PamFax takes the Skype Mashup Cup 2007

I'm writing this in Prague where Paul Amery, who heads the Skype Developer Program, last night announced the winning entry in Skype's 2007 Mashup Competition: PamFax from Germany-based PamConsult.

A mashup is a software application or service that combines data from more than one source into an integrated experience. It has parallels in the practice of merging together two or more songs for something entirely new and cool. Think of Christina Aguilera's vocals from "Genie in a Bottle" merged into the Strokes' "Hard to Explain".

Entries to the mashup competition were judged against these criteria: Skypeness, usability, coolness, stability, usefulness, flair and layout. The winner, PamFax, allows you to send a fax to any fax machine in the world and easily pay with your Skype credit. (I realize the previous sentence used the word "fax" three times. Sorry 'bout that.) Registration is not needed, nor is pre-payment. Optionally, you get fax status notifications via Skype chat, SMS or email. And there's one more little cool touch: you can look up where the recipient is located, using Google Maps.

The judging panel consisted of Paul Amery, Antoine Bertout, Lester Madden, Damon Williams, Adam Trachtenberg, Phil Wolff, Jim Courtney, John Musser, Jack Dorsey and Julian Bond. (Also see Jim Courtney's excellent extended mashup competition post on Skype Journal.)

All mashup entries can be found here.

Comments

I'm not surprised that PamFax took the cake. However we are in such a unique era of time right now. Communications, Entertainment, Business, and even Politics have all been influenced by sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Skype and the blog community. What we are seeing here is

Technological Evolution.

I go into the office about 2 days a week. I can record my payments with Pam and limit my international call center with skypeln #, Blast Faxing and Finance has become become revolutioned by windows mobile based phone. I don't even have a plan on my t-mobile phone any more I just use the skyp mobile service and have my skypeln #forwarded to my cell phone number.

I was helping a fellow student the other night with the skype boardroom drawing application. Live tutoring from CA to Thailand.

Technological Evolution.

I was helping a fellow student the other night with the skype boardroom drawing application. Live tutoring from CA to Thailand.

I am not surprises if skype ends up reaching the sky. This is one of the coolest things in technological evolution. I have been using skype for about two years now. I talk to my family back home (San Mateo Ixtatán, Guatemala) using skype. For me skype has replace the expensive prepaid calling cards I use to buy which ended up with all kinds of hidden charging fees.

PamFax is going to make sending fax easier from my office or from school, I don't have to worry about printing it out and going to a place where they send faxes at high rates. What will be next?
Thank you very much developing team!!!

PamFax may be a good service. Unfortunately it is more than three times as expensive as Net2Phone's service which charges only 10 cents per minute and often you get two pages for your 10 cents. So 29 cents per page from PamFax is way too much!

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PamFax takes the Skype Mashup Cup 2007

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