Competitions

Several interesting bits of Skype Gear-related news from the blogosphere recently, on a variety of devices that show off many of the different ways you can use Skype.

- Video: great story about usage and a Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF review
- Mobile: Results to 3mobilebuzz's recent contest: Why I need a 3 Skypephone
- WiFi phone: Netgear SPH200W one of Time's top 10 gadgets of 2007
- Headsets: A look at the FREETALK Stereo Wireless Headset

My full take after the jump...

Continue reading "Gear News Roundup: A little bit of everything" »

The Philips VOIP 841 is one popular phone--well reviewed here and elsewhere, it's one of the best ways to combine Skype and landline calls in your home or office without the need for a computer. Now Philips is offering a new competition for buyers of the VOIP 841 in the UK and Germany. If you live in the UK or Germany and purchase a VOIP 841 at the Skype Store between now and January 5, you're automatically entered to win one of three snazzy Philips prizes.

Continue reading "Another Philips Competition for UK & Germany" »

Hey UK readers--you may have caught it in Wednesday's Evening Standard, but if not... Skype has been highlighted in the latest 'Really Useful Ideas and Bargains' column by Alison Cork (the item is also on her blog here). Clark mentions the Philips VOIP841--the cordless dual phone for Skype and landlines that we and many others love--and also a contest that the Standard is running in conjunction with Skype. There are 10 Philips VOIP841 phones up for grabs, and it's really easy to enter to win...

Continue reading "UK: Win a Philips VOIP841 cordless dual phone!" »

You may remember the recent summer competition that the Skype hardware team put on that had some really great prizes, including SMC WiFi phones, laptops from Fujitsu-Siemens, and a grand prize of a €5000 euro travel voucher to go anywhere in the world.

The question was: If you could call anyone in the world, who would you choose to call and why?

I wasn't privy to judging the (literally) thousands of entries that the hardware team received, but I have had the chance to see some of the winning entries that the judges chose, and I think they're great.

Continue reading "Skypegear Interview: Summer Competition Winner!" »

Do you like to travel and talk on Skype? If you live in the UK, France, Germany, Spain or Denmark, Skype is running a new contest just for you. You could win a dream holiday voucher worth €5000, a new Fujitsu Siemens Laptop, and or a SMC Skype WiFi phone.

These prizes are quite cool (and they put our recent contest on Skypegear to shame, sigh). What do you have to do win? Read on.

Continue reading "New Skype Competition - Win a €5000 travel voucher!" »

Only a few hours left to enter the first of what will hopefully be a steady stream of Skypegear contests(!).

The prize: the very slick Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1

The task: write a haiku about how you use Skype, how it helps you reach people and/or how you'd use the prize. Entries are due tonight by 11:59 BST (British Summer Time).

Continue reading "Haiku Contest: One Final Reminder" »

One reminder and two notes of interest:

###Contest!

Don't forget about the Skypegear Haiku Contest -- last day for entries is June 12. Write us a haiku about Skype and the gear you use to Skype for the chance to win a Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1. Full info here. We've gotten some pretty good entries so far. Keep them coming!

###Netgear!

On the heels of the Netgear news yesterday, American users of Netgear's SPH101 WiFi phone should have a look at the latest firmware update, posted yesterday. It adds the ability to log onto T-Mobile hotspots across the US. Do note that it won't work at T-Mobile hotspots outside the US, and you need to have already established a paid account with T-Mobile before trying it out--you can't sign up from the handset.

###Video!

And finally, remember the Skype coverage on The Lab with Leo we posted recently? Well, last week Skype was featured on another newscast, this time New York City's Fox 5. It's a nice little segment, though be warned it has a bit of that sensationalism that American local news is known for. Like the previous segment, it's especially good for showing to people who like saving money but aren't familiar with Skype yet. The video is online here.

So we have this tagline on Skypegear, on our front page—

Tell Skypegear how your Skype phone helps you at work, at home or on the move for your chance to win a brand new Skype phone every month...

Well, we haven’t been getting any entries because we haven’t been talking about any contests. At all. So we’d like to gradually change that, and to start we’re going to have a little competition. The prize is the Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1 we reviewed a few weeks ago.

Over the next three weeks we want to hear about what Skype gear is doing for you. Is it making you more efficient or saving you time and money? Tell us. But here’s the catch. It has to be in the form of a haiku.

Continue reading "Skypegear Contest: Win a Sony VAIO Mouse Talk VN-CX1" »

It's been quite a week for Skype gadget competitions, and they're still coming! Gadgetcandy ("Because girls love gadgets too") have got their hands on no less than five shiny Philips cordless Skype phones to give away to their readers.

For those not familiar with Philips' VoIP841, it really is a neat device which doesn't need a PC to run, doubles up as a normal landline phone, and just plugs straight into your router or broadband modem. Skypegear reviewed it a little while ago, and we were impressed with its stylish looks, ease of use and sound quality.

Continue reading "Win one of five Philips VoIP841 phones over at Gadgetcandy.com" »

OK so another little competition to let you know about, this time over on Skype Journal. Phil Wolff and the team over there have an interesting "what if" discussion going on, centred around the idea of "In-car Skypeing". The idea comes from Jeremy Carbaugh's Flickr photos, showing him on a video call with his pals as they drive along in their car.

Now, whilst the benefits of Skype video calling whilst in the car might not run beyond being able to check whether or not your partner is picking his or her nose at the traffic lights, the idea of a Skype-equipped car really is pretty cool, and not so crazy as wifi becomes more and more ubiquitous and flat-rate mobile data tariffs begin to become the norm.

Continue reading "SkypeDriving Contest over at Skype Journal: Win an SMC Wifi phone and FON Router" »

Now, the title of Laptop Magazine is slightly misleading, in that it actually covers a whole range of mobile devices - "mobile solutions for business & life", as their tagline puts it. Bearing this in mind, the thinking behind their latest offer is more obvious: they are offering 10 SMC Wifi phone and Fon Router combo packs to their Canadian and US-based readers and online users. But hurry, as the promotion ends on the 15th May.

Rumour has it there may be a firmware upgrade coming out for SMC's Skype wifi phone soon, so this offer from Laptop Magazine is very well timed! To win one of these bundles, currently selling for $159.99 in the US Skype Store, you just have to answer a simple question:

Where is the craziest place you would set up a WiFi connection and make a Skype or VoIP call?

Continue reading "Be quick to win one of Laptop magazine's Skype bundles..." »

Now no-one likes paying for things and, as we know, it's far better to just win them in competitions if at all possible. Web User are a generous bunch, well tuned in to the nuances of human nature, and so have very generously put forward 5 DUALPhone 3088 cordless Skype phones (the ones you can use both to make normal landline calls and Skype calls on), and 5 SMC Skype wifi phones for members of the general public to win by answering a simple question:

How many registered users does Skype have all over the world?

A fair question, and I'm sure the three possible answers you have to choose from (171, 171,000, 171,000,000) won't tax the upwardly mobile, laser-sharp intellectual demographic that Skypegear attracts. So get over to Web User magazine, pick the right answer on this page, and hopefully some Skype goodies will pop onto your doormat very soon.

For those not yet convinced, check out Skypegear's Roadtests of the DUALPhone 3088 here, and the SMC WSKP100 Skype wifi phone here.

Continue reading "Win one of 10 top Skype phones courtesy of Web User magazine" »

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" »

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..." »

We're going to be doing a few prize draws ourselves here on Skype Gear pretty soon, but another Skype promotion caught my eye today over on the UK blog (sorry everyone else - just for Her Majesty's citizens, this one ). You'll have to hurry though as there's only a week to run on it apparently.

The promotion's pretty simple: refer three friends, get 30 minutes SkypeOut credit to landlines, and enter the draw to win:

A Sony Vaio FE31H laptop with integrated camera and mic

20 Philips VOIP321 cordless phones

52 Logitech QuickCams for Skype webcams.

...And a number of runner up prizes such as these!

Here's the link to enter.

So what of the prizes?

Continue reading "Vaio, Phillips, Logitech...As prizes go, these aren't half bad..." »