November 2006

I've had quite a few people asking about availability for the Philips VOIP841 cordless Skype/DECT phone.

As I mentioned yesterday, there is at least one US customer who has taken delivery of one, and news reaches Skypegear that Philips are planning on getting the VOIP841 into the EU Skype online store in December, hopefully in time for Christmas.

US shoppers may have to wait a little bit longer as it sounds as if Philips are planning to launch over the pond in early '07.

Continue reading "Philips VOIP841 Planned for December in EU" »

Now there have been suggestions in the past that US President and most powerful man on the planet George W Bush isn't a huge telephone user, but hopefully that's about to change.

During the usual exchanging of gifts during Bush's visit to Estonia yesterday, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip presented the US Commander-in-chief with the latest in telephonic chic: the Philips VOIP841 Skype/DECT phone.

Continue reading "George Bush gets a Skype phone from the Estonian PM" »

Sorry, couldn't resist the oversize Mac photo. Wow that is a thing of beauty.

And now, thanks to Skype Forums moderator extraordinaire Carola Clavo, we have a list of Mac-compatible Skype webcams (so that you can use all of that quad-core computing power to pull silly faces at your mum over Skype). It's not, as she points out, an exhaustive list, so feel free to add any cams that you have found to work OK on the Mac. It should also be pointed out that not all cameras in her list are Skype certified, and so it's worth looking out for the 'Skype certified' logo on the box or website when you're buying.

Continue reading "Compatible Webcams for Mac users and more in the Skype forums" »

The tech shops of Japan's Akihabara district will have a new Skype-certified Wifi phone hitting the shelves very soon: The Buffalo WSKP-G (Google translation into Google-English here). It has Skype built into the handset and so doesn't require a PC at all to operate, just a wifi internet connection.

Continue reading "Buffalo Skype wifi phone hits Japan" »

Happy Thanksgiving!

As anyone who has struggled with a cookbook in front of them to try to recreate the gorgeous photos of food next to the recipes will testify, you really need to be shown how to cook properly rather than just reading about it. So now the humble webcam is being used as an essential tool in the kitchen.

To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, Skype and US cable TV channel Food Network are auctioning on eBay the chance for a one-on-one Skype video conversation with celebrity chefs and Turkey-basting impresarios Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay.

Continue reading "How to...stuff a Thanksgiving turkey using Skype" »

Cordless phones such as this new offering from RTX offer the best of both worlds. On the one hand, you have the advantages of a handset which doesn't require a PC to make Skype calls and which you can take anywhere around the house, and on the other, you still can make calls using your landline if you don't want to use Skype the whole time.

So could the DUALphone 3088 seriously replace your old landline? I got one to test this week.

Continue reading "SkypeGear Roadtest: DUALphone 3088" »

It may not be available until January, putting it safely out of reach of any Christmas present-buying cash that might be burning a hole in your Levi's, but the USR9640 webcam looks like it's packs a lot into a very small space.

Continue reading "US Robotics new Skype certified webcam: small, feature packed and cheap!" »

I mentioned earlier that there had been sitings of a Skype bus travelling the length and breadth of Spain, and we now have a positive sighting, in the Millionaire's paradise of Marbella.

Continue reading "All aboard the Skype bus..." »

Skype for Pocket PC reached an amazing milestone last month in reaching 5 million downloads and winning Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine's Best Software 2006 award in the phone and fax category (for the second year running).

Things seem to move so fast at Skype that I often need to remind myself to stop and think. Reaching 5 million downloads in just over two years is unprecented in the Windows Mobile developer community and more than anything shows just how important an application Skype is to Pocket PC users.

Continue reading "5 million downloads and a Pocket PC public chat" »

Yes, we want it all and it seems that we’re getting it all in even smaller packages. This year saw more and more Windows Mobile phones with GPS and this is a theme that seems set to continue next year.

So I thought I’d give a little round up of a few "GPS Pocket PC phones", all of which work great with Skype and also give our large community of Pocket PC Skype users to add their thoughts.

Continue reading "Sat nav, mobile email, and Skype all in one package?" »

With Chinese subscribers to TOM-Skype really ramping up (ie 23.5 million registered users and adding more at the rate of around 100,000 new users a day), it's good to see that all of these new Skypers now have a new online shop where they can find the latest hardware.

Continue reading "TOM-Skype selling Skype products in China" »

OK so this might be more mobile-based than gadget based but hey, this one was too interesting to miss.

3 announced yesterday evening at the X-series event in London that it will allow its users to make free Skype-to-Skype calls if they sign up to its brand spanking-new X-series flat-rate tariff.

Continue reading "Nice UK mobile tie-in: 3 and Skype offer free calls over mobile" »

How do you make it as easy as possible to make Skype calls over a wifi phone? Well, Skype, SMC and Fon have put together one pack that contains everything needed to get going for £99 / €139 / $159.99:

• SMC's WSKP100 Wifi Skype phone
• FON's dinky 'Fonera' wifi router
• 500 minutes of SkypeOut talk time
• 12 months of Skype voicemail

It's a neat package to be sure, and obviously timed very much with Christmas in mind.

Continue reading "The new Skype bundle: Wifi phone and router + Skype credit and voicemail for £99 (E139/$160)..." »

FON invited Skype along to share their stand at SIMO last week, providing a platform for Skype to showcase a few of the latest Skype-certified phones to the great and the good attending the show in Madrid.

Continue reading "Skype and FON: El amor verdadero..." »

Now, boxes that allow any standard home phone to be used for making Skype phones have been around for a while. Once in place, these allow you to make and receive calls via Skype from pretty much any old tone-dial phone (provided the PC's on) just by plugging the phone and the PC into the back of the box.

Continue reading "Route your mobile phone calls through Skype on your home PC..." »

Now I know what you all thought the first time you used Skype: "How come this hasn't featured in a Taiwanese opera yet??". Well, as luck would have it, this Saturday evening in Taipei this logical step in Skype's development will finally occur.

Continue reading "Skype bridges the gap between China and Taiwan in new Opera" »

As I wrote earlier, amazon.co.uk has predicted that Skype phones will be a top present this Christmas. Great - but as any hardened Christmas gift-buyer knows, the real art is matching the exactly right one to the right family member.

No two families are the same, but it's definitely true that what Young Kevin might want will be completely different than his Gran or mad Uncle Frankie. So with the aim of Peace to all Men (and Women...) here's my attempt to point you in at least (I hope!) the right general direction...

Continue reading "Skypegear guide: Which Skype phone to buy for which family member?" »

OK so we are definitely in the Christmas zone now: Amazon.co.uk have announced their predictions for this year's top Christmas presents. My advice? Panic, withdraw as much cash as you can, and get down the shops before everyone goes Crimbo crazy. It's going to get messy out there, it always does.

The Skype hardware team are particularly excited this year as 'Skype wifi  phones' made the list for the first time. So come the 25th, Christmas trees the length and breadth of the UK will have shiny new Skype phones under them nestled up amongst Jamie Oliver cookery books, Scissor Sisters albums and ice cool Nintendo Wii consoles.

Continue reading "Amazon predicts Skype phones will be a top Christmas gift" »

SMC's WSKP100 is a standalone Wifi phone designed specifically for making Skype calls. No cables or PC are needed, just charge it up, secure it to your network, and it's ready for calling. Can it really be that simple? Skypegear got one to check out this week...

Continue reading "Skypegear Roadtest: SMC WSKP100 WiFi phone for Skype" »

Now I think I can say with almost definite authority that whilst Clark Kent may use the odd public phone booth to change into Superman, when he gets back to his swanky city warehouse conversion he likes nothing better than to relax with a latte, flick on his Powerbook, and catch up wth Lois over Skype.

Continue reading "Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a Superman Skype kit!" »

I've been playing around with the SMC wifi phone for a couple of days (more to follow on that one...), and a couple of people told me they received a message from Skype when they sent me messages in chat, telling them in no uncertain terms that I didn't want to talk to them.

Continue reading "Skype PC-free phones and chat - a mystery solved!" »

Sometimes the answer to a problem is right in front of you. Today on a Skype call I was trying to describe to a colleague a problem I was having with a phone, and something was getting lost in translation. In a (rare) flash of inspiration, I flicked on video, showed him the phone, and the problem went away. A picture, as they say, is better than a thousand words.

Video has been available on the last few Skype releases, but the question is: which camera will show you off to best advantage?

Continue reading "Those who cam, do: but which cam should you use for Skype calling?" »

Now it's a long time since Skypegear was at uni, and checking out the new 'Skype U' Facebook group did bring a pang of nostalgia for a lost youth.

The site offers a veritable smorgasbord of interesting nuggets including members' photos, discussion boards, a Skype homesick-o-meter and offers hand-picked for Skypers.

On top of all that though, through November Skype and Sony are offering members in the US and Canada the chance to win one Sony Mylo every single day! NB For those majoring in Arts, that's a total of 30 Mylos.

Continue reading "Win a Mylo a day for a month...if you can haul yourself out of bed for lectures..." »