Who's Using Skype?

Johnny Angell · 05-17-2007, 11:03 AM

I'm currently on Vonage and not very happy with it. In the past month there's been a couple of service outages and then there's the issue of whether they'll be around much longer.

I've been looking at Skype, but I don't want to have to use my PC or even have it on. I know there are phones that work with Skype. Linksys has some wifi phones which don't require your pc to be on.

After looking at their product offerings, I'm still a bit confused. It looks like I have to have SkypeIn to receive phone calls and SkypeOut to make them. Do I have that right? Even after buying the two products, its a lot cheaper than Vonage.

Do we have any satisfied/disgruntled users of Skype? Anyone using it as their only phone? How is Skype's voicemail? Anyone using SKype with a wifi phone?

PhillJones · 05-18-2007, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Angell

I'm currently on Vonage and not very happy with it. In the past month there's been a couple of service outages and then there's the issue of whether they'll be around much longer.

I've been looking at Skype, but I don't want to have to use my PC or even have it on. I know there are phones that work with Skype. Linksys has some wifi phones which don't require your pc to be on.

After looking at their product offerings, I'm still a bit confused. It looks like I have to have SkypeIn to receive phone calls and SkypeOut to make them. Do I have that right? Even after buying the two products, its a lot cheaper than Vonage.

Do we have any satisfied/disgruntled users of Skype? Anyone using it as their only phone? How is Skype's voicemail? Anyone using SKype with a wifi phone?

I have it for making video calls to my parents in England or to talk to my wife and 7 month old while I'm at work.

I'm satisfied with it because it's free since I use PC to PC only. I wouldn't use it as my only phone though. Despite the fact that I'm on an Institutional high speed super-duper connection and my home is on Comcast cable which is the fastest provider available to us, there is still a lot of drop outs and garbling of calls, especially with video.

Maybe if I used it voice only it'd be more reliable.

Quincy · 05-23-2007, 07:23 PM

I paid Skype's 29.99 fee or something like that for a 1 year unlimited pc to phone service. I have been using it for all of my long distance since I have DSL and cant see paying a phone bill and getting VOIP. It works ok, its probably as good as my cellphone service in my area. I don't know if they still have that deal for a whole year but I think its worth it.

SethH · 05-24-2007, 04:44 AM

No personal experience with Skype -- but I use a more "traditional" VoIP service called ViaTalk. I've been very pleased so far . . . no complaints at all really. It's cheaper than Vonage, but more expensive than Skype. If by some chance you decide you're interested in ViaTalk PM me and I'll send you a referral.

Adam Lenhardt · 05-24-2007, 11:10 AM

I've also only done PC to PC, but everytime I've used a broadband connection I've had no complaints. At least as good a decent cell phone reception.

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LanceJ · 05-24-2007, 01:08 PM

Don't all these VoIP systems crap out when there is a power failure? So I guess a UPS would be good to have?

Also, has the 911 issue been fixed yet, or do some areas still not offer that service for VoIP?

SethH · 05-24-2007, 04:58 PM

I don't believe there is a solution for 911 with Skype. 911 with VoIP systems that are similar to Vonage works in most locations, but there are still some areas not equipped for it.

Also, yes they will crap out when there is a power failure, so a UPS is a good idea. However, when you really think about it, very few people own a "corded" phone anymore and all cordless phones will crap out when the power is out as well.

Andrew Pratt · 05-24-2007, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Also, yes they will crap out when there is a power failure, so a UPS is a good idea. However, when you really think about it, very few people own a "corded" phone anymore and all cordless phones will crap out when the power is out as well.

That's one reason I still keep a corded phone plugged in...though we seldom use it to dial out on since the cordless models all have the address book stored on them.

I use the PC to PC skype to talk to my sister that lives across the country. We have unlimited long distance on our regular line to anywhere in North America but its nice to use the video functions of Skype/iChat.

Kyle McKnight · 05-24-2007, 10:03 PM

I'm not really shocked that many people who have a landline don't keep a corded phone stored away, but we do. If you have a landline, why wouldn't you?