Since its inception the secret sauce that results in the excellent voice quality of Skype-to-Skype calls and facilitates quality in Skype-to/from_SkypeIn/Out calls has been the Voice Engine for PC and Voice Engine for (Windows) Mobile licensed by Skype from Global  IP Sound (often referred to as "GIPS"). Monday came the announcement that Skype has licensed a second player for voice engine software in embedded, PC-free consumer devices, namely, Trinity Convergence. Trinity's VeriCall Edge^TM software  brings their many years of silicon-device independent software development into the Skype stand-alone PC-free device space.

The agreement benefits hardware manufacturers by providing a software bundle that allows them to efficiently and cost-effectively design Internet calling and the Skype user experience into devices such as wired phones, WiFi phones and multi-function personal communication devices. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) will leverage the software bundle to shorten product development cycles and accelerate their time-to-market.

The first device to employ Trinity Convergence's software will be the forthcoming Sony Mylo which should be available later this month. Additional devices under development include a Skype phone from Universal Scientific Industrial, a Taipei-based ODM (prototype in the photo) and a currently anonymous dual mode WiFi-GSM phone.

continue reading.....

The secret sauce used by Skype that results in the excellent voice quality of Skype-to-Skype calls and facilitates quality in Skype-to-SkypeIn/Out calls is the Voice Engine for PC and Voice Engine for (Windows) Mobile licensed by Skype from Global IP Sound ("GIPS"). Combining codecs, echo cancellation technology and other voice and packet management features the various GIPS Voice Engines eliminate or minimize the impact of inherent (wired or WiFi) network problems and deficiencies introduced by factors such as delay, jitter, packet loss, clock-drift, acoustic and network echo.

In a press release last Monday, Global IP Sound announced the extension of this relationship to include Skype's licensing of Voice Engine for Embedded such that the GIPS features and technology can be deployed in voice-enabled hardware devices. In an interview with Wendy Toth, VP Marketing, and Dr. Jan Linden, VP Engineering at GIPS, we learned:

• This agreement will permit the incorporation of GIPS Voice Engine technology into future WiFi phone offerings. (It is not included in the recently released WiFi phones announce last month.)
• It would facilitate the offering of a Skype for Symbian phones (such as Nokia's N-Series) although no such client has yet been announced by Skype.
• In July Skype/eBay and GIPS resolved the patent dispute that Skype effectively assumed upon Skype's acquisition of Sonorit and Camano Networks.

continue reading.....

The VoIPWiki Blog reports a Chinese firm reverse engineered Skype's communications protocol. It allows Skype-to-compatible softphone calls.This is credible; I've talked with a member of the team that built a Skype-compatible softphone. They hope to go public by month end. We're eager to discover if they will publish the protocols, offer Skype-compatible consumer software, offer Skype-compatible engineering products to other developers, sell their firm to a bigger company, or simply offer consulting services.

I've also used a demo version of software that crawls the Skype cloud, downloading profile data. From another group. This is not "the Skype database" but the natural white-page listing that all users put in their public profile. Skype's servers, and the financial data kept there, are not touched by this system. Screenshots:

Both systems build on detailed knowledge of Skype network parts not on Skype's servers.To build a Skype-compatible client, they had to figure out:

• how to see and navigate through the Skype cloud, to find a Skype client.
• publish their own client's profile into the Skype cloud, so a Skype client could find them
• negotiate starting the call session, including encryption and

Publishing the Skype calling protocol would create new opportunities for products and developers:

1. Third parties can build Skype connectivity into their own software, no longer requiring an official Skype client.
2. It may open up creation of Skype-compatible server software. So your salesforce system could IM you.
3. It could open up Skype to PBX integration. So you might preserve Skype identity, authentication, encryption, and presence while routed through an Asterisk server.

The profile probe is a slightly different issue. In this case, software that mines the Skype cloud for profile data is working with "dirty data." The collection is unverified, often clearly faked (an unbelievable number of people live in Antarctica), old, and incomplete. It does have some gems. Correction: The cloud has email addresses, hidden in the Skype user interface but used to locate friends. The cloud has email addresses, but they are hashed and not human readable. 

I'm not sitting at the management table, but Skype has several choices.

Open. They're already on the path to opening up more of their apps at the API level. Skype could embrace this at the protocol level too. This is the hardest thing to do, but may pay off in the long run. Exposing these protocols is the only way for the Skype network to become an industry standard. And it would put Skype in a position of leadership the way Microsoft is for dot net, Sun is for Java, and Adobe is for Flash.

Switch. Skype could change the protocols, breaking the new software. This is a costly and temporary solution; tricky but doable. Replacing Skype clients for updates is hard enough; getting everyone to migrate could kill the brand love. It won't be long until the Chinese engineers figure out how to get in again.

Quash. Skype might try to blow out the startup's fire. eBay has a powerful combination of PR, lobbyists, litigators, and business allies. Even in China. Skype could try to accuse the startup of piracy. My guess is Skype will tread litely. These tactics rarely work in China and often tarnish the reputation of the outsider applying the pressure.

Ignore. Skype has enough to do. Wait and see.

Invest. Buy the team, put them to work. 

Jim Courtney says technology does not a brand make. It takes quality control, aesthetics, user experience, customer services, an ecosystem of ancillary products, and integration with other systems. Skype's and eBay's marketing are a higher barrier to entry than technology.

Skype personnel were not available for comment. Hat tips to 9Skype, Jan Geirnaert in Malaysia and Lee Dryburgh in Austria.

Technorati Tags: skype, ebay, skypejournal, security, privacy, compatibility, ecosystem

Skype buys talent, a little digital signal processing intellectual property, and maybe a way to differentiate themselves from or bargain with Global IP Sound.

"The company was founded on the vision that through the application of its advanced signal processing expertise, voice communications in the next generation mobile internet could be richer and more natural sounding than any telecommunications experience available today."

– About Jonathan Christensen, Camino Networks President and CEO on the Sweetwater Partners web site

Global IP Sound sued Sonorit and Camino in December 2005 alleging violation of GIPS trade secrets, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair competition. A Skype representative said the parties were in mediation so this remains an open issue.

The news release follows...

continue reading.....

Here's three Skype products that aim to enhance your Skypeing experience that leaves me questioning exactly what I'm buying with Skype Certified. The three products are the VoSky Chatterbox, Jawbone Headset and the Motorola Wireless Interenet Calling Kit. Each provide a different angle on bettering the standard Skyper's headset and as you might expect each has their pro's and con's.

VoSky Chatterbox.

This simple USB device provides an easily portable plug and play speakerphone for Skype. It's simple to use and requires no additional software to be loaded. It has a volume and mute button on top and works probably as expected, as a low cost speakerphone. I'd liken it to the solution we had as kids when we could finally plug in a speakerphone box between the old phone and the whole family sat around. In principle great, in practice it left something to be desired. The Chatterbox is a little like this. It works. It's also no substitute for a decent headset. The caller on the other end of the line will know and possibly complain. Handsfree solutions curently work better with a good set of speakers and a proper stand mic. Locate them correctly and the caller won't get a any feedback. Many laptops work as good as the Chatterbox. If you feel the need try it. Just don't expect it to be a Polycom and ready for the office. For kids it may be more robust than a headset - read youngsters talking to Grandma.

continue reading.....

My parents are kleptomaniacs. Just don’t tell them I told you. The garden shed is bursting with stuff. The loft is full of old boxes. The shelves teem with ornaments. (eBay will have a good fiscal quarter the sad day they shuffle off this mortal coil.) And the drawers under the bed are stuffed with toys from our childhood.

Which turns out to be quite useful when you yourself have kids and an endless supply of goodies starts to emerge for free from Nana and Grandad. I’ve been reading this picture book to my older daughter, where a little boy hunts around for his lost pet froggie.

Very cute.

Speaking of which, I think we all know of a very cute voice application that’s currently hiding behind a log and looking a bit lost. Whatever happened to Skype’s mojo? Why wasn’t Skype 2.0’s arrival a case for dancing in the streets?

I can forgive the ringing noise being replaced by an extract from the opera Ode to a Kathmandu Stomach Upset. (Believe me, the full work is quite an experience. I’ve been there.) As a customer, I’m not too fussed whether video is a plug-in or comes out of the box. Tweaks in colour schemes and icons don’t impress me. (I’m male. It’s the way we are. I think my mum is still hoping I’ll notice when they’ve redecorated without having to prompt me first.)

No, what’s important is this. Make it work. And make it easy.

Let’s take the former one first. I bought a Plantronics DSP-400 USB headset a while back. It came “Skype certified” together with a small SkypeOut credit. I’m still happy with it. But it’s also very annoying to use. Because I like to listen to music from my laptop with real, quality headphones. Sometimes I unplug the headset when I move my laptop about, or want to use it on another PC, and Windows takes note and resets my audio devices to point to the built-in stuff. No matter how often I set my preferences in Skype to “Plantronics headset”, it keeps being turned back to Windows default each time I unplug. This is, needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), not a good experience.

continue reading.....

In all the talk about Google Talk many missed Microsoft's release of MSN 7.5.

Net net, the new MS MSN 7.5 is impressive at least under the hood. It is like an old car that has been hotrodded with a new motor and at the same time they've upgraded the suspension without fixing the seats or interior. However they did stick in the new boombox. The control interfaces remain so yesteryear. Still it now kicks ass in the Voice - audio quality - and Video - department. Here it is very impressive. So real improvements and radical upgrades are under the hood. Even Leah contrasts usability with Google Talk, where she writes "I will improve my usability. Maybe your straightforward interface will bring people into the IM markets who have been intimidated out of it by the more complex clients."

Effectively we now have a defacto audio standard emerging with GIPS codec driven clients (Skype, MSN, GoogleTalk, Gizmo etc.)perhaps tuned differently, while anything else remains inferior. Even so none of these conversation clients talk to each other yet.

Thus MS now has a platform in place to build on. The next generation will be very competitive. It will need to get off the PC to be really exciting. It's also limited to Windows XP at this time. Where is that multi-platform?

So why am I not that excited?

continue reading.....

Could the real winner turn out to be GIPS (Global IP sound). The stream of announcements they have strung up since Skype launched becomes more important by the day.

“Microsoft’s adoption of GIPS technology for MSN and RTC is a major validation of our solutions and their ability to provide the best possible voice quality over the Internet,” said Gary P. Hermansen, President and CEO of GIPS. “There are over 200 million downloads of our software currently in market today, and the addition of Microsoft users further enforces our leadership as a provider of high quality VoIP software.” Global IP Sound

Joins a stream of recent wins.

“The Company continues to show solid growth performance with 13 new OEM license agreements that include Avcon, V2Tech, Netease, BICOM, Finarea, Ecton, Talk Free, Pingtel, nanoCom, Santa Cruz Networks and three Tier 1 Internet Service Providers. Global IP Sound