Skype Gear

Here's a roundup of some recent Skype Gear-related news:

Hardware

• As Peter mentioned, British comedian and ubergeek Stephen Fry had some nice words for the 3 Skypephone S2 earlier this month.
• Computer Act!ve gave the Belkin Desktop Internet Phone for Skype a spin and liked what it found--I reviewed it here and also found it pretty slick.
• The Panasonic KX-WP1050 made Computerworld's list of 10 great Wi-Fi gadgets for work and play.

In Other News...

• Skyping the election--the US presidential election is certainly heating up following Friday's first debate between the candidates. It's been really interesting to watch how the candidates have been using technology as a part of their campaigns; this article in Forbes discusses Skype's role
• Using Skype to run a language tutoring business.
• Keeping in touch with a girlfriend while off on an adventure and keeping up with grandparents via video.
• One for the offbeat file: a Skype song. Is it electronica? Ambient? I'm not sure, but I like it.

Looking for a new Skype phone with style? Hulger's got you covered--their Pappa*phone is made out of wood (American walnut) and brass and has a very modern, minimalist design. Each phone is handmade out of a single piece of wood by Furni of Montreal--the unique wood grain runs from the handset to the base and ensures that no two phones are alike.

However, (bad pun alert) these phones don't grow on trees--they're relatively pricey at $300. They also aren't Skype certified. But if you're looking for a phone that's as beautiful as it is functional, the Pappa*phone could be a good choice. You can learn more about the phone at the Hulger website here; Moco Loco also recently published some interesting photos of the phones in production here.

[via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Here are some of the interesting places where Skype's been in the news recently:

Gear Notes

• The 3 Skypephone S2 is out in the UK and has been receiving some very favorable reviews. Peter noted a few video reviews on the main blog.
• Sony is getting ready to release an updated version of the PSP, the PSP-3000, which has a built-in mic so you can Skype on it without a headset. It's expected to be out in October.

Back to School

• Skype is a great way for college students to keep in touch with family when they're away from home--the Philips VOIP151 Travel Phone for Skype and Ipevo Free.2 both made it on Computerworld's list of 15 great gadgets for the back-to-school crowd.
• Teachers are using Skype to teach music, languages, and for remote learning generally.
• The directors of aquariums in France and California are using Skype to show kids some cool fish spawning rituals.

Skype & War

• Yet another soldier has been using Skype in the Middle East keep in touch with family: "In the past we could only talk every couple of weeks," Melissa Wall said. "We've really been spoiled by Skype. It's made the last three months much more agreeable."
• A young American journalist was using Skype to stay in touch with his parents daily while he reported from Georgia.

Miscellanea

• Digital artists are using Skype to collaborate on blockbuster movies.
• Skype can be the 'virtual water cooler' for your virtual office.
• Members of the Peace Corps are using Skype to stay in touch with far away family.

In my last post I mentioned how I was taking a flight on American Airlines and would have an opportunity to test out the Gogo Inflight Internet from Aircell (and see if I could get Skype working on it of course). Well unfortunately my plan was foiled (foiled!) because instead of a single long flight from the east coast to the west coast of the US, I had to fly through Chicago, meaning both planes were relatively small and weren't equipped with Gogo service. It may have been for the best though--Aircell is not happy about people making calls over their service. Alas, if you take a Gogo-equipped flight and are able to get Skype working over a VPN, do let us know in the comments.

My trip was not a total disaster in the Skype department though--on my return flight on United, the August issue of their Hemispheres Magazine had a full page feature on Skype gear. It's nothing we haven't covered on this blog before (Skype on PSP, Plantronics .Audio 910 Headset, Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, Panasonic KX-WP1050, Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000), but it's still nice to see Skype in a mainstream magazine like this. Here's a scan of the page (click to make it larger):

Earlier this week, American Airlines began offering in-flight WiFi on domestic flights in the US. This is great news for business travelers clearly, but it's also nice for the rest of us who need our regular fix of email, news and YouTube during what would otherwise be dead time. However the service provider, Aircell, is blocking Skype and other VoIP services; this article suggests that it's because 'phone calls' are prohibited by law on flights, not differentiating between calls over the internet and calls over mobile phones.

What a bummer. Skype would be ideal on a flight (so long as you're not being loud and obnoxious and disrupting your neighbors), especially when those air-to-ground phones cost so much. There does seem to be at least one way to push voice over the network through flash, but I'd like to use Skype. So I got to thinking: Aircell does say that it supports VPNs, virtual private networks that allow employees to appear as though they're on their company's network. VPNs usually mask traffic--could Skype possibly work from behind a VPN?

Fortunately for me, I'm actually taking an American Airlines flight this week and do have access to a reliable VPN, so very shortly I'll be able to test my hypothesis and report back. But for now:

• Do you think Skype should be blocked on flights?
• Could there be a lack of bandwidth on the plane's connection to the internet (which I assume is via satellite)?
• Would chatting be annoying for other passengers? Would you find it annoying if someone was on the phone next to you during a flight?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Photo by Yodel Anecdotal

It's the Olympics! I'm not a huge fan of traditional professional sports like football, but when the Olympics roll around I just can't stop watching--the passion and determination on display from these (mostly) amateur athletes is just amazing. I even bought a TV this year so I'd be able to catch all the BBC's coverage.

There have been quite a few stories of Olympians using Skype to stay in touch with family and friends while they compete in Beijing. I heard that Dan Walsh, a member of the US men's eight and friend from my rowing days, was using Skype on his Sony PSP to keep in touch, so last week I asked him a couple questions over email and he found the time to answer them amidst his preparations. Dan was an alternate for the US rowing squad in 2004 when the US men's eight won a gold medal; this year Dan will be going for gold in the Olympic final on Sunday.


Skype Gear: So Dan, how did you first hear about Skype?

Dan Walsh: A friend of mine told me about it when I was traveling over to Japan [for the 2005 Rowing World Championships] so I figured I would give it a try.

SG: Who are you talking with on Skype? Are you making free Skype-to-Skype calls or calling phone numbers? Are you making video calls?

DW: I am usually just talking to family using phone numbers when using Skype. I am waiting to get a new MacBook with built-in camera then I will start the video calls.

SG: Do you just use Skype on your computer, or do you ever use it on a hardware device like a cell phone, wifi phone or Nokia internet tablet?

DW: I use my computer but while here in the Olympics I am using my PSP, which is awesome. As long as I have a wireless signal I can make calls and it sounds great.

SG: Do you schedule your calls with family and friends? Does the time difference affect when you talk?

DW: No scheduling is necessary. The 12 hour difference makes it easy.

SG: Have you used Skype to stay in touch when you've been away at international races in the past?

DW: I have used Skype for the past four years whenever I go overseas. My best use for Skype was when I broke my cell phone and I couldn't get a new one for about 4 days. I was concerned about not being able to call anyone but then I remembered "I have skype" and was able to check my voicemail, return calls, the whole nine.

SG: What's the most outrageous thing you've said (or done) over Skype?

DW: Just some dirty SMS messages to my girlfriend while in Germany.

SG: Who's the first person you'll call on Skype after winning the gold?

DW: My father.


Thanks to Dan for taking the time to answer my questions, and best of luck to him and the rest of his crew in their final, which is at 17:30 Beijing time on Sunday.

A smattering of links this Friday, about

Skype at the Olympics

• Dara Torres, the 41-year-old American swimmer, uses Skype to talk to her 2-year-old daughter every day from Beijing
• Members of the US Water Polo and Soccer teams are also using Skype to stay in touch with far away family and friends

Gear Notes

• Technology blogger Om Malik likes the Ipevo Skype Desktop phone.
• A new version of Skype for Windows Mobile Professional (the one with the touchscreen) is out that works on WM 6.1.

Love over Skype

• Couples use Skype to stay in touch over long distances when they can't afford to travel
• Skype enables a soldier to see more family while on leave from Iraq

Usage Tips

• The Orlando Sentinel shows how to use Skype and Pamela to save voicemails you've received on your mobile phone for posterity
• The Motley Fool UK offers tips on saving money with Skype when you're traveling
• The Grouse at PopSci is pleased when he replaces his landline with Skype

Miscellanea

• Mike Bartlett, Skype's director of product management, talks about where Skype is going in an interview on TechRadar, touching on the 3 Skypephone, High Quality Video and other topics
• Skype is used to facilitate classroom discussions with authors

Laptop guarding cat iz suspicious. Photo by gillicious.

Here's a story: Man visits classroom. Man steals instructor's MacBook Pro computer, becomes Thief. Instructor is a Skype user, has Skype set to automatically answer all incoming calls and turn on built-in webcam. Instructor calls computer. Thief appears on screen, is identified and eventually arrested.

It sounds a bit implausible (and stupid on the thief's part), but it's a true story. It happened earlier this year at Utah Valley University. Michael Birkeland, an actor who has appeared in several low budget films, had visited an art instructor's class in April, and after class the laptop disappeared. Fortunately for the instructor, he had Skype installed and running, and when he called his computer he saw Birkeland on his screen. Birkeland covered the camera and refused to give the laptop back directly, and eventually was arrested.

It's a nice Skype story (thanks to Skype Journal for spotting it), but it makes me wonder what a person without Skype set to automatically answer (or facing a smarter criminal) could do if his or her laptop was stolen.

Continue reading "Skype to the Rescue" »

Summer holiday season is in full swing, and if you're anything like me, sun and beach are an integral part of the perfect holiday. Earlier this month I found the sun and beach on a sailing trip around Sicily and the Aeolian Islands (it's a hard life, I know). I brought my 3 Skypephone with me and was very pleasantly surprised when I turned on my phone in Italy and was reminded of 3 Like Home. It's a 3 feature that lets you have your standard 3 rate whenever you're on a 3 network, including data access, without any roaming fees.

So whenever I had 3 Italy service (which was most of the time, a surprise considering how much we were on a boat in the middle of nowhere in the Mediterranean), I could make Skype calls, regular calls and check my email on the phone without worrying about extra fees. It was great to be able to stay in touch so easily.

The 3 networks that support 3 Like Home are 3Austria, 3Italy, 3Sweden, 3Denmark, 3Australia, 3Hong Kong, 3Ireland, and 3UK. If you live in one 3 country and are traveling to another, think about picking up a 3 Skypephone--it'll almost certainly save you some money calling home and calling friends and family on Skype.

It's been quite a while since we've mentioned the Nokia N800 and N810 Internet Tablets. What's new with them? Well, the open nature of Nokia's Linux-based OS2008 has allowed people to continue to add new features and exploit the devices in new ways. We already know that the N810 and N800 provide a great way to use Skype on the go, but what's been improved since they came out and how are people using their Internet Tablets?

• Last month Nokia released the OS2008 Feature Update, which adds better GPS support to the N810, over the air firmware updates, and an improved email client and other software improvements to the N810 and N800.
• People are talking about using the N800 as a laptop substitute and running Java applications on the N810.
• Some enterprising coders managed to install Google's Android operating system on the N810, an interesting proof of concept
• New applications make it possible to run Palm applications on the N810/N800 and geocache more easily
• And of a (only slightly) less technical nature, here's how to crochet a pouch to hold your N810 or N800.

It's great that people keep finding novel ways to use their Internet Tablets.