Skype version 3.2

I already blogged on this, but the updates of the Skype client for Windows is ALWAYS on a Wednesday since June last year!

Today they released a new version with quite a lot of new features, but i didn’t test yet (lack of time … management):
Change log version 3.2.0.53 Beta

• feature: Send Money
• feature: Skype's own audio codec
• feature: Skype improved conference mixer
• feature: Skype Jitter Buffer and concealment
• feature: Skype audio preprocessing components
• feature: Account in Client
• feature: Import Contacts from MSN Hotmail, Yahoo! and GMail added
• feature: Multi-Device presence
• feature: Myself Capture
• feature: Call Quality feedback in client
• feature: Voice Mail playback pauses Winamp

Avelgem reachable by Skype

In the Flemish financial newspaper De Tijd today: the Belgian municipality of Avelgem made all its services reachable through Skype.

In Dutch however, but i know i have readers in Holland and the Flemish part of Belgium ... and Malaysia!

50 days: worried!

Skype reached 9 million concurrent users online on January 29. We are now 50 days later, and the counter is only at about 9.250.000 concurrent users online.

If we suppose a linear growth, we should reach 10 million concurrent users online within 150 days.

Quite disappointing. Edited: last year (2006) Skype grew from 5 to 6 million concurrent users online between January 20 and March 27. This was in a time span of 66 days!

I see two possible reasons, but these are pure guesses:

1. SkypePro is a failure, and a lot of customers try other cheaper solutions like Gizmo, Jajah or VoIPstunt
2. The growth in rich countries has reached some point of saturation, because most of those people interested in the features of Skype already use Skype or have at least tried it.
   

Webt@lker 100

It is not my habit to discuss the hardware i use or test. But when you receive something for free, and it is good, then why not.

I participated in a contest on the site of Topcom and won a webtalker 100. It is a wired USB phone. I don’t understand why it is not clearly mentioned on the package that it also works with other voice over internet applications. Strange, it would somehow augment their sales.

I installed the software (not needed for the basic functions) and tried the phone.

Well, i wasn’t disappointed:

• Nice design
• Very easy to install
• It works with other voice applications like MSN
• the speed dialing function works (only after installing the software)
  

To be honest, i will not continue to use it: i prefer my headphone on my head, because i have my both hands free to continue working with my computer while talking. But it will certainly please all the people who hate the headphone and want a simple easy to use USB phone. I know already to whom i will give it away ;-)

*the picture is the phone in its original package on top of the “congratulations letter” I received.

Is SkypePro a succes?

I don’t think that it is an overwhelming success. But of course i don’t know the financial objectives of Skype concerning SkypePro. Some days ago i thought: if it is a success, and as it includes free voicemail, there should be a lot of people with voicemail now. Pity I didn’t think about this before the official launch, i could have compared the situation before and after.

I have 155 contact, and i looked how many have voicemail. I looked very late at night when most Europeans are in bed (and I wasn’t ;-). Here the results:

The 8.5 % people with voicemail in the last line of my table should be seen in view of my “not statistically sound sample of contacts”. Indeed I have quite some “famous Skypers and even two Skype Staff” in my contact list, and some of them have already since quite a long time voicemail or SkypeIn numbers with included voicemail.

In my other contacts, only 1 (one!) has voicemail, and I think he hadn’t before. So, in my opinion less then 1% of the active Skype Users “bought Skype Pro”.

Skype Prime

Today a new beta version (3.1.0.134) was released, with a new money generating tool embedded … money for some small businesses offering services through Skype, and money for PayPal. Interesting anyway, for a very small part of the Skype ecosphere.