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Skype? for business use?
Dirk Dewachter, Photographer
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Playa Del Rey | CA | USA | Posted: 4:26 PM on 04.04.08 |
->> I recently signed up with skype, not to replace my normal business line but hopefully to be able to communicate with my family members in Europe when I am sitting at my computer. I am not familiar with VOIP systems and I was wondering if anyone else has positive or negative experiences with Skype, or if other (read better) VOIP software is available with minimal cost?
For those who use VOIP and programs like Skype do you use it to communicate with your customers or just with friends and family? |
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Jonathan Castner, Photographer, Assistant
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Longmont | CO | USA | Posted: 4:30 PM on 04.04.08 |
| ->> Dirk I've been using Skype for all my outgoing calls. I get spotty cell reception and my cell is my business phone. This way I get easy calls anywhere at my desk and I don't have to worry about clairity or dropouts. Considering I was paying $40 a month for my land line Skype is a big savings. |
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Ian Elliott, Photographer
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- | - | USA | Posted: 4:58 PM on 04.04.08 |
->> Skype works great for me.
2.1 cents per minute between US/UK.
Skype to Skype is free. I use it for overseas business calls mostly.
Cheers.......
Ian |
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Michael Cullen, Photographer
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Wexford Town | 0000 | Ireland | Posted: 5:16 PM on 04.04.08 |
| ->> i use skype when i travel away to gigs, its great.... |
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John Peterson, Photographer
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Lincoln | NE | USA | Posted: 5:23 PM on 04.04.08 |
->> I've used it to record phone interviews. I use a plug-in called Pamela to record. Use a USB headset for best results. Use Skypeout ($) if need to call regular phone line or cell. Best quality is Skype to Skype using USB headset.
I would get a local number (SkypeIn) if it was available in my city.
Also for small conference calls it works great. |
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Susie Lin, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Honolulu | HI | USA | Posted: 5:55 PM on 04.04.08 |
->> I've been using Skype for a few years now SkypeOut has been a great savings for me to call overseas.
I recently tried out Skype ToGo, $3 a month to set up, and phone call charges are additional. The connection isn't great at all, but it works if there is some emergency that you need to call overseas about.
If you are thinking of using Skype as a replacement of your home phone, check out the Shop section on Skype, and take a look at the phones they have. Compare prices online or in store before you make a purchase. I don't know how the VOIP phone technically works, but I do know that you connect it with your router and it pretty much becomes a replacement for the house phone.
Hope this helps. |
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Richard Wolowicz, Photographer
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Brossard | QC | Canada | Posted: 7:52 PM on 04.04.08 |
->> Went to Hong Kong last year ... spoke (Skype to Skype using USB headset) to my wife and kids every night for as long as I wanted ... didn't spend a single dollar on phone calls the whole time I was away.
Great service and the no lag on the line. |
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Bryan Hulse, Photographer
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Highlands Ranch | Co | USA | Posted: 10:05 AM on 04.05.08 |
->> My brother now lives in England and he uses Skype to chat with me, my dad and my mother. I have it on a wifi Skype Netgear phone and also have it on my Macbook Pro. We can do voice calls, or video calls via the Macbook for free. Very cool!
I pay like $3 bucks per month for Skype Out so I can also call any land line in the US for free.
80% of the time, the quality is as good as a cell phone. But that other 20% is rough. I can be on a call and things are going great, but it will just drop us. Or the quality goes to crap and we have to re-dial.
If you have a laptop or PC with speakers and a mic, you can sign up for free and make skype to skype calls for free. That would be a good way for you to see if the quality is what you expect.
When I signed up, the quality and reliability was better than I expected. But again, it isn't nearly as reliable as being on a land line, or cell phone line. |
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Dirk Dewachter, Photographer
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Playa Del Rey | CA | USA | Posted: 10:49 AM on 04.05.08 |
| ->> I will have to look into SkypeOut, for $3.00 it may be worth the money to try it out but it seems most of you use a USB connected headset. Since I only have it on my macbookpro right now and it has blue tooth are there any bluetooth handsfree headsets or not? |
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Eric Isaacs, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 10:49 AM on 04.05.08 |
->> I have also been researching Skype and wonder if anyone is using the IM+ add-on?
http://www.shapeservices.com/en/products/details.php?product=skype
Apparently it can be used to access skype from a blackberry and make/rcv calls from anywhere in the world for a low fee.
I'd love to hear any real world experiences.
EMI |
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Colin Lenton, Photographer, Assistant
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Philadelphia | PA | United States | Posted: 10:49 AM on 04.05.08 |
->> Hi Dirk,
I use it as my "office" phone. It works very well. Some downsides however, when you call out it only appears as a restricted number on other telephones.
Other than that, its unlimited calling to any phone in the US and Canada for something ridiculously cheap like $3 a month.
I have all missed calls forward to my cellphone for a nominal charge, but you can also set up a voicemail.
The quality is superb for me and I've never had anyone complain. I use it over a wifi connection to a shared cable internet connection. I use a USB logitech headset, which when on makes me look very nerdy - so I don't recommend being seen in it. |
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Mitchell Clinton, Photographer
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Carlsbad | CA | USA | Posted: 11:48 AM on 04.05.08 |
->> Skype works great. It's cheap and when talking to someone who is on the computer as well it is as if they are in the room with you. I was taking with a friend while playing backgammon just like we had done a hundred times before, but this time I was in France and he was in San Francisco and he couldest cheat!
Plus it is a great way to quickly send large files.
I have a skype phone number so when I am traveling out of the country my clients friends and wife can call me anytime. When traveling my phone bills use to be $200 to $300 a month when in Europe. with Skype it ends up being about $10 to $15.
Just this morning I was taking to my mom in Guatemala and a friend in North Carolina and didn't spend a dime. |
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Mitchell Clinton, Photographer
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Max Waugh, Photographer
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Bothell | WA | USA | Posted: 4:47 PM on 04.05.08 |
->> I too have it on my Macbook Pro, but I noticed that if I used the laptop's built in speakers, the people I was calling could hear themselves, which created some annoying feedback on their end. So at the very least, plug in your audio headphones to prevent that issue.
It was a great tool for calling home from Africa. |
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Bryan Hulse, Photographer
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Highlands Ranch | Co | USA | Posted: 7:33 PM on 04.05.08 |
->> Hey Dirk. Sorry, I see you already have Skype. Dooooooh!
Anyway, I have a Plantronics bluetooth headset I use with my smart phone. I can easily pair that same headset to the Macbook pro, and if you then open the Skype preferences (even when on a Skype call) and go to 'Audio', you can then select the paired bluetooth headset as the device to be used in Skype. It works great! You can even switch back and forth while on a call: either audio or video call.
Oh, and that $3/month has to be paid at once for a year, and they make you provide a credit card for future billing. I didn't like that, but figured what the heck. |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Port Townsend/Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 9:07 PM on 04.05.08 |
| ->> Actually you can pay with paypal and can do 5 months at a time, which is what I've done. |
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Paul Kelm, Photographer
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Milwaukee | Wisconsin | U.S.A. | Posted: 12:40 PM on 04.06.08 |
| ->> I've used Skype in the states and in Europe for years and been very happy with it. |
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Darren Whitley, Photographer
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Maryville | MO | USA | Posted: 5:46 PM on 04.06.08 |
| ->> I got one year of unlimited calling for $30. |
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Grace Chiu, Photographer
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Ottawa | ON | Canada | Posted: 7:17 PM on 04.11.08 |
->> Skype worked from Beijing in November with and without the Great Firewall of China.
I helped an organization set up Skype for Business earlier this week. As an administrator/manager, you can allocate Skype minutes to your organization members so that you don't have to deal with individual expense reports.
Skype is also good if you have Onstar or some other way to call 911 if you need to ...
Hey, SS admins! How about a Skype contact field for our member profiles? |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Port Townsend/Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 10:25 PM on 04.11.08 |
| ->> Has anyone tried Clearwire for internet and voip phone service? phone works like skype but you can use any type of landline phone, modem is portable, just need power. Actually saw a guy using one (modem)on the ferry the other day with his laptop. |
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Ron Holman, Photographer
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Visalia | CA | USA | Posted: 3:26 AM on 04.12.08 |
| ->> Has anybody tried the MagicJack? It plugs into a USB port and any regular phone (corded or cordless) plugs into it. |
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Gerry Pieper, Photographer
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Schoengeising | BY | Germany | Posted: 4:21 AM on 04.12.08 |
->> Skyp is absolut fantastic for those, who travel around the globe and spend lot of time sitting in press-center in front of their computer!
I use it a lot to talk with my two kids when I'm travelling and best thing: it's free! |
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Kent Nishimura, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Honolulu | HI | USA | Posted: 7:50 AM on 10.25.10 |
->> an update to this convo...
anyone use google for national and local calls?
aloha! |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 9:00 AM on 10.25.10 |
->> Kent,
I've used Google voice for call forwarding for more than a year now and it's worked well.
Now they offer easier and free (in U.S) calls simply through their Gmail/chat functions.
I've used it off and on since it started and the call quality is good, but I've had too many dropped calls (call suddenly stops and I get a server error) for me to rely on it for critical calls.
But tying it to my Google Voice number is nice in that I can "answer" the computer rather than grab a phone while at my desk, keeping my hands on the keyboard. |
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Bryan Hulse, Photographer
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Nashville | Tn | USA | Posted: 9:27 AM on 10.25.10 |
->> My brother lives in England and we’ve used both Skype and Vonage to connect. I also use Skype to talk to a friend in India and South Africa.
Skype is free (skype to skype). Sketchy quality. Dropped or garbled calls are very common. I’d say 1 out of 3 or 4 calls requires multiple attempts to connect or has issues with one party not hearing the other, etc. But it has been getting better over the years. I use both a USB phone and Netgear WiFi phone for Skype. And, we occasionally use video. I got a tour of his new house in Cambridge via his Macbook pro. Pretty cool.
Vonage is not cheap at $35/month. But it works fantastic and all the time. As good as a normal land line. |
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