Archive for the ‘Skype’ Category

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VON Mission Impossible

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

I have not paid much attention to whatever is going on with VON after Jeff Pulver separated ways. There was always some understandable tension with institutional participants (bill-paying power) and revolutionaries. Now I see the revolution is over at VON. There is more evidence of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic than any embrace of what the IP revolution is about where it meets telephony . I clicked on an email link to an article pretending that so-called pure play VoIP is no threat to carriers. I was forced to click to see what this could possibly be about.

Apparently MagicJack, Skype, et. al. have not much to do with real people talking to each other. Every argument has some position that makes it rational, but you have to stretch a bit to find such position that is not crumbling under foot. I choked when I read the analyst quote, “What [the pure plays] offer is not a replacement for full residential phone service.” I wonder who pays for that kind of analysis? OK, I don’t really.

Now I am a customer so one might call me a hypocrite. I have AT&T U-verse, mostly to dump Comcast cable. It is my vote for the future. I do get to keep my legacy phone number as part of the bundle and I am forced to have unlimited national calling. If you like a good laugh you can look up my listed legacy number and call. I won’t answer. That is really a great product. One I really do not need.

So-called full residential service is a dinosaur, a buggy whip. How can I say this? I think I blogged about this recently even. We are not living in an interrupt based telephone call culture. Has anyone at phone carriers noticed this? Anyone know how many calls end in conversation? Anyone see the trend over the last X years? For years the carriers did well with widows’ investments. Maybe they can still eek out some phone traffic from the same widows. The only thing AT&T can be “proud of” is that I appear to be paying for my legacy phone. IF they gave me some option to only send voice mail to an online account, that would be just fine, and not for long. Almost no one calls me or anyone on my 30 year old legacy phone number. Hello?– this is not value. It is not a good product. It is an accident of history. Keep rearranging those deck chairs, but I think you will notice your feet getting wet.

Posted in NextGen Telephony, Skype, Tech Life, Telephony, VoIP | 3,693 Comments »

Tripping on Telephony at CES

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Most telephony new products are about mobile, but I pay almost no attention to every kind of accessory or feature for your mobile phone. No need to hear from me since the mobile mainstream is covered in many places—see Palm in the news. I still use a Palm IIIc (occasionally) and liked the work they did on the human interface, so I hope the new phone is as good as claimed. We know the mobile world needs plenty of advances in that category. Read about it elsewhere.

Of course, VoIP is on my view screen, but there is not much new to report. Try as you might, I don’t think there was a Skype phone anywhere except under the counter, which was a trend started last year. By changing management frequently no one can be responsible for where there should be embarrassment and concern at Skype. Partners are long ago lost in the dust bin. At least they did have a press conference promising new directions and an evening party. It’s good being king. I hope it works out.

The two VoIP consumer plays at CES live in a space I can’t quite imagine. Both Ooma and MagicJack have product and company strengths that defy logic and economics. Ooma has a pending DECT phone with features that I conceived of years ago, then as an open platform. Maybe someday that could happen, but no matter what evolution comes to pass I see a huge money pit that will be difficult to escape from. Too little too late, but they still look cool.

MagicJack has pulled off a significant integration of technology and network, but I don’t see where a business model based on upgrade revenue can work well. The first premise of selling to the most cost-sensitive users and then selling upgrades seems a contradiction. At least Ooma requires an entry fee that establishes some financial commitment. The greater fool theory of investment requires an environment of “irrational exuberance,” which seems quite unlikely in the foreseeable future for both of these companies.

Packet 8 was there representing the mainstream of VoIP, but like many exhibitors had plenty of time to talk to anyone who ventured by. A few other vendors were in evidence with small/medium office contributions. I did not recall seeing the Teligent phone system (by CSI Design) before. It looks like another in a long line of interesting products, but with no means to penetrate the small business market.

The one telephony play of interest was Newber. There have been various alternate or virtual phone number plays in the past and I think it remains a good area for innovation. Newber allows you to use a virtual number to control separate business and personal calls on a single mobile phone– now on iPhone. A fairly simple concept that should have many users, especially if it can work without subscribing to their more comprehensive VoIP hosted solutions.. It also has a location aware function so that calls can be auto-routed to the phone you are near. Pretty cool.

The most under-exploited telephone capability is text messaging. Unfortunately it is mostly locked up in proprietary islands and costly use cases. Cherple looks to have broken through this land of silos. Especially attractive is the consumer solution that allows text messages to be originated on the Internet and sentwithout cost to any US phone. Phones can respond, subject to the user’s text plan cost. This would be a winner in any market where it is possible. I see a big upside for this venture.

Posted in Skype, Tech Life, Telephony, VoIP | 791 Comments »

Who Would Call Voxox Another Skype Killer?

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Of course, we like such phrases to capture mind share and claim a market position. I certainly hope that it was not PR activity from Voxox that planted the idea of being a Skype killer. With such praise I fell for downloading yet another voice/comm/VoIP client. I don’t know why. Consider that I did it to save you the trouble.

I did not get far and I am going no further. You may appropriately read between the lines. I have many years experience in the land of product design and technology products. Design is to my way of thinking central to whatever your market objective may be. I had to look at the GUI presented which could be called confusing, but I thought I would attempt the most simple action to call a phone number. It seemed a pretty simple first act. It required no other person to download and decode the interface. Simply make a phone call and proceed from there. I don’t know how many of the multitude of claimed capabilities I might have explored, but the result of attempting to dial a phone number revealed all I needed to know. This is not a beta product. It seems to be more an alpha headed toward its omega.

I entered a phone number to dial and got the following error message. “Please hold all the phone calls before to place a new one.” End of test. Some coder has an idea what event may have triggered such a message. I am certain something is wrong. I really don’t care what it is. During development all kind of error codes may be used to indicate events and trap behavior. If you expect a user to have any role in evolving a product, I would suggest one of two messages. 1. – a cryptic code that would require an inquiry or look up for possible meaning. (Microsoft has mastered this technique) Or 2. – an actual message express in words that would tell a user what has occurred. A cryptic message that masquerades as useful information only shows contempt for users. Please to hold all comments that claim reviewer mistake of code interpret. Advise to uninstall before to use again.

P.S. I might have guessed. After “uninstalling” and restarting Voxox continues to haunt. I will have to take extra steps to have an exorcism for my PC. This is definitely alpha to omega.

Posted in NextGen Telephony, Product, Skype, VoIP | 660 Comments »

3 Monkeys Live for 5 Months

Monday, October 13th, 2008

I really need to thank Skype Journal for keeping me up to date on breaking news from Skype. I did have to comment on 3 Monkeys hired just five months ago to handle Skype PR, and now to discover they have run their course already. I can imagine the monkeys messing some hairdos and that was the end for them.

So the monkeys depart and now we have Text 100. I guess a hundred text messages trumps three monkeys. I really know nothing about Text 100, but that has never stopped any blogger before. Based on the website I would say they are a cure for insomnia. I hope it is more than that, but it seems more inline with what eBay has done with Skype, and I am still searching to put a finger on exactly what that is.

I did not notice any 3 monkey innovations in the last 5 months but I could have missed that. I am always prepared to be surprised but I am not sure how 100 text messages will do much to change the ongoing very corporate search for innovation. That is an oxymoron for those not reading between the lines.

Posted in Skype, VoIP | 474 Comments »

I Come to Praise Skype and Not to Bury It

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

Depending on how you read many of my posts I may seem to be trolling for Skype weaknesses to highlight. Today let me at least praise the keynote presented by Skype’s Jonathon Christensen at the Internet Telephony Conference this week. These industry conferences are not known for too many real edgy positions and controversy, but the title of “VoIP is Dead” for his talk certainly was a wake-up.

Since Skype never liked to use VoIP as a descriptor of their services, declaring VoIP dead may have been some semantic trick to make a point. It was not a ruse. For those entrenched in the world of telephony it was direct message to contemplate beyond your belly button, so to speak. This message in one form or another has been delivered for over ten years, but this was a good summary of what is right in front of our faces.

I do want to take this moment to specifically praise Skype because I have often felt there was a lack of appreciation for the marketplace where they are a key participant. I am pleased to see an acknowledgment, specifically from a post-eBay Skype that there is some vision about the overall environment. Now I would be impressed to see an organization energized by this market recognition. You can see the talk summary at the TMCnet website.

Posted in NextGen Telephony, Skype, Telephony, VoIP | 264 Comments »

What’s Up with Skype’s Market (or Marketing)

Monday, July 21st, 2008

It is not a good sign that I am too busy to comment about Skype and the EBay quarterly report. I don’t watch closely but Skype Journal is a great reminder of these events. Skype should be concerned that I am spending time with Facebook instead of Skype. Of course they might not care what I personally am doing but the numbers of developers and applications on Facebook speak for themselves. Skype should be asking if there is a lesson here. There is.

First developers do not need to pay the platform and find a place among favorite sons and big money. While there are always going to be some advantages to dominant participants, Facebook offers a remarkably level playing field. The platform benefits from developer applications and innovation beyond the platform itself. Skype does have the most versatile telephony platform. In my view they barely appreciate it. It is not exploited as well as it could be. Users certainly have little visibility into the benefits of such. (Compare to Facebook where users rule.)

And here is a real fundamental that is missed as far as I can tell. I think the biggest general malaise around Skype is staring us all in the face. I can barely figure out Skype. Now how can an average user approaching Skype know what benefits may accrue, if it is so complicated and obscure that I can’t even explain it easily to such a user? The Skype Journal posting by Jim Courtney correctly wonders, what is the rate of acquiring real users? Why are so many coming but not staying? Duh. Do you suppose something is lost in the translation and users don’t want to spend hours trying to figure how it can help?

For some reason the Skype website (they aren’t the only one) does not want to clearly express all the various user benefits. You have to probe and probe, go to sign-up pages and present various alternatives to see what you might discover. They make a phone company look straightforward. Names of initiatives change, get modified and restructured so that if you knew what something was last year, it’s not quite the same now. I get the best insight on explanations that come periodically on Skype Journal. If Skype Journal has to explain what Skype features are offered this is a very sad state of affairs.

The Skype value proposition is dependent on where you are in the world. Maybe they don’t want that so visible, but so what. If a new visitor cannot figure out what possible value may be delivered to them, or to their friends and family elsewhere, the user moves on. If the unique capabilities of the Skype platform are not exploited, it degrades into just another IP voice option from a visitors view. I think Skype remains largely dependent on word of mouth for one user to introduce others. In the beginning that was very useful. Check the calendar, it’s 2008.

Posted in Skype, Social Networking, Telephony, VoIP | 24 Comments »

How Many Monkeys Does It Take?

Monday, June 9th, 2008

I had to chuckle when I first read on Skype Journal that 3 Monkeys were going to do press work for Skype. That may be a clever name for a firm– even I am not sure about that, but when one could ask how many monkeys has Skype had working on PR and marketing in general it ceases to be too funny.

While Skype has been largely wildly successful and a great business story, it is hard to complain much. There is a lot more to Skype’s “problems” than PR. (“Problems” meaning ones that many would love to have!) It may be that 3 monkeys can help get the word out, whatever it is, but that is more the issue.

What is the strategic vision at Skype? Most have gotten tired of thinking that it may come from eBay, but it must come before the tank is too close to empty. It is a difficult problem in my view. This is a paradigm shift, but has to keep connecting with the old paradigm of telephone service. So now users and Skype think it is some phone service, but what is it?

My view is that Skype very quickly got confused about being a phone service or what it was. First the use of VoIP was verboten, yet it was built completely on VoIP. Fair enough because VoIP was such a confusing moniker in the marketplace. It is not a phone service because then 911/emergency services become an issue. In the meantime alternately partnering or terrorizing phone providers in various markets seems like a phone competitor. And in the end are users who are still thinking of phone service as they know it.

I think it will take more than 3 Monkeys or any number of monkeys to figure this out. Paradigm shifting is exciting and non-trivial. Embracing the old helps the transition. Yet if you partner with the walking dead, where will you be? We knew the Internet would change everything, but no one provided directions.

Posted in NextGen Telephony, Skype, Tech Life, VoIP | 91 Comments »

Skoogle?

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008

Connecting Skype and Google has been an ongoing game for a couple of years. It is a good story that can fuel all kinds of speculation. Since the acquisition eBay has generally appeared more confused than delighted by Skype. Constantly looking to some future objective has been tiring no matter what you might be waiting for.

Now we have another eBay initiative to do … what exactly? I thought the recent Oprah relationship was the most aggressive we have seen from eBay. If eBay is getting the act together and believes that they can extract the promised value out of Skype, there may be no reason to cash out. My concern has been that they keep looking inside eBay for answers and have not demonstrated any strategy of driving the segment leadership that Skype established.

Skype is in a great market position. Who can maximize that value? EBay has lost our confidence, but can still make the acquisition payoff. If they are doubting, I hope this is more than a rumor. Unfulfilled expectations don’t serve the substantial community that is ready for continuing leadership and innovation. Someone stand-up and deliver.

Added April 3: Where’s the buzz? Skype Journal, including history. ZDNet. And on the financial front.

Posted in Skype | 261 Comments »

Wow, A Skype Marketing Initiative

Monday, March 3rd, 2008

I have been distracted and not blogging, but I was shocked into saying something. Surprised is the least I could say when seeing an email today from Skype inviting me to an Oprah webcast. Apparently joining Chevrolet as a sponsor, we now might have Skype, apple pie and Chevrolet. Ok, maybe not. As I said I was shocked. Not sure whose kudo this is. I spent more time on Oprah’s website than ever (I have no recollection of ever seeing it before). I doubt that was the goal, but it is a start.

It is arguable for sure, but other than the WalMart deal, I don’t recall anything this visible that Skype has done (Maybe Radio Shack was OK to start– sort of). I can’t imagine this has any direct connection with a new CEO, but not a bad move to take some credit for. It will be great to watch for the impact this may have. As we all look at the online-o-meter each day, this may create a noticeable jump. Last year it was painful watching it try to cross 10 million users online at one time, and then this year it jumped to 12 million making us wonder why we thought the meter was stuck. Anyone posting the line on the ride Skype will get?

Jim Courtney at Skype Journal promises to let us know about the overall experience. Thanks for saving us the trouble. And I managed to write this without saying anything about Oprah and the content. I will get the bandages off my tongue soon.

Posted in Skype, Tech Life | 1,178 Comments »

More on CES

Friday, January 18th, 2008

It was like being reborn to see CES from an attendee’s view. And from that view I was determined to enjoy the experience without the concerns of maintaining a booth. In the VoIP realm overall it was clear that things have changed from the last couple of years. First Pulver’s VoIP section was missing, but that was just one indicator. In the recent past there have been legions bringing new low VoIP rates and that was not widely evident. The innocence of VoIP is maybe behind us– a good thing.

I have to give credit to Vonage. They may be through the hardest of times which speaks well for having raised a large war chest. Unfortunately that is not so good for those who funded that war chest. This was the first time I have seen an approach to truly deliver house-wide, plug-in-the-wall kind of service. (I don’t see this on website yet?) Vonage, et. al., are great alternative providers, but this approach is a more direct assault on the legacy system. Packet8 and Fonica were the only other classic players of significance to be pitching at the show. Logically, Skype phones should be a category killer but that message is not being delivered. The upstart MagicJack was there and even wrangled space under the USB banner. This is a useful concept but the numbers don’t seem to add up. Certainly they are betting that most will not use the service very much. If you want to make a lot of calls at their expense, go for it while you can.

The traditional telephone handset market is obviously taking a beating along with landline service offers. The one new trend is to include a cell phone docking station (Bluetooth or plug-in) so that mobile and landline can be delivered on a single handset (essentially making the mobile line a second line). Phone Labs showed business versions so your desktop phone can merge mobile and business lines transparently. All that is needed is Skype/VoIP options and everything is integrated.

Probably the most visible technology at CES was Bluetooth. It is very clear it is here—and everywhere. I have generally not been excited about the size of the latest LCD/plasma, but this year I admit to being wowed by the Panasonic 150 inch plasma. The pictures are better than reality. How can that be?

Digitized pen input has seen many variations over the years. I was impressed by a new pen that detects the printed pattern on special paper. The basic idea is not new but this resolution seemed very fine and you could print your own paper—certainly not at the finest resolution but it gives more freedom to the concept. This is from Korea so who knows if you will reach the market.

Starting the day at the “tents” in the parking lot worked well for me. Picking up a hot chocolate or coffee from Yahoo or Target is not a bad start. This is where I discovered the hottest give-away, a Jawbone Bluetooth headset. You had to trade your old headset but getting a really great new one for free was a great surprise. In the same tent was the John Lennon Tour Bus, also with a great gift bag. The bus is a magnificent rolling recording studio. Actually used for professional recordings, the mission is to take the bus to students across the US and make on-the-spot music videos. It is a very impressive non-profit venture.

No question the most impressive presentation at CES was by Intel bringing a BMW Sauber Team Formula 1 to the parking as part of a touring exhibit called Pit Lane Park. I confess to being totally sucked in, stopping by three times. The motorcycle demo by Chris Pfeiffer was amazing. I cover this more on my personal blog.

Posted in Product, Skype, Tech Life, Telephony, VoIP | 18 Comments »

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