Imagine going on an extended business trip out of the country and having to keep in touch with all your interests back home. I am sure that one big concern of yours right now is just how much it would cost you to make all those overseas telephone calls. True enough, you can write them off as business expenses yet hundreds or dollars – or even thousands – is something that you just wouldn’t want to spend on phone calls, would you?

Well let me share an experience that I had several months back. I went to Curacao on business – I have several offshore interests there – and I ended up staying a little bit longer than I intended. Fortunately for me, I had my Skype WiFi handset with me. I had to make countless phone calls to different parts of the world and guess how much it cost me to do so? For most of the phone calls, it was less than a dollar per minute! So how did this happen?

For those who are not familiar with Skype, it is a computer application much like Yahoo Messenger and its other messaging cousins. Skype makes use of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) to allow its users to make calls to any phone (land based or cellular) from the computer. Because of the technology involved, the costs associated even with long distance calls are lessened to a very affordable amount.

Taking things one step further, Skype ventured into actual handsets, which are similar to cellular phones. The big difference is that these phones operate on WiFi. As such, you can enjoy the benefits of Skype calls wherever you go, as long as there is a WiFi signal.

For the benefit of those who are not very familiar with WiFi, it is a technology used to refer to any wireless operations using the 802.11 network. To avoid being too technical, it simply means being able to communicate wirelessly through this network. WiFi is being used widely all over the world and anyone with a WiFi enabled device can connect as long as there is a signal in the vicinity.
[Read more →]

Google has bought GrandCentral Communications, a fledgling Internet firm that gives people telephone numbers that essentially follow them where ever they go.

Google did not disclose how much it paid for the Silicon Valley start-up but said the technology will give users of the popular Internet firm’s services another way to communicate.

“We think GrandCentral’s technology fits well into Google’s efforts to provide services that enhance the collaborative exchange of information between our users,” product manager Wesley Chan said in a posting on Google’s website.
[Read more →]

Skype, the leading Internet communications company, today announced that Toshiba’s Digital Products Division will market the Skype™ Internet communication software on the company’s notebook computers, including the Satellite®, Tecra®, Portégé® and Qosmio® product lines. These new Toshiba notebooks featuring Skype will be available starting June 26, 2007 through both retail and online channels in the U.S., including Toshiba’s online store (www.toshibadirect.com).

The addition of Skype on select Toshiba notebook computers with built-in webcams and microphones creates an all-in-one internet communications solution for customers. Initially, Toshiba notebooks featuring webcams will include select configurations of the Satellite A215, Satellite X205, Tecra M8 and Qosmio F45 series. Customers will be able to see the branded offering with a Skype logo found adjacent to the units’ built-in webcam. In addition, customers will be able to access a Skype icon available on the desktop to quickly and easily download the latest Skype client software from a co-branded Skype and Toshiba landing page.
[Read more →]