Skype is Mainstream

Esto es del Wall Street Journal... Skype 2.0 está en beta, lo pueden probar acá.

With Its New Version, Skype Phone Service May Enter Mainstream
December 1, 2005

One of the cult hits of the Internet has been a service called Skype, based in Luxembourg, that allows its registered users to make free computer-to-computer phone calls to each other anywhere in the world. Millions of people world-wide use it, and the company was recently snapped up by eBay, the e-commerce giant.

Still, for all its success, Skype has been a niche product, little used by mainstream, non-techie consumers. Much less popular in the U.S. than in Europe, it has mainly appealed here to budget-conscious folks like students and recent immigrants, who often want to make lots of international phone calls.

There are two big reasons for Skype's niche status. First, many computers aren't equipped with microphones. Most modern laptops come with built-in mikes, but the vast majority of PCs are still desktops, which typically lack mikes. Second, even when computers have mikes, they make clumsy telephones when compared with real phones, which are specifically designed for voice communication.

In addition, free Skype calls can be made only to other Skype users. If you want to call nonmembers who use real phones, you have to sign up for a prepaid service called SkypeOut, although, at two cents a minute, the calls are cheap.

Now, however, Skype is putting those hurdles behind it. Today, the company plans to release a major new version of its phone-calling software, Skype 2.0, with added features -- including video calling -- and a cleaner interface. It is taking steps to make computer microphones cheap and easy to obtain. More importantly, it is moving its service off the computer to a new breed of Internet-based telephone handsets.