October 27, 2006
Splish Splash I Was Skyping In Bath
I can't find the original page at the Skype site that I read, but here's another that says 75% of all UK Skype users have talked to people on the phone while in the toilet - some even in the bath, particularly women. I know someone years ago who did a radio interview (recorded, not live) while on the toilet, and his friend played it on her college radio show. But I digress.
The info is part of a survey that Skype did as part of their free Talk for Britain SkypeOut promo. This is the third region in the world where Skype is offering free calling to landlines for a limited time. The other two regions are France and North America (Canada, US only). Hong Kong also has free Skype-to-toll-free numbers only. Yahoo! had a holiday offering for East Indians on the past weekend for the Diwali festival: free calls from Yahoo Messenger IM (from North America?) to landlines in India. Russell Shaw wondered if this holiday/ promo trend would be the beginning of free VoIP calling all over the world. Jim Courtney asks if this new SkypeOut promo for the UK is a trend for SkypeOut.
I'm inclined to say yes. Skype had other promos during the summer, where people could call out from North America (Mexico excluded) to different countries (UK, Mexico, Japan) for a limited time frame each weekend during the promo. With the VoIP/ VoIM market suddenly becoming so competitive, we'll no doubt see more such promos, and maybe even some from Microsoft and AOL. Gizmo Project already allows free calling to landlines in 60 countries, provided the person you are calling is registered with them.
I know that I plan to get SkypeOut when the North American promo expires. However, they don't have local numbers in my area, and since I'm planning to move back to the big city next year, I'm still seeking the optimum VoIP service for me. Note to VoIP providers: I'm getting SkypeOut because I can pay with Paypal. I don't have/ use credit cards.
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