Beta-friendly users have been running Skype 3.8 for Windows since April 2. But with the usual beta imperfections now sanded off, this audio-focused iteration of Skype is ready for public release. If you’re a Windows user, head to the download page to get it.

Continue reading "Skype 3.8 for Windows goes public with audio improvements, other tweaks" »

If new technology and the word beta don’t send you running into a Norwegian doomsday vault, we’ve got something for ya. Today, Skype released a beta version of Skype for your mobile, a mobile “thin“ client that works on about 50 of the most popular Java-enabled mobile phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Take a look at the product pages to learn more about what it can do at this early stage — and to give it a test run.

Continue reading "Another way to connect: Skype for your mobile now out in beta" »

Here is where people
One frequently finds,
Lower their voices
And raise their minds.
—- Richard Armour on libraries

Libraries. Even if we don’t set foot in one, it’s comforting to know they’re there: massive silent repositories of thoughts, polemics and conversations that mankind has managed to produce in spite of its lower instincts. Some countries even celebrate the Library Workers’ Day on April 15, just a couple of weeks from now.

When it comes to libraries, Skype hasn’t sat idle either. That’s because today we’re announcing the beta version of Skype 3.8 for Windows, which contains an improved and optimized audio library. No need to lower your voice here. Let rip, for speaking your mind never sounded so good on Skype before.

Continue reading "Sounds good: Skype 3.8 for Windows now in beta" »

Free video calls have been a feature on Skype since late 2005 and have helped millions of people keep in touch. It’s become so popular that one in four Skype-to-Skype calls today involves video. Like they say in Hollywood – show, don’t tell.

Things are about to get a whole lot bigger, sharper and smoother. Today, Skype and Logitech announced a collaboration to give Skype users the kind of video quality that used to be the privilege of big businesses.

Enter High Quality Video, due in November. (Although, if you’re adventurous enough to play with beta software, you’re welcome to try it out now.) Explaining what it does is a bit like dancing about architecture, because you really need to see it in action. But the video window on Skype has grown to 640x480 pixels, delivering up to 30 frames per second. This produces a level of clarity, detail and fluid motion that is pretty astounding. It’s been immensely satisfying to watch the reactions of people who’ve seen it for the first time. Them jaws, they tend to drop.

To experience free High Quality Video, this is what both sides of the conversation will need:

• Skype 3.6 for Windows (expected to be available in November)
• a Logitech webcam that has been optimized and certified for High Quality Video (the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks or the Logitech QuickCam Sphere AF (Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF in the U.S.)
• Logitech QuickCam software, version 11.5 (expected to be available in November at www.logitech.com/downloads)
• a dual-core PC
• a broadband connection (384 kbps and above).

For more, please see the High Quality Video page on the Skype website.

The three webcams are already available worldwide, in retail as well as the Skype web store. In Europe, the Skype shop has a special offer for the webcams. The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 or the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks will normally cost €99.99, but if you head for the Skype webstore, you’ll also get a free headset, free shipping, and SkypeOut credit worth up to three hours of calls to landlines and mobiles. In the US, Skype offers a $20 rebate on either of these products ($99.99 before the rebate).

Wow, is that a ladybug on your shoulder? Check out our newest beta version with High Quality Video.

Most of you know that free Skype video calling has been around for a while, giving friends and family the opportunity to have a much deeper connection. Well now we’ve improved the quality so much with High Quality Video, it’s like you’re right there with them.

This means that now when you call your mom to let her see little Johnny, she’ll feel like she’s right there giving him a big Grandma hug.

In order to make High Quality Video calls, in addition to running the latest version of Skype (currently Skype 3.6 for Windows beta), your system needs to meet certain hardware requirements.

Want to know more about how you can make clearer, sharper video calls? Find out here.

We’ve now released Skype 2.7 for Mac beta. With “beta” on the label, there may be some wrinkles, kinks and unsprayed bugs which we’ll remove in time for a public release. With that in mind, feel free to download and play with it.

Here’s what’s new:

• Group contacts – organize your contacts into as many groups as you need. While there are some pre-defined groups (like Online, Waiting Authorization, Recently Contacted), you’re free to add new ones that suit your life. This should be a godsend to those whose contact list has ballooned to hundreds of Skype users. Explore this nifty feature under the cogwheel icon on the main screen.

• See your Apple Address Book contacts in Skype - easily call or SMS anyone who has a phone number in their address-book profile. When texting, just make sure the number is one that belongs to a mobile phone.

• Create and manage public chats by clicking on Chats in the menu bar and choosing Start Public Chat. A public-chat assistant will walk you through the necessary steps.

• Auto Redial for busy or unconnected calls. When your call hits the busy signal, Skype will give you the option of automatic redial every two minutes until the call goes through. This setting can also be adjusted in Skype > Preferences > Calls.

• Easy sound-level controls – when you need to tweak the sound level during a call, use a simple slider in the call window

• Overhauled file transfer – wearing a more fashionable jacket, file-transfer now looks elegant and acts even nicer, especially when receiving many files at once

Download Skype 2.7 for Mac beta at skype.com/go/getskype-macosx-beta

Oh, and one last thing: if the default language on your Mac is Czech or Norwegian, Skype 2.7 Mac beta will automatically follow suit.

Skype conversations have had visual flavor ever since video was introduced in Skype 2.0 for Windows. Now, video makes a somewhat different appearance in version 3.5 which went public today. It lets you download videos from top independent video-sharing sites Dailymotion and Metacafe and add them to your Skype ‘mood’.

Skype moods are a simple and personal way to share all sorts of things with other Skype users. Since we believe that sharing is good, and that video is good, the conclusion is simple: video sharing is also good. User-generated and licensed video is incredibly popular these days and video moods on Skype should be a great conversation starter.

But new visual features in the latest version of Skype go beyond video mood messages. People can now also include video content in Skype text chats. Skype also lets you take still photos during a video call.

Last but not least, there are a couple of other things in the goodie bag:

Skype 3.5 for Windows lets users transfer their incoming calls to another person or a group of people on Skype (or, for Skype Pro subscribers, to a landline or mobile phone number).

We’ve also introduced auto redial. If the number being called is busy, Skype can automatically redial it every two minutes, until the call is answered.

Access to a broadband Internet connection is required for Skype and all Skype Certified devices and accessories. Skype is not a replacement for your traditional telephone service and cannot be used for emergency calling.

As I make my way through no fewer than 517 emails that some evil spirit produced during my week-and-a-half holiday, I’m pleased to pull back from the depths of the inbox and mention today’s coolest bit of Skype-related news.

Namely, Nokia’s funky N800 Internet Tablet now speaks Skype. Officially, that is. (You may have noticed in late June that Skype did a pre-release demo of Skype for the N800 in New York).

Andrew Brennan from Skype Gear has written a nice review that you can read here. Once you’re convinced it’s something for you, install the latest Nokia firmware version from here, as instructed by Andrew’s review. Or download Skype for the N800 here.

As Villu’s on holiday this week, and so probably very busy drinking mojitos or sleeping, I thought I’d pop in to let you know about the new 3.5 Beta version of Skype for Windows.

It includes a number of new features and fixes a range of previous problems. However, as Raul points out over at the Skype Garage blog, this Beta version is only intended for use by those of you who don’t mind a few rough edges — it isn’t perfect yet

Video snapshot

This Beta version lets you take video snapshots of the person you’re calling, so whether it’s a reminder of your partner to take with you when you’re travelling on business, or just a snapshot of a particularly silly pair of sunglasses, there’s something for everyone here.

Video sharing

With this version, you can share video in chats and in your mood message — make your conversations come alive with some of the best clips on the web.

Get 3.5 Beta

If you’re keen to try it out, go ahead and download the updated Beta version of Skype.

It’d be great to hear your feedback on the new features — contact us on the Skype 3.5 Beta forum or, for the more technically minded, in our public issue tracker Jira.

This is one of those posts that strives to inspire y’all to upgrade your version of Skype. So what is it this time? In a word: sound. The sound of music. The sound of silence. The sound of the bearded supplier in Macedonia.

There are many factors that affect the way your Skype-to-Skype call sounds. Some are beyond our reach. Others we — and you — can control.

With each new release, Skype’s engineers improve sound and video quality. And because we’ve replaced our audio engine in our most recent releases — it’s now fully built in-house — it’s worth bearing in mind that you may run into some bumps when a call is placed from an older version of Skype to newer versions.

Maybe the only bumps you encounter are goosebumps. Most people won’t notice a thing. But to set your mind at ease and to get the best possible call quality, it’s definitely worth upgrading.

Skype 3.2 for Windows is now available as a final version. Download. See also the press release.

I previously posted about the new features in this version. A big thank you to everyone who submitted us bug reports and feedback for the beta, you have helped us to ensure the high quality of this final version. Here are some My Pictures that you can use to let your friends know of this release.

This release is a lot about personalization, and one of the most interesting features here is being able to instantly take a video snapshot of yourself. To celebrate this, we’re holding a competition — see below for details.

One thing that’s not obvious in the user interface but that you’ll surely notice during your calls is (yet again) improved call quality and echo cancellation, including with things like laptop microphones and speakers. We always recommend using dedicated hardware like a headset for best quality, but if you really have to call and don’t have any around, quality with this version is now again improved. We remain committed to providing the best call quality in Skype and continue our research and development activities in this area.

Video snapshots human emoticon competition

To celebrate this release, we are holding a human emoticon competition from today until June 6. You can upload your human emoticon and vote for others’ emoticons. The three most popular entries will win a digital photo frame.

See the competition page and Terms and Conditions for more information. In short, you will first need to capture your human emoticon. Just pick any Skype emoticon (public or “hidden”), and capture a photo of yourself acting out that emoticon. See the photo above for some examples.

You then upload it to this forum, where you can also judge other entries. You can upload either as guest or as registered forum user. If you are uploading as guest, be sure to give some contact details with your submission. Also, make sure that you specify which emoticon you are depicting. See the more detailed upload instructions.

Yesterday, we finally quietly rolled out an update to our systems that’s been among the most anticipated ones for the past, oh, two years or so.

If you have a SkypeIn number in one of the permitted countries, you can now choose to show this number as your “Caller ID” when calling other people with SkypeOut.

I like this update because it’s done in the classic “Skype style”. It’s easy to use and just works. All you have to do is to go to Your Account and then look for the “Caller Identification” bit. Click the “Change” link to set it up. See also the FAQ for more information.

The prompts say that activation may take some time. At least when I tried yesterday with some colleagues, it worked fairly instantly. When I called my Estonian mobile with SkypeOut, my Estonian SkypeIn number happily showed up as the caller.

There’s one downside. It’s a pretty complicated area where our legal people continue to be busy working with our partners and governments, and it boils down to this: Caller ID is available only for some “SkypeIn countries”. As of this writing, you can use your SkypeIn number as SkypeOut caller ID if the number is from UK, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Hong Kong, Estonia and Poland. There are some other countries where you cannot currently use SkypeIn number as SkypeOut caller ID. And this list will continue changing. You can always get the most up-to-date information simply by going to Your Account page and seeing what’s the current situation there.

Since this is a server-side update, it works regardless of what platform or device you are using for SkypeOut. It may be the Skype for Windows desktop client, it may be a cordless Skype phone or even a WiFi phone. All you have to do is simply go online and configure it once in Your Account, and then it works.

I know, I know, I’m late to the April 1 party. But this Skype for Cows release is still hilarious Though it doesn’t cover the new version’s most obvious feature, MOOd messages.

Skype 3.2 beta for Windows is available from today. If you’re adventurous and an experienced Skype user, download now.

Here are the most significant changes in this version.

Send Money with PayPal

You may have heard Niklas talking about this just last week at the VON conference down in San Jose. We have also referred to this feature previously. And now it’s finally out as part of this beta.

It’s very easy to use. Both the sender and receiver just need to have a PayPal account. The receiver may also create the account later after you have already sent the money.

This feature is subject to PayPal limitations — you need to be in countries where Paypal supports respectively sending or receiving money. If you use it to send money to someone who cannot receive it, the funds are returned to your account or credit card, so it’s fine and no money is lost.

See our user guide for more information about how exactly to use this feature.

You may also say that Skype is now your PayPal contact list. PayPal itself didn’t have a contact list feature. And now all your PayPal send/receive transactions can happen right within Skype.

Continue reading "Skype 3.2 beta for Windows — Send Money with PayPal, video snapshot, other improvements" »

image from wikipedia.org

Well hello now… who are these? None other than Dominican girls at carnival in Taíno garments and makeup. Taíno is a type of indigenous American ancestry, and according to the CIA World Factbook, about 73% of all Dominicans are of mixed race, that is, of mixed European, African, and Taíno. And altogether, the Dominican Republic has almost ten million people.

And Dominican Republic has now joined the proud club of (currently 15) countries and regions who can claim having their own SkypeIn numbers which you can now buy and use.

When was the last time we added a new SkypeIn country or region before this? I can’t remember. Too long ago. But I hear that now we’re picking up the pace of SkypeIn expansion again, and Dominican Republic is the first of the “new wave”. So keep an eye on this space for more news.

If you’d like to buy a Dominican Republic SkypeIn number, just head over to Your Account and follow the instructions there.

Skype 3.1 for Windows is now available as final “gold” public version. Download here. See the press release.

The two major new features in this version, apart from the new typing indicator, are SkypeFind and Skype Prime Beta. See my previous post about 3.1 beta that talks about SkypeFind, typing indicator and other new things in 3.1, and see the Prime Beta posts. Here are some updates to both of these that we released today.

SkypeFind competition

We are running a competition around SkypeFind until the beginning of July. Just list a business in SkypeFind, and if it happens to be the one where people call most, as compared to the other listings, you may win some Skype Credit every week, or pure cash each month. See the campaign details and more info in English (US), English (UK), French, German or Japanese.

Skype Prime Beta information

Skype Prime Beta now has a product page that sums up all the relevant info, and there are user guides that tell you more about how to set it up and use it. Plus you can now have web snippets to promote your Skype Prime call service right on your home page, blog, website or wherever else on the internet. See here for more on the badges. And here’s an example badge I made for echo123. She doesn’t actually know anything about tambourines and won’t charge you any money, this is just an example.

Please keep the feedback coming — it’s you all who help us make and improve Skype. Thanks

Since we put out the first beta of Skype Prime this Wednesday, we have been getting tons of feedback on blogs, to our support, chat and any other channels that you can possibly think of. We see many comments about the content of possible call services, maximum and minimum charges, Skype’s cut of the revenue, more varied billing options, user interface improvements and many many more things. Thanks, keep it coming

In fact, we anticipated getting all this feedback, and this is exactly why we put out Skype Prime out in its early stage of development. Skype Prime is currently a beta/test version and you can expect many changes to it as we go forward. We know of several rough edges that we have there and we keep polishing those. So we ask you to think of Skype Prime in its current state as not of something that’s set in stone, but rather something that you are just seeing the first version of. If you have been following the development of Skype, I’m sure you have noticed that we keep evolving and re-engineering things, and this will surely be the case for Skype Prime as well.

This also means that if you are uncomfortable using pre-release software, you are probably better off staying back for a while and letting it evolve through a few more versions before giving it a run.

If you want to be involved with Skype Prime, please send your input to our support, use the forum or Skype Prime Beta public chat.

Today, we put out an update of Skype 3.1 beta for Windows. Download here. It contains the typical bugfixes and such from the previous release — thanks to everyone who’s been helping us with the reports. Keep them coming.

In this version, though, there’s one new feature that deserves more attention, since I believe it is really important, interesting, useful and fun. That’s a lot, I know. But bear with me. The feature is Skype Prime Beta. And I think it’s one of the most important innovative things that Skype has put out in quite a while.

What is Skype Prime?

In short, it enables paid Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls. You can charge other people for calling you either a one-off fee or by the minute. Conversely, if you are the caller, you can call experts who charge for their services, and you can then pay the fee and access the expertise that the other call party provides.

Ever since Skype came out, and especially since SkypeOut was launched a bit less than three years ago and Skype first moved into the paid products space, you have been asking for this kind of feature, in addition to our free voice and video calls. “Skype is great for free high-quality voice and video, but every once in a while, I’d like to charge for my calls.” I’m happy to finally see us rolling this out, and I’m sure it will enable a whole new range of businesses. So nothing will change in our free global Skype-to-Skype calling, but on top of it, you can now have paid calls if you want.

Continue reading "Skype Prime™ Beta — introducing the global expertise marketplace" »

It’s time for a new Beta version of Skype for Windows. Download here. Please note that as with all Beta versions, you can expect this version to have some bugs and a few rough edges which we will be polishing before the final version. Download and use only if you are comfortable with using pre-release software.

Although only a minor increase in the version number, from 3.0 to 3.1, this release contains a major new feature called SkypeFind.

SkypeFind

SkypeFind is one of the most interesting features that we’ve done in quite a while now. We call it “Local businesses you like”, and that’s what it is - a collection of businesses, with reviews and comments, built by everyone using Skype.

Continue reading "Skype 3.1 Beta for Windows – SkypeFind and typing indicators" »

When we announced the launch of Skype 3.0 a couple of weeks ago we told you about Extras, little pieces of software developers have created which enhance Skype and offer you even more features.

In the last post we let you know all about Last.fm. This week we want to let you know about Unyte, an Extra which lets you share documents, applications or even your entire desktop with the person you are calling or chatting to on Skype.

Unyte is great for when you’re discussing a project with colleagues. If you are on a conference call with four co-workers and want to discuss a project plan you have all been working on, use Unyte to share the document with everyone on the call and any updates you make will be seen straight away by everyone.

You can open Unyte from the ‘Do More’ button in a call, chat or even the contact list. Unyte will then open and you can choose which applications you want to share from the list.

Once you’ve selected the application you want to share, click the ‘Start sharing’ button and choose you want to share it with.

The people you’ve selected will get invites to view the document and will be able to see it until you decide to stop sharing it by clicking the button.

If you’re a developer and would like to develop and distribute similar extras for Skype, keep an eye on our Developer Zone and the Developer blog.

Just a summary of the recent news that we’ve had on our various blogs.

iPhone

On Monday, the iPhone was released, but it was not THAT iPhone, it was from Linksys. More on the Gear blog.

New pricing plan for SkypeOut in January

We announced that we will have a new pricing structure for SkypeOut in January. Among other things, it will include a connection fee for the calls. More details coming up in January 2007.

The Skype “worm”

We learned of an alleged Skype worm circulating your computers and news this week. More on the security blog.

Skype for Business control panel updates

Ok, this isn’t exactly from this week, but it deserves to be here nevertheless, as you may have missed it otherwise. Skype for Business control panel updates. Among other things, you can now get up to 33 sequential SkypeIn numbers. (Guys, what’s with the figure though? 33? Huh? You should have made it 42 then.) More details and control panel screenshots coming up in January.

Extras are little pieces of software written by developers to enhance Skype and give you even more features. We’ve been working with developers for some time to create Extras for Skype but with Skype 3.0, we’ve made it easier for you to download them.

Download Skype 3.0 and click on ‘Do More’ while in a call, on a chat or just looking for something to do. The Do More menu lets you see all the Extras available to play games, share applications with other users, record your calls, collaborate online through network sharing capabilities and much more.

You can also go to the Extras Gallery to download even more Extras and rate and comment on them for everyone else.

We’ll post more details about some of our premium Extras over the next few weeks so stay tuned for lots of insider tips about what they do, how they can make Skype even better and what you can use it for.

If you are a developer and want to learn more about how to develop a Skype extra and get it published, please use our developer resources such as the Developer Zone, the Developer blog and the forum.

As part of the new look and feel of Skype you can now personalise Skype even more by adding wallpaper. To celebrate our new look and feel, we’re offering you the chance to design a Skype wallpaper which other users can then use too to customise Skype.
As its Skype 3.0, we’ll choose 3 winning designs which will be published right here on Share together with the authors’ Skype Names, for all to see. The best 3 designs will each receive a USB Internet Mini Phone from our friends at US Robotics.

To enter please e-mail your wallpaper design in PNG (.png) or JPEG (.jpg) format to wallpaper@skype.net with your name, email address and Skype Name so we can give you all the glory if you win and of course ship the prize to the 3 lucky winners.
Entries must be received by January 13th 2007, 23:59:59 GMT and we’ll publish the winning entries right here.

Skype 3.0 for Windows is now the official version and out of beta. Thanks to all the testers who helped us with feedback and bug reports. Download here.

One cool bit of info that we’ve found out from our user research that’s good to mention in connection with this release is that over half the people using Skype use it to meet someone new. This is very much in line with what we’ve always thought and what we’re trying to bring more and more into the very product itself — that you use Skype not only to talk with those you know, but might also use it for find new friends.

Continue reading "Skype 3.0 for Windows now officially launched" »

Today we released Skype 2.2 Beta for Windows Mobile. See the press release, download page and feedback options.

Lots of great stuff in this release, see the release notes for the full details. For me, the most interesting thing is Skype multiperson chat (group chat) that is now on Windows Mobile devices. It always bothered me that you can have great group chats on all our desktop versions, but as soon as you switch to the Windows Mobile versions and then someone tries to chat with you, they get some kind of silly error about your Skype not supporting multichats and thus you can’t chat with more than one person at the same time. I’m a big fan of group chats and they are already truly excellent and we can and will take them a lot further. (I see from the release notes that we added this already on August on the Pocket PC version, but now it’s available on more devices.)

Continue reading "Skype 2.2 Beta for Windows Mobile" »

We now have the Ways to pay page available on our site. It describes various payment methods you can use in different countries. By default, it shows you the country you’re currently in, but you can select other countries yourself to browse around. You can see the details of the payment methods, as well as understand how much they cost to you, as different methods may have different fees associated with them.

This is a handy guide if you for some reason are having trouble with paying for Skype. In most countries, there is more than one method available, so you can choose the one that suits you most.

Today we put out an update to Skype 3.0 for Windows beta. Last week we also put one out, but discovered a bad bug and pulled it in a few hours. Today’s update has this bug fixed, as well as many others. Most important fixes regard voice and video quality and HTTP/SOCKS proxy not working previously. Read more and see the download info on the Garage blog.

I guess this also acts as a “launch” of sorts for the whole Garage. It’s a place where we will be distributing various unstable/preview/beta versions of Skype, as well as patches and contributions we’ve made to open source projects, and other experiments we do ourselves around Skype. Read the introduction for more, and take a look at the things already there. The most interesting ones to me are the Database projects. The developers sat down and went “hmm… we need to build a database on a shoestring budget. And we need to scale it to.. uh.. let’s say one billion people. That should do it for a while.” The Garage Database Projects site has a lot of interesting material and actual code on this.

So if you want to follow the bleeding edge of Skype, subscribe to the Garage blog for any future beta/preview Skype updates, and come participate in things before they reach the general