Skype Makes U.S. Retail Debut

JamesAlfaro wrote to mention a C|Net article discussing the U.S. retail debut of Skype. From the article: "More than 3,000 RadioShack locations nationwide on Monday [the 21st] will begin offering the Skype Starter Kit, which includes the software that enables a customer to use Skype's free computer-to-computer telephone service, a headset and 30 minutes of Skype's premium service, with which a user can call a landline or cell phone, company executives said. The move is an attempt by Skype, the world's largest provider of voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, to introduce its service to mainstream America."

Comments

Re:What's the difference?

[aussie_a]

Skype and Vonage are both crap in my perspective, because they are closed systems that insist on controlling all ends of the transaction.

Guess you think Slashdot is crap merely because it is a closed system that insists on controlling all ends of the transaction.

Hey, thats charging rate.

[Falcon040]

I think you overestimated how much it is costing them.
That is at the rate they charge to make a profit - it comes to 65 cents (US Dollars).
Really may we expect about $0.40 (40 cents (USD)) or thereabouts for Skype's Premium Service?

Saying that, thats a kind $0.40 or so, thanks n all. But, I'd rather stick with a SIP standard-compliant phone.

Skype is hobbled, non standard VOIP

[Newer Guy]

Literally all VOIP providers have statdardized on SIP for their protocol. This means that a Sipura VOIP box can work with any of them - EXCEPT Skype! Skype uses their own protocol that's incompatble. This is why you CAN't use them with a VOIP box such as the Sipura or Linksys. Skype only works with a computer. This relegates it to 'toy' or hobbyist status. Until they come out with an inexpensive (around 50 dollar) VOIP box that's easy to configure and works with a standard telephone, the masses will NOT use Skype except as a novelty.

Re:What's the difference?

[generic-man]

If Vonage is like a telephone line, think of Skype like a phone card. You can buy a few dollars' worth of time and spend it calling people over a period of up to 6 months. (Every time you buy time, all your existing time gains another 6 months of useful life.) I like Skype better than Vonage because I make very few long-distance calls; on those rare occasions when I'm about to run out of cell phone minutes, I can use Skype instead.