2, Interesting

      well, I fully agree with your points, but the fact remains, the competing products are not as easy to use or do not work well over NAT.

    2. Re:Short Memories by NiteHaqr · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well in that case we need to extend the current open protocols to include NAT traversal.

      As it is, with NAT pretty much sidelining IPv6 (Its my belief that if we didn't have NAT we WOULD have IPv6 by now)

      If NAT is here to stay, NAT traversal should be built into all relevant protocols.

      I dont think that "because it's convenient" is any real reason for using something that is tainted.

      Another thing to throw into the net - how difficult do you think it is for Skype to intercept, record and playback conversations on their network. Sure, the phone company probably has it easier, although they can only tap you at "addresses" that they know you will use - I assume Skype uses a username/password system to identify you to the network. Add to this the powers that govenment has, a possible change in the law that Skype have to keep copies of all communications going through their network (an extension of the email retention stuff in theory) and anything you say could come back to bite you.

      Now where did I put my tinfoil hat........ :)

  12. skype still hype fellow /.ers?!?! by majid_aldo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/05/203222 0&tid=95&tid=215&tid=185

    so my dear criticize-anything /.ers. look who's talking now. skype is making headlines. it's aslo integrated into HTC phones too.
    http://www.msmobiles.com/news.php/3397.html

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  13. Skype is *really* bad on customer service by djmurdoch · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I wouldn't get one of those phones just for Skype use, because I'd be afraid of getting cut off by Skype's incompetence.

    Right now you can call out from Skype to a regular phone, as long as you have a credit with them to cover the low cost of the call. But there is apparently *no way* for me to give them any credit! They won't accept my credit card, they won't accept Paypal, they won't accept a cheque in the mail. They refer me to Moneybookers, who won't accept my credit card, won't accept Paypal, and won't accept a cheque in the mail.

    Skype is fine as a free service (for as long as that lasts), but they haven't a clue when it comes to supporting customers. It's not as though *wanting to give them money* is an exotic request.

  14. Re:People Keep Talking by samael · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Actually, my regular phone plugs into a Cisco box that plugs into my router. I then use it just like an ordinary phone. Works fine.

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    My Journal
  15. Funny thing in the future by tod_miller · · Score: 2, Interesting

    In the office I hear people using IP phones, they sound like mobiles with bad reception (breaking up a lot).

    So, in the future where we have spent billions setting up good coverage, and microwaving our innards, we all start going around saying 'can you hear me now? now?' the funny thing will be those not aquainted with network congestion, they will try and move around for better reception, when it is network traffic causing the delays :-)

    LOL!!11

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