Archive for the ‘The Word on Mobile VoIP’ Category
May 5, 2009
Last week, our friends at mobile carrier 3 - purveyors of the Skype-enabled X-Series handset line and needs-no-introduction 3 Skypephone - announced their newest plan to mobilize the Skype Nation. They’ve opened up their network to allow all 3 customers with a compatible 3 handset to make unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls - for free.
The official decree from 3:
“From 1 May, there will be no data charges or top-up fees for either contract or pay-as-you-go customers who use Skype on 3’s network. Anyone with a 3 handset will be able to buy a 3 SIM with Skype enabled and talk as much as they want to other Skype users without ever having to pay another penny.”
This is what we like to think of as a win-win (and, well…-win ) situation: 3 customers can bask in the veritable free calling bonanza, Skype’s user base will fatten-up, and 3 should lure some new users onto their network as well (not such a bad thing for 3’s revenue-sharing partners either!)
VentureBeat posted a piece last week which credited 3 UK as reporting that Skype pre-pay users give the operator 20% higher margins than ordinary pre-pay users, and that the Skype offering is driving user uptake, with 79% of all of 3’s Skype users new to the network.
VentureBeat speculates that “[t]he higher margins may very well boil down to the use of iSkoot, which routes Skype on to the voice circuit-switch rather than the more expensive data network. This, argues the company, makes the service less of a data hog than operators traditionally fear VoIP to be.”
While this blogger doesn’t Skype and tell, I WILL go on the record with this: Skype + circuit switch is, as always, the flag we’re proud to fly.
Posted in: New Things, The Word on Mobile VoIP | 1 Comment
Tags: 3, free calls, Skype
October 6, 2008
Another point scored for iSkoot’s “VoIP via voice” approach to mobile Skype this past weekend! Jim Courtney over at Skype Journal was tinkering with a data channel-based mobile VoIP app for the iPhone on Friday, and in a virtual side-by-side comparison with iSkoot, the result was, well…read for yourself!
“The benchmark in call quality would be my experiences earlier this week where twice, when my home office cable was disconnected due to “cable plant” improvements in my neighborhood, I used iSkoot on the Blackberry Bold to call into SquawkBox via the CalliFlower voice conferencing service over the Rogers 3G network.
Let’s just say in the iSkoot calls, the technology was transparent to the discussion and I could lay the phone on my desk while still actively participating.”
As it should be! In this day and age - mobile Skype shouldn’t be about what you can do, but what you can do well. Thanks–as always–for the positive plug, Jim!
Posted in: The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: iSkoot for Skype, Jim Courtney, Skype Journal, voice vs. data
September 29, 2008
Everyone knows the 3 Skypephone made major waves when it hit stores last November. In it’s subsequent 10 months on the mobile scene, the infamous dedicated Skype handset has enjoyed rave reviews, stellar sales and a Silver Medal nod at the legendary Global Mobile Awards. Now with last month’s launch of the new and improved Skypephone S2, the mobile VoIP handset heard around the world is back in the spotlight, and our friend Frank Meehan, GM and Director of Handsets at 3, is happy to tell the story.
In an interview at the Mobilize conference in SF last week, Frank explained how the 3 Skypephone came together, pointing to iSkoot’s mobile Skype solution as a key ingredient:
“Every carrier (besides us) relies upon big voice and SMS revenues. For us, Hutchinson, every decision is made upon a financial viewpoint. The first breakthrough for the Skypephone was that we found Skype to be a powerful and disruptive technology, but we couldn’t handle the heavy packet load it would put upon our system. Then we came across iSkoot. Which, at the time, was a small company who figured out how to use Skype system and take a Skype call and transfer it over a circuit. With this development, Skype calls become very clear, in fact, we have customers who say calls are clearer on the handset than on a computer.”
iSkoot’s mobile-to-VoIP technology strikes again! Clearer Skype calls than on a PC? Aw, shucks Frank. 
Posted in: 3 Skypephone, The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: 3 Skypephone, Frank Meehan, S2
September 17, 2008
Following iSkoot’s acquisition of Social.IM, Calcalist, the Economy section of the Israeli newspaper Yediot Acharonot visited iSkoot’s Israeli office for an interview with our CEO Mark Jacobstein and David Guedalia, iSkoot’s CTO.
One of the topics they covered in the interview: how iSkoot for Skype’s one-of-a-kind technology sets it apart from other mobile Skype applications. Of course, Mark loves nothing better than an opportunity to defend the iSkoot business model. Here is an excerpt:
Calcalist: Most start-ups nowadays use technology which circumvents the cellular networks to direct their calls- like the Israeli start-up, Fring. What is unique about iSkoot?
Mark: In contrast to the majority of the companies which offer VoIP
service from the cellular phone, iSkoot does not circumvent the cellular networks, but utilizes them. In reality, iSkoot’s Skype conversation begins as a cellular conversation and is directed to the data traffic from there. Cellular service providers do not like VoIP conversations on their network, as it clogs the network, and takes away from their income. I do not think that a company which provides VoIP services will be successful in the long run without working together with the cellular service providers. RIM, the manufacturer of the BlackBerry, is a good example of how this works.
Calcalist: So doesn’t courting the cellular company come at the expense of courting the clients?
Mark: If you work with the cellular company, you will also be able to provide better service for the clients. For instance, Hutchison provides iSkoot for Skype for free (with purchase of the X-Series package or a 3 SkypePhone).
Posted in: Management Team, The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: Cataclist, David Guedalia, Mark Jacobstein, voice vs. data
August 13, 2008
The ball is rolling, people.
While the phenomenon that is “Voice over IP” has been around for ages, it’s really only found a happy home in the non-technophile vernacular in the past 5 or 6 years. Our friends over at Skype put VoIP center stage with the launch of their PC-calling software back in ‘03 - a service so fabulously handy and easy to use that (as of this summer) more than 309 million registered users have gotten on the Skype train worldwide. Michelle Robart, an editor at TMCnet, suspects that even still, the large majority of VoIP usage happens in the hands of businesses and fresh-faced, early adopter types. Indicating as much in her recent piece, “VoIP for Baby Boomers and Generation Y,” Robart endeavors to rally the broadband-compatible 55+ demographic to join in on the fun by offering some essential knowledge around the options for and advantages of a VoIP-ified lifestyle.
And oh, how far the VoIP conversation has come. Where 5 years ago the average reader was liable to identify the word “skype” as a typo, these days the first order of business seems to be “So how do I get this PC-calling goodness on my cell phone?” Michelle Robart is all over that one:
“Use your cell phone to make Skype calls with iSkoot. You can still take advantage of the free or discounted calls with Skype, but you don’t need to be sitting at your computer to make them.”
Truer words… Because let’s face it: You don’t need to be sitting in front of your computer. We’re coming in fast and hard on the days of Web 3.0’s “ubiquitous connectivity” and putting the communication revolution where it really belongs - on mobile.
Posted in: The Word on Mobile VoIP, Uncategorized | No Comments
Tags: iSkoot for Skype, Skype, TMCnet
June 16, 2008
Ah, hardware. You can’t live without it, but nonetheless it seems to have a funny way of deciding all on its own when (and how) it’s going to suicide mission on you.
Eerily, Friday the 13th left more than one case of “learned that one the hard way” in its wake. This iSkoot blogger recently witnessed the watery demise of her BlackBerry Curve in the Barton Springs of Austin, Texas. Last week, Dameon Welch-Abemathy (a.k.a. PhoneBoy) reported the untimely end (in spite of his best attempts at resuscitation) of his MacBook at the Ottowa airport. Jarring as these hardware casualties may be, they do have an interesting way of bringing into sharp relief those Web 2.0 features that are truly indispensable. Case in point: our favorite VoIP service, Skype.
Dameon warns those folks with a serious dependency on PC-based Skype to ready a contingency in case your computer suddenly bites the big one. A handy alternative? iSkoot for Skype of course! Dameon points out that iSkoot for Skype was prepped and ready on his Nokia handsets to save the day when his Macbook met its bitter end. Nice! And an interesting reminder that iSkoot for Skype doesn’t just free you from your PC, it can actually come to the rescue when your PC leaves you in the lurch.
And for those of us who watched an iSkoot-enabled BlackBerry take a fatal dip in Barton Springs? Lucky I work at iSkoot, I was able to sneak a 3 Skypephone out of the office to use for a couple of days. Jealous? 
Posted in: The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: 3 Skypephone, iSkoot for Skype, Phoneboy
May 27, 2008
“While I’ve got you folks on the voice bandwagon, I just have to rave about yet another up-and-comer in the VoIP space: iSkoot.”
Compliments of mobile junkie and general tech enthusiast Mobile Buzz, aka Lilia M, iSkoot enjoyed a great blog write-up a few weeks back. Who doesn’t love an introduction like that?
Lilia and Mark Jacobstein had a chance to catch up recently; and in her post “Free Long Distance Calls from your Phone,” Lilia puts forth her analysis of what we’ve got going here at iSkoot.
“iSkoot’s value prop for the moment is Skype for the mobile phone. Through a downloadable client you can access all of your Skype contacts on your phone, and call or IM with other Skype users whether they’re on a PC or another mobile Skype phone. This is particularly enticing when it comes to making long distance calls.”
Of course, you can’t talk iSkoot value props without prompting discussion about our unique, carrier-friendly approach to mobile VoIP. Lilia comments:
“[U]nlike some of its popular competitors such as JAJAH, iSkoot uses the circuit-switched data network. From the operator’s perspective it also eliminates long distance termination fees due to other operators. At the same time it is a very good way to drive…minutes of use; the argument being that people would rather wait to get home and make a free call on their PC using Skype than pay for a call right when they want to make one.”
And so the official conclusion from Mobile Buzz:
“iSkoot is already doing extremely well. It has successfully launched its client on a number of devices…[and] has already received tons of good press and awards. Plus one thing I am certain of is that iSkoot has many other things cooking.”
We won’t argue with that.
Posted in: The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: Mark Jacobstein, Mobile Buzz
May 16, 2008
When you’re in the business of connecting people with their friends and family all over the world, you’re bound to get the “warm fuzzies” from time to time. The stories from our users are awesome - college students Skypeing home to Japan while strolling around campus in California? It’s a beautiful thing!
But with a mobile VoIP solution that connects users like never before AND jives with the carrier business model, the love doesn’t end there. When interviewed by Monica Alleven of Wireless Week recently, our CEO Mark Jacobstein pointed to our collaborations with Skype and 3 as great examples of how when mobile VoIP is done right, it doesn’t rock the business model boat. In the case of our carrier-friendly, circuit-switch-based iSkoot for Skype solution, our approach is–as Mark puts it–all about “harmonizing.”
In her piece “Calling our Neighbors…In China?” Monica gives a quick breakdown of the carrier appeal of iSkoot’s mobile VoIP solutions:
“The value proposition goes something like this. People aren’t likely to call their friends or family in other countries using their mobile phones because they don’t want high toll charges. Instead, they’re going to wait until both parties are in front of their PCs and use something like Skype. But if you add iSkoot to the equation, the mobile operator can offer cheap international calling and capture minutes that otherwise wouldn’t get used.”
And that’s just the beginning. Pointing to our deployment with 3, Mark reminds that calls via the Skype/iSkoot application don’t involve any termination fees either, which are “traditionally the big concern for mobile operators after network buildout and payroll.”
In 3’s case, they decided to take this feather-in-cap and run with it, offering 3 Skypephone users those Skype-to-Skype calls for FREE. Thanks to iSkoot’s carrier-friendly architecture, that’s a pretty appealing customer acquisition tool right there.
And from the look of global 3 Skypephone sales to date, we’d say a lot of new people are feeling the love.
Posted in: 3 Skypephone, Management Team, The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: 3 Skypephone, iSkoot for Skype, Mark Jacobstein, Wireless Week
May 9, 2008
Jahangir Raina over at iLocus nabbed a few minutes with Mark Jacobstein last week to discuss the nuts and bolts of the business model behind our carrier-deployed mobile VoIP solutions. You can check out the full Q & A here.
In the meantime, we’ve got a few of the finer points of the conversation right here!
On why iSkoot’s low-cost international calling solution is a friend, not a foe, to the operator, Mark comments:
“For Skype-to-Skype calls what the operators have determined is that we are not cannibalising their business. In fact we are adding to their business because if I am on Skype and my friend in Hong Kong is on Skype, I was not going to call that person for two dollars a minute anyway. I would have waited to Skype them over PC and completely cut out the operator. So by putting Skype on mobile phone at least the operator is able to use up the free minutes. With SkypeOut which involves calls to a non-Skype user, you probably had no choice but to call with very expensive ILD rates. So some of the operators prefer not to turn SkypeOut on. At least not at first. They are however realistic about the ILD rates substantially reducing over time with the calling cards and callback and Skype etc. At some point therefore they will also turn on SkypeOut.”
On the technical challenges facing mass implementation of mobile VoIP:
“A couple years back people thought that mobile VoIP is as simple as putting a client on mobile phone just like putting it on PC. 3g had good enough speeds on paper. Had that turned out to be true, iSkoot would not exist. I think the idea of using circuit switched network thought of by our founders was brilliant.”
And on the effect and reception of iSkoot-powered mobile products from multinational operator 3:
“iSkoot-led service is not only available on Skypephone, but the capability is preloaded on every single H3G phone that is being sold now. Skypephone is to H3G what iPhone is to AT&T.“
Posted in: Management Team, The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: 3 Skypephone, iLocus, Jahangir Raina, Mark Jacobstein, voice vs. data
April 24, 2008
CNN.com’s technology journalist Cherise Fong highlighted iSkoot today in a piece called “The Revolution Will Be Mobilized,” which looks at the myriad of ways that friends and family stay connected on their PCs, and what’s being done on the scene today to transfer that connectivity to the mobile world.
Cherise points out that when it comes to Voice over IP, “it’s clear today that Skype itself is the big winner in the VoIP game.”
Cherise noted that:
“Most recently, iSkoot has extended its partnership with Skype, following its collaboration with mobile operator 3 for the global launch of the 3 Skypephone in October 2007, which was the first mass-market Skype-enabled handset as a carrier-integrated solution for mobile-VoIP IM services.“
That new partnership is geared up for us to deliver more cool new products like the 3 Skypephone to more more places than ever in the coming year. Mobile revolution, here we come!
Posted in: 3 Skypephone, The Word on Mobile VoIP | No Comments
Tags: 3 Skypephone, agreement, CNN.com, Skype
