Skype is in Verizon Company Stores

Verizon's go-to-market teams had Skype in place last week.

• Employees were oriented. Six months' ago these same employees had never tried Skype. Now they know a few talking points.
• Demo Blackberry and Android phones had Skype installed and easy to find
• Local test accounts with contacts were created for each demo phone
• Information cards for the phones were updated with Skype listed as a feature of each phone (right above Bluetooth!)
• A small Skype sign was with the phones
• The in-store phone selector software now lists Skype as one feature among many.
• Inventory comes with a shortcut to install the latest version of Skype mobile for Verizon, a thin client.

Seven things to improve:

1. Preload the whole Skype client, not just a download link. Conversion rates are much higher with a full preload.
2. International positioning. "Call your family" in Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, Ethiopian and Portuguese (my neighborhood) on store-front posters.
3. Unbury Skype. Show Skype on the first page in the phone selector.
4. Enroll. "What Skype name would you like to use with your new phone?" in the check-out procedure.
5. Top up. Accept payments for Skype credits in the store.
6. Educate. Data sheets and flyers for customers to take, explaining Skype, Skype mobile, Skype To Go, Calling Plans, and how Skype mobile is different from Skype on PCs or iSkype.
7. Front of store posters showing video calling (whoops, not this year)

Great rollout to the company-owned stores. Now to check the reseller channel.

tags: skype, verizon, mobile, usa, smartphones, android, droid, blackberry, retail, news

Call me at +1-510-316-9773, Skype me, follow @skypejournal and @Phil Wolff.
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Unlike death and taxes, mobile Skype is not certain

Vodafone, Orange, O2 and others will have to succumb to the market reality that the Skype offering is a win-win...
— Jim Courtney

Jim, you could be right, but I don't think so.

There's nothing inevitable about Skype having success with other carriers, Nokia or not. Nokia sales are down about 25% from last year and Nokia has negligible share of US markets. That's not a powerful position from which to bargain.

Skype had to sit down with 3 and negotiate terms, but Skype hasn't done much if anything with the other mobile carriers. Unlike 3, Skype@Nokia is a fête accompli, a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. The deal is a smack in the face to carriers who thought they had time to make their own Skype-killers, to wield lobbying power with regulators, to get their iPhone on and sell data plans without cannibalizing voice revenue.

Do you really think a year of 3 making a little coin will be enough to convince ranks of mobile execs to abandon strategies they just spent years and career capital to put in place? Do you really think they are excited about the chance to partner with an auction company that's been sucking the profit out of international calling and undercutting broadband voice pricing?

They are wedded to their value-added projects ("you don’t want to be just a dumb pipe do you?"), and Skype isn't even on the menu.

The opportunity for an upside and the threat if they don't sign on had better be overwhelming for them to risk their jobs, their shareholders' ire, and this quarter's cashflow. Skype's mobile bizdev team has a hard job ahead, and acceptance any time soon is far from certain.

What's Wrong With This Picture, Eh?

The U.S. cell phone industry is asking its customers to only text during the inauguration ceremonies tomorrow. From the New York Times:

The largest cellphone carriers, fearful that a communicative citizenry will overwhelm their networks, have taken the unusual step of asking people to limit their phone calls and to delay sending photos. The carriers are also spending millions of dollars to temporarily and substantially upgrade their networks in Washington.

And the article goes on to request that customers delay sending photographs; they warn of delayed text messages and difficulty getting onto the (mobile) Internet.

But then all weekend I have heard CNN wanting to try out some "new technology" asking that as many of their "viewers" as possible send in photographs of "The Moment". so that they can do a mass (Microsoft) Photosynth montage. Is this a recipe for Atlantic seaboard wireless network meltdown at noon Tuesday (EST or GMT-5)?

James Kendrick talks about his problems in San Francisco with AT&T; I experienced similar problems roaming on AT&T in Las Vegas at CES 2009 and in California back in September. At CES this was resolved only by setting my BlackBerry Bold to use just the "2G" network on the advice of an employee of a company who really would know; that tip resulted in a more stable and reliable operation. For those U.S. friends who want to experience a robust, reliable 3G GSM/HSDPA network, I invite you to move to Canada to be on Rogers. Rates may be a bit higher, but it's always there, robust and reliable, in the advertised regions. Best proof: handling SlingPlayer for BlackBerry when driving along the 401 freeway at 100 km/hour.

Finally, first test of Barack Obama's ability to change the U.S. government bureaucracy? His ability (and his resolve) to keep at least one of his two BlackBerries. And to save embarrassment when he next drops his BlackBerry, I would have to recommend an Otterbox Defender case.

Let's hope Barack's team can sort out the U.S. wireless scene to foster robustness and reliability as well as real innovation once again.

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Skype COO Outlines Skype's Software Guidelines

During our conversations with Skype COO Scott Durschlag last week at CES, Scott outlined Skype' criteria for its software development going forward.

First was the emphasis on "liquid communications" through statements such as "Skype Whenever, Wherever". Just as today you can pick up any PC or mobile platform and find all the Google Tools (Search, Maps, News, Reader, etc.). Skype wants to be on virtually any platform or device.

Pick up a smartphone, find the Skype button. Turn on the TV, find a Skype button, have a conversation. Open a web browser; start a Skype session. All this to complement Skype on the desktop. Today, besides on the desktop, you can find Skype on over 200 mobile phone handsets, several (Sony) mobile devices, Skypephone and Apple TV. But Scott emphasized, this is only the beginning. It will only start to get real when we see Skype on higher profile devices such as the iPhone and BlackBerry or when we start to see Skype seriously back into the hardware device business with vendors such as Philips and iPevo.

Then Scott outlined four benchmark criteria that every implementation of a Skype on any platform or device must meet:

• High call quality
• Simple and easy user interface
• Consideration for battery life
• Security

Last week's hotfix upgrade of Skype for Windows 4 beta 3 included the first implementation of Skype's three year effort to develop the SILK codec, increasing the audio bandwidth to 12 KHz while effectively reducing the Internet bandwidth consumed during a Skype call.

A key reason for Skype's rapid and widespread adoption has been associated with its ease-of-use. Yet Scott says the Skype conversation user experience needs to be even easier to encourage adoption by a broader user base. Developing a more effective user interface has certainly been a focus of the Skype for Windows 4 beta program. At the Skype CES press conference Scott reported that, in a recent survey of users, 88% preferred the new UI to the previous Skype for Windows 3.8. But I'm still wondering if the Skype for Windows team could take a look at Skype for Mac and implement a "drawer" type interface to manage and select the active conversation. For the longer term evolution of Skype clients hopefully Skype also has a look at Dan York's post on Skype's fragmented product strategy.

Battery life on smartphones was a key issue that prevented Truphone, who uses a native VoIP client for calls over WiFi, from launching a native VoIP smartphone client running over 3G networks. Instead they launched Truphone Anywhere that takes advantage of the underlying network 3G GSM voice channel and uses the data channel to set up a call via a server that, in turn, sets up a VoIP client. That voice channel tends to make much less use of the device battery than a constantly compressing/decompressing VoIP client that devours the underlying processor activity. Addressing the battery life issue is a major reason why we see Skype using a similar calling architecture when launching the Skype Lite Java client on over 100 Java-enabled cell phones, including those based on Google Android.

Security is an issue that I'll leave to Dan York and others who are able to cover this issue more knowledgeably and effectively. Suffice it to say that we would expect security to continue to be a feature of all Skype products, including those that use the mobile voice channel for placing calls from mobile phones.

Two take-aways from these statements:

• Fundamentally we should expect Skype, going forward, to be a provider of real time conversation-enabling software on desktop, web, TV and mobile platforms. To use an old telegraphy term: Full Stop! For instance, rather than developing their own social network, we should expect Skype to seek out agreements with other social network service providers, such as the MySpace agreement. Skype is an enabler of real time conversations; it is not in the community building or social networking business. Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, amongst others have already captured that space and done an excellent job at it.
• These benchmarks also provide a basis not only for deciding what product offerings Skype will develop but also when they are in a position to release a product.

The new Skype executive team is finally starting to set some benchmarks and guidelines against which we can not only measure executed performance but also have a better understanding of where Skype wants to go.

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Access Your Skype Contacts via Truphone

Over the past few years we have seen the evolution of several conversation communities, some simply employing instant messaging; others employing both instant messaging and voice. Skype is the primary example with its support of IM, voice and video as well as auxiliary features such as file sharing (and, as announced tonight, basic screen sharing) but we are also seeing these services diffuse into Google, via GTalk's voice and chat capability, MSN Live via Live Messenger, and, in spite of its trying to define who they are, Yahoo.

Truphone is a mobile voice calling service that I have used for a couple of years from a Nokia N95-1; it became critical in a situation I encountered in Germany two years ago. I have liked both the quality of the voice calls as well as the user interface, especially its use of the device's native address book for initiating a call. While they have had some hiccups with their recent product launches, Truphone has become the leader in providing low cost calling from the iPhone while breaking the carrier barrier via Apple's App Store. I will soon be reporting on Truphone Anywhere for BlackBerry. Now, under recently appointed CEO Geraldine Wilson, Truphone is making a move to grow their user base rapidly by leveraging the user bases of other services.

This evening at the MacWorld Showstoppers event Truphone announced an enhanced Truphone for iPhone providing connectivity to these four conversation communities. Supporting both instant messaging and voice conversations, voice calls to, say, Skype contacts are free provided they go over a WiFi connection. Calls to these communities can also be made over a carrier's 3G network, usually at the cost of a local call. In addition Truphone is providing access to Twitter as one additional messaging service accessible via Truphone's iPhone application.

In my interview this evening with new Truphone CEO Geraldine Wilson, she pointed out:

• Using Skype as an example, Truphone's enhancements set up an appropriate Skype client on a Truphone gateway and complete the call to the Skype contact, taking advantage of Skype's peer-to-peer architecture such that there are no resulting termination charges.
• By introducing instant messaging, Truphone is recognizing the key role IM is taking on in IP-based conversations where a conversation may start over a chat session and migrate to a voice session if deemed appropriate.
• Truphone sees the introduction of these enhancements as a key to building the Truphone user community; Truphone generates revenue through offering low cost calling to/from the landline and mobile PSTN network.
• Truphone is looking at adding BlackBerry and Android to their supported platforms for this service over the next few months. Key here are devices that support an application store in order to make user access to these services simple and trivial.
• To avoid high roaming charges it is recommended that Truphone for iPhone be used either over a WiFi connection anywhere worldwide but only over a user's home country 3G carrier.
• These new features go live on next Monday, January 12.

Some outstanding questions:

• Given that the Truphone application needs to be active for conversations, how will this work when other applications are open? Currently if I have Truphone as the open application on my iPhone, I can receive free Truphone calls and my presence will be indicated to other Truphone for iPhone users if I am in their "Favorites" tab. However, if I am in another iPhone application, I cannot receive "free" Truphone calls over WiFi; nor is my presence indicated to others. I look forward to seeing how the enhanced Truphone handles Instant Messaging when Truphone is not the "open" application on the iPhone. This is where BlackBerry's full multi-tasking capability is a major advantage over the iPhone.
• Calling Skype contacts involves providing your SkypeID and password. What security is in place to maintain the confidentiality of this information. What other security aspects are compromised as a result of placing the calls via a connection to a gateway that supports the caller's Skype client.
• What is Skype's reaction to having Truphone siphon off what could otherwise potentially be SkypeOut revenues while leveraging the Skype user base and using the "free" aspect of Skype? We know Skype is working to launch mobile phone applications, probably this week at CES. With iSkoot and the Skypephone on 3's networks, as we learned at last year's eComm 2008 iSkoot presentation, a portion of carrier revenues are shared between Skype and iSkoot.

A major step forward in making low cost calls worldwide, Truphone's moves once again emphasize that WiFi is becoming an ever growing alternative connection option to making wireless calls. At the same time it will be interesting to see how the business model plays out in a world where the cost of voice calling continues to move towards zero.

GigaOm: Truphone Brings Skype to iPhone and iPod Touch

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SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry: Pragmatic Cable, Internet and Wireless Convergence onto a Smartphone

In my early 50's youth when I was delivering afternoon newspapers in somewhat remote Saskatoon, Saskatchewan I always tried to be at one customer's home at 4:30. Why? At that time the only television viewable came via high rooftop antennae from transmitters far away (~400 miles) near Minot, North Dakota. If atmospheric conditions were favorable my customer would let me watch half an hour of a kid's program (probably Howdy Doody); most of the time we got to watch it masked by a snowy blizzard of faint reception. Getting any type of television reception at that time and location was, at best, a challenge and an adventure.

Fast forward 55 years to this past week's 2009 New Years day afternoon. While riding as a passenger in our car, we sped along Ontario's main 401 freeway as I watched the CBC Sports color telecast of the third period of the NHL Winter Hockey Classic (live from Wrigley Field) on my BlackBerry Bold. It was one more test to carry out during the public beta of SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry.

I viewed all the action in full color; equally as impressive was the quality of the stereo sound (which "swells" out well beyond the device). The only frame freezing probably occurred as my BlackBerry switched between cell tower sites. Otherwise I was experiencing a crisp picture with sharp colors and clear sound coming from my home cable TV box. Talk about convergence - a Rogers cable TV signal being transmitted back out over Rogers High Speed Internet to a BlackBerry Bold via Rogers 3G wireless.

I have provided the detailed basic requirements for using SlingPlayer for BlackBerry Mobile on my recent Web Worker Daily post: "A New BlackBerry Experience Goes Beta: SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry" along with a history of SlingMedia's hardware and software products. Note especially that it requires a version 4.5 firmware upgrade of any BlackBerry 8x20. While it works via a WiFi connection on all supported devices, over a 3G HSDPA network (Rogers, AT&T and T-Mobile in North America) it only works currently on the BlackBerry Bold.

Over the past 15 months I have been using SlingPlayer Mobile for Symbian on a Nokia N95-1 over WiFi connections. It has been a consistently reliable experience over that period; it also provided me with some benchmarks for testing the BlackBerry version's user interface and video/audio quality. Here are some of the experiences I have had with SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry on my BlackBerry Bold 9000 over the past few days of beta trials:

• a rock concert on HDNet where percussion, guitar chords and voice cover a wide audio frequency range
• a rebroadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas eve concert on PBS where over 200 voices, soloists and the orchestra provide an excellent source for testing the clarity of audio as well as the resolution of the video
• several sports events, including fast moving football and hockey action as a test for shadowing and pixelation
• Oprah Winfrey making Skype High Quality Video calls

In all cases the experience on the Bold took full advantage of the Bold's processor power, network speed, native stereo audio and its widely acclaimed "stunning" color display. Simply stated, I became immersed in the programs I was watching to the point where the experience was transparent to the underlying technology. My only negative was more physiological than technical: I found full "playing surface" views of sports events could cause a bit of dizziness due to focusing on all the action within the Bold's display size; holding the device further away from my eyes addressed this issue.

While I had some excellent viewing and listening experiences, a few comments:

• instead of a full visual representation of the cable box remote control, the remote control buttons are represented on a menu bar across the bottom of the screen. Note that in addition to the icons on the menu bar, one can "fast-track" to an item using the keyboard (for instance, M=Menu, O=Power On/Off, etc.)
• scrolling across any of the three menu bars is done via the BlackBerry's trackball.
• audio comes out by default over the Bold's speakers without the need to click on the "speaker" button
• the "Favorites" menu bar picks up your "Favorites" channels stored via SlingPlayer for Windows¹
• changing channels may cause a video freeze up for 10-20 seconds; this is an issue SlingMedia is trying to minimize.
• no apparent viewing experience difference whether using either a WiFi or 3G connection
• needs a bar to display volume level when using the BlackBerry's volume +/- buttons
• switches readily between a full screen video and a display that incorporates one of three menu bars
• needs to "reconnect" if you switch to another BlackBerry application while viewing (SlingPlayer application remains open in background but disconnects from the source); the "reconnect" time is 5 to 15 seconds.
• battery life on the Bold for continuous reception of a broadcast via WiFi is about 2-1/2 to 3 hours.; it's probably shorter on other 8xx0 models.
• I have also been able to get SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry beta working on a BlackBerry 8820 over WiFi where, once again, it provided an excellent true reproduction of the video signal within the limitations of the 8820's video and audio hardware.
• it can also be used to operate the PVR on my cable TV set-top box.
• latency: at midnight New Year's Eve, SlingPlayer for BlackBerry Mobile rang in the new year seven seconds after the broadcast version directly connected to a cable service.
• you can almost read those real time scoreboard bars that appear across the top of the screen during football and hockey broadcasts.

And, for now for those not able to take advantage of SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry due to its current specifications:

• it works over a GSM/EDGE connection on unsupported BlackBerry 8xx0 devices; however, SlingMedia does not guarantee the resulting performance. This is really an application for 3G or faster wireless networks only; an attempt to connect my Bold in a rural area where there was only EDGE wireless failed.
• once SlingMedia releases this HSDPA version of SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry they will look at doing a version that runs over Verizon's, Bell Mobility's and Telus's 3G EV-DO network

A suggestion for RIM: SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry demonstrates the full potential of the Bold's and 8900 Curve's 480x320/360 video display. Let's hope that newer versions of their firmware can achieve the same level of high quality video on the YouTube player and other video applications supported by these devices.

If you have both a SlingBox and one of the supported BlackBerries, upgrade your firmware (where necessary) and give SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry a try (U.S., Canada, U.K.). Sling Media is now looking for feedback from its targeted user public.

With over 500 channels to choose from, at any location worldwide where I can find a WiFi or (unlimited data plan) 3G HSDPA connection, television broadcast viewing has come a long way from having, in a fixed location, a single channel available only when atmospheric conditions permit.

SlingPlayer for BlackBerry has significant potential for business road warriors; in addition to the entertainment aspect, it also provides immediate access to "breaking news" and business broadcasts from taxis, airports, coffee shops, restaurants (mind your etiquette, however). For those states considering legislation prohibiting texting while driving, they may also want to include viewing videos as a potential distraction.

Update: SlingMedia announced at MacWorld that they are targeting to release a SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone this calendar quarter.

(I would have put up a screen capture; however, the video does not make it to the BlackBerry screen capture programs I employ, including PC desktop programs.)

¹SlingMedia's remotely stored "Favorites" feature will be supported by a future version of SlingPlayer for Mac.

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Phil Wolff's 26 incriminating 2009 Skype Predictions

Last year's Jim Courtney's 2008 predictions and mine. 
In 2009:

1. MacWorld sucks without Steve Jobs.
2. Steve Jobs steps down as Apple CEO.
3. Skype brings back Skypecasts with a new feature: with one click, introduce spammers, con artists, and sexy webcam girls to each other.
4. Skype for Neocortex. Mood based on serotonin levels. Very high quality audio and video by tapping directly into the optic nerve and auditory system. Some side effects.
5. Skype for Lovers. Extension of Skype 4.1. Just one buddy to dial. No interruptions. Ultrasimple UI: click the heart.
6. Skype's new platforms have more active developers than BT Ribbit. More than Google Android. Fewer than Apple iPhone.
7. Litigation. 1530 sleep deprived patients sue Skype for keeping them up late.
8. Google Central will be exciting.
9. Google Video Talk adds multiparty video.
10. The Emerging Communications Conference (eComm) will sell out.
11. Yahoo! fires thousands of people. Decimates the messenger team. Hires a new executive team. Reorganizes. Again.
12. Skype introduces multiparty video. The kids love it. WebEx hates it.
13. Skype for Asterisk gets video call support. Dating sites love it.
14. Skype for WoW builds on Skype for Asterisk. The raiders love it. 
15. Skypephone comes to the Americas via partnership with with US mobile carriers. Wal-Mart will carry it. Nothing for Canada.
16. 3 INQ1 sales will cut into 3 Skypephone sales in the UK.
17. U.S. Mobile Carterfone rules (to free mobile phones from carrier contracts) will be considered by the FCC.
18. VoIP falls from telecom jargon. Even VoIP bloggers stop using the term. The public starts using Skype as a generic name for internet talk.
19. eBay's auction businesses will do well in tough times, better in the second half of the year.
20. Skype will make $630 million in FY2009.
21. Peak Skype usage will top 18 million simultaneous users.
22. Skype will serve 23 billion minutes in 2009Q4.
23. Skype scores product placements in:
    
    
    • Hannah Montana: The Movie, spurring the rise of Skype pajama parties.
    • The Sinatra Club, using the new Skypeoke feature.
    • Star Trek, as ancient technology.
    • Startups will rally to Running Out Of Angels (March 2009).
    • 24 as Cisco cuts ad spending.
    • In My Pocket (2009) is not about mobiles.
24. Skype issues new krypto since its old cryptographic source code escaped from TOM-Skype control
25. Skype Video for Mobile. Skype buys a streaming video service for smart mobile camera phones.
26. China approves SkypeIn and SkypeOut.

tags: skype, predictions, 2009, inq1, skypephone, wal-mart, canada, asterisk, video, ebay, voip, carterfone, WoW, 24, china, tom-skype

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RIM Demonstrates Ongoing Support for Older BlackBerries

While ZDNet has named BlackBerry Bold the most influential biztech product of 2008, RIM has not been neglecting the millions of owners of older 8xx0 series BlackBerries. Earlier this week their BlackBerry Connection Newsletter announced that version 4.5 upgrades to all 8xx0 Series BlackBerries (using BIS servers via carriers) are now available.

Why upgrade? To bring along, where practical and feasible, several features now found on the newer Bold, Storm, and 8900 Curve such as:

• HTML email
  
• View and edit email MS Word and MS PowerPoint attachments.
• Download, save and edit files from the Internet
• Enhanced video support for both recording and streaming: required to run Qik.Com and the forthcoming SlingPlayer Mobile for BlackBerry.
• Record and Send a Voice Note which can be sent via email or MMS
• Improved music management

Note that:

• These updates only apply to BlackBerry Internet Server (BIS) users; BES users need to upgrade through their BES host enterprise.
• Updates are carrier specific; early in the process you are asked for your PIN and taken to download files specific to your carrier.
• Updates may also require an update of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager
• MS Excel spreadsheet viewing and editing did not make the cut; they are only available for newer BlackBerry Bold, Storm and 8900 Curve.

Over the past few days I have successfully upgraded a Pearl 8100, a Pearl 8110 and an 8820. Provided you have BlackBerry Desktop Manager (preferably 4.7) installed on a Windows PC, it's a three to five click process (depending on whether you just follow the basic steps or want to change some parameters) to do the upgrade. While your BlackBerry data and applications are preserved after the upgrade, you may need to log into some services or applications again. The final step "Connecting to the Device" may take five to ten minutes - be patient.

One key feature is not in the list above but the new firmware includes new default fonts which are significantly more easily readable. Also, on the Pearls, there are changes to make using the SureType keyboard much easier, especially when it comes to suggested "word completion".

Definitely worth the upgrade - and required for video streaming applications.

A detailed description of the BlackBerry firmware upgrade process can be found at CrackBerry.com.

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Bold Twittering: When is a SmartPhone Truly a Mobile Microcomputer?

If I ever had any doubt about the value of Twitter as a commercial social networking tool, it evaporated this weekend as a result of following some Tweets on the subject of smartphones that appeared this weekend. They certainly provide an independent perspective on issues that I'm sure others are wondering about:

Mark Evans acquired an iPod Touch back in August after deciding he did not need an iPhone; as a result of his recent employment status change, he is now debating the merits of having a smartphone - in particular, an iPhone

Luca Filigheddu has just gone through the process of evaluating the BlackBerry Bold and iPhone over the past few weeks. Saturday he sent me a Twitter direct message to say that he had acquired a BlackBerry Bold; after he had had a few hours experience Saturday I see this on his Twitter feed:And when I came home yesterday evening I see that my acquaintance Olivier Chaine has put up this Tweet (earlier yesterday I had suggested, in response to his request for smartphone Twitter client recommendations, that he look at Slandr.Net as a mobile platform Twitter client):

First I would suggest that the mini-computer industry died many years ago, to be replaced by the microcomputer era, especially server banks. Trust me, I spent a major part of my career relying on mini-computers. I think I would need a backpack to be mobile with a mini-computer.

So I'll assume Mark is really looking to have a mobile microcomputer or PC experience on a smartphone. Having had several months' experience with both an iPhone and a BlackBerry Bold, here are my criteria for a mobile microcomputer or, more aptly, a "Laptop for the Hip or Purse":

• Minimum 480 x 320 graphics display.
• Full QWERTY keyboard.
• Web browser capable of supporting PC-type browsing.
• Supports "Cut & Paste" (of significant value more often than one would initially imagine until it's not available)
• View and edit MS Office documents (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) with potential to add document creation.
• Supports video recording and MMS
• Background processing (especially after experiencing both Truphone for BlackBerry and Truphone for iPhone)
• Supports true Instant Messaging in background while running other applications
• A very high speed processor (>500 MHz)
• Runs applications such as Qik.com, SlingPlayer Mobile and iSkoot (for voice and chat conversations with Skype contacts).
• Bluetooth stereo audio support.
• Removable battery
• Equipped for memory upgrades through a removable memory card.
• Supports both Both WiFi and 3G wireless protocols

A great set of specifications but the key question here is: "How does it change the user experience?". In particular does it eliminate the "urge" to turn on, or always carry, a laptop to keep up-to-date with real time activities?

As I have mentioned elsewhere, after a month's experience with the BlackBerry Bold, I found I had lost that tugging "urge" to turn on my laptop for keeping current with real time (and often mission critical) information. This change did not just involve email and web browsing but also Instant Messaging, Twitter and attached document editing.. RIM would do well to position Bold as a "Laptop for the Hip or Purse", bypassing all the technical comparisons and moving on to succinctly promoting Bold based on the actual user experience.

I like my iPhone for many of its personal information delivery features; it gives me a feel for what is appealing about the iPhone. I can find Toronto Transit streetcar times, do unit conversions, find the nearest Tim Horton's or Starbucks; it has lots of great information delivery features. On the media side it's definitely an extension of the iPod although it does not have the full audio performance of the Bold.

However, a mobile microcomputer the iPhone is NOT! Yes it uses a modified Mac OS; it uses Safari browser; it has an iPod variant.

However, I find myself turning to my Bold much more often than my iPhone for real two way interactivity. Just as important as the keyboard is the ability to track instant messaging sessions, whether on iSkoot (for Skype chat), Palringo or BlackBerry Messenger in background while carrying out other activities. On the subject of low cost international calling I find I can make much more use of Truphone for BlackBerry than Truphone for iPhone (that's the subject of a future post).

I am encountering more and more acquaintances who have no use for a touch keyboard; certainly my typing error rate is much worse on the iPhone. For this reason alone I consider the iPhone to be a very good one-way information delivery device whereas BlackBerry is a true two-way communications device.

As for applications, suffice it to say that over the next six months, where feasible, business savvy developers will publish applications running on both devices. For instance, The Hockey News has just released mobile applications for both the BlackBerry and iPhone. I mentioned Truphone above; Mobile Google apps are another example.

Keeping up with iTunes music via BlackBerry MediaSync is a trivial operation. Frankly from some video and audio streaming experiences I have had, BlackBerry Bold provides superior stereo audio performance even without earbuds or a headset.

Bottom line: when I leave my home office or hotel room with my Bold, I no longer have to take my laptop to keep current.

Yes, at the moment, the iPhone browser a superior user experience but rest assured RIM is not ignoring the issue. At this point the Bold's browser issues have sometimes been frustrating but they not been an inhibition to my browsing activities in any major way - I still get the information I am seeking. The critical parameter here is the 480 pixel display width, which is sufficient to view most websites and weblogs without the need for horizontal scrolling via a ribbon bar. When RIM releases carrier-specific versions of their upgraded operating system - including browser enhancements, the Bold will live up to its full potential as "A Laptop for the Hip or Purse".

(As for pricing on Rogers, both the Bold and iPhone are C$199 with a three year contract.)

In future posts I'll cover in more detail some of the issues mentioned above, including my Truphone evaluation on each device, some very amazing real time video and audio experiences, the range of third party applications available on each device and why both background processing and WiFi is becoming critical to any smartphone.

And, Mark, if you're looking for a mobile microcomputer, I would suggest serious consideration of the BlackBerry Bold. As a final determinant, have a look at the Bold's display - it's been universally acclaimed as "stunning"; I can only agree.

In closing, can we expect Skype to include BlackBerry as one of their supported platforms for Skype for Mobile? Or will iSkoot improve on their user interface to take advantage of some new BlackBerry developer tools? (Most Skype executives I meet are sporting a BlackBerry - it's supported by eBay IT.)

Update: Luca published a post this afternoon, A Bold New Experience, and asks about his Tweet above: "Why Did I Say That?"

1) Always on Experience: the BB is offering me a realtime always-on experience never found in any device I used before
2) Multitasking - It lets you receive IMs while writing an email or making a phone call, for example
3) Stunning display
4) Wide availability of apps
5) Crazy speed
6) Great usability

Other posts:

• Om Malik: Review: BlackBerry Bold is Beautiful
• Web Worker Daily: BlackBerry Bold: Upgrading Your Mobile Experience.
  

Full disclosure: the author has been holder of a minuscule number of RIM shares since 1998.

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Getting Closer to the True Numbers on Skype via Mobile

Yesterday UK web publication TelecomTV put out a post "Skype claims mobiles are involved in a quarter of its calls". But a "correction" comment by the author, Tony Chan, disclaims his basic premise:

CORRECTION: As the original author of this story for CommsDay, I am corrected by Skype that the 4 billion minute figure is actually for Skype-to-Skype minutes with video, NOT mobile.

Turns out to be a confirmation of what we have heard in the past: 25% to 30% of all Skype-to-Skype calls invoke video calling.

So how can one generate Skype-to-Skype minutes from a mobile device? What % of Skype-to-Skype minutes are generated from a mobile device?

• iSkoot: sets up a Skype session on their server using information delivered from the iSkoot client on a supported mobile device, such as BlackBerry or Nokia N-Series. When you make a Skype call, it's Skype-to-Skype from the iSkoot server to your called Skype contact.
  
• Skypephone: uses iSkoot's algorithm with the one difference. 3 has set up their own "iSkoot" servers to support this service. As of October 1, 3 customers using iSkoot or a Skypephone can now make SkypeOut calls from any 3 Skype-enabled phone also.
  
• Skype for Windows Mobile: here the limitation is the small, and decreasing, market share for Windows Mobile devices. It requires either a WiFi connection or 3G but the former is favored but both call quality and robustness reasons. But you can make both Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls from this client. (And it's the only instance of a true Skype VoIP client on mobile device -- challenging both processor speeds and battery life.)
  
• Skype for Mobile - currently at a beta stage with limited outbound calling; this service fundamentally uses the same architecture as iSkoot. (I suspect iSkoot has any appropriate intellectual property protected under this. After all, Skype and iSkoot are working together on Skypephone, etc. But it is interesting to experience the difference in user interfaces between iSkoot and Skype for Mobile) Again this does not put the full VoIP client on the device but rather back at a server. Probably not too many minutes here yet.
• Update: Mobivox CEO Peter Diedrich emailed to remind me that their voice-enabled service also has the ability to launch Skype-to-Skype voice calls. From any landline or mobile handset worldwide the caller makes a "local" call to VoxGirl who, in turn, launches and connects to a Skype session on a Mobivox server. Effectively creating a landline- or mobile-to-Skype call, Mobivox requires no downloads or client software. VoxGirl will determine presence information to decide whether to proceed with a call; however, there is no IM/chat capability.
  
• I have described my experience with Fring for iPhone when it launched almost two months ago. My problem with any iPhone application of this nature is that there is currently no background processing such that you can allow an IM session to run in background while executing other applications.
  

And how successful has 3's Skypephone service been? We initially heard some qualitative information at eComm 2008 last spring. But, information supplied by Skype's PR this morning provides us the basis for an order-of-magnitude guestimate:

".... since Skype launched the 3 Skypephone in November last year, there have been over over 100 million minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls by users of the 3 Skypephone and other mobile handsets with Skype and there are currently more than a million minutes of Skype-to-Skype calls each day on 3 mobiles in the UK."

So out of 16 billion Skype-to-Skype minutes each quarter (as reported in the last eBay quarterly analyst call), it would appear that, at the current > 1 million minutes/day on 3, 75 to 100 million minutes per quarter are via mobile handsets. Hmmm, that makes about 0.5% to 0.8% of all Skype-to-Skype minutes.

Why can 3 offer this service at such low prices? As explained by iSkoot CEO Mark Jacobstein at eComm 2008 last March, there are no termination charges for Skype-to-Skype calls, even when one Skype session is on an iSkoot server.

P.S. - Want to keep up-to-date on these issues? Registration for eComm 2009 (Mar 3 to 5) opens a week Monday.

Full disclosure: the author uses iSkoot on a BlackBerry Bold when out of the office; he has also experienced successful use on a Nokia N95.

Tags: Skype, iSkoot, Skypephone, Skype Mobile, eComm2008, Mark Jacobstein, Tags: TelecommTV, Tony Chan

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Alec Saunders Twitters: "Ditching all IM Systems except Skype"!

When I started using Skype more intensively about three years ago, I had been a heavy user of Microsoft's MSN Messenger for several years. But about 18 months ago, I stopped logging into MSN Messenger; none of my contacts were there - or, if they were, they were also on Skype. As for GTalk, well I added a couple of contacts two weeks ago to test out GMail's new voice and video chat feature, so now I'm up to ten contacts on GTalk - and they are also all on Skype. One person still persists in trying to reach me on GTalk these days ... and my BlackBerry catches that - in background.
But when long time acquaintance, well respected blogger and former Microsoft employee Alec Saunders puts up a tweet as shown above, it has to be the ultimate complement to Skype's pervasive worldwide presence.
When you have 370 million accounts (yes, I know there are only 30 to 50 million using Skype over the course of a month), one would suspect that market presence and user base size wins out over any technical disadvantage, such as the lack of XMPP compliance. Sort of places XMPP right up there with SIP - an excellent protocol for interop but it's sort of like the tree falling in the forest - who hears it -at the end user level? And, both SIP and XMPP require business agreements between the linking service providers covering every connection, whether there's revenue or not.
In the IM world, it's a matter of who's available for a conversation? Which service has the highest probability of being able to determine a contact's availability and start a chat, voice call, share a file, send an SMS message or even do a (High Quality) video call? Which service has eight ways of seamlessly carrying out a file transfer?
Alec's one problem in keeping current? He'll have to go back to his BlackBerry to receive Skype IM messages via iSkoot. BlackBerry's background processing capability becomes a very distinct advantage here in the smartphone market. When attending an event in downtown Toronto last night I received an important "good news" Skype chat message on my BlackBerry Bold, while looking up a website the speaker was referencing and following the Twitter feed of one of the organizers.
A more significant challenge for Skype is to generate the marketing that will attract all those of a younger generation (such as my daughter) whose "social networks" are immersed into MSN Messenger as their IM client.
In closing have a look at some of Alec's followup Tweets:
In closing I should also mention that I like to use BlackBerry Messenger for its ability to bypass the Internet for messages that "just have to get there now!" via BlackBerry's unique method for PIN messaging.
Update: An oversight on my part: of course Skype IM also has the hooks to allow Skype chat sessions to proxy for other services. For a classic example check out Twitter4Skype.
Full disclosure: Alec Saunders is author of the Voice 2.0 Manifesto, which is proving itself out in today's dynamic mashup environment - especially when it comes to Communications Enhanced Business Processes. He is CEO of iotum, whose Calliflower Conference Call service is currently being launched. And, much earlier in his career, he was DOS product manger at Microsoft Canada at a time when DOS's memory management feature tried to compete with Quarterdeck's QEMM and the author managed Quarterdeck Canada.

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iSkoot Scores a New $19MM Financing Round

This evening iSkoot, the service that provides Skype access from smartphones, announced they had received a new $19 million venture financing round to build out and bring to market a new suite of mobile communications services. Recently iSkoot acquired Social IM, who is in the beta stage of producing a desktop Instant Messaging client linking real time communications and notifications to social networks. No further details have been released but obviously both their existing financing partners and one new partner feel there is a significant potential.

Update: VentureBeat reports that the financing relates to a forthcoming AT&T service offering "an array of Web services to users of its low-end phones — the majority of its phones, which don’t have the iPhone’s powerful features. The services will include things like social networking, email, RSS feeds and eventually services like Twitter."

In addition to their smartphone service, iSkoot also provides the firmware behind the Skypephone, available through the Hutcheson Whampoa 3 carrier in the U.K., six other European countries, Hong Kong and Australia. According to Tech Crunch over 300,000 Skypephones are now in service. However, their recently launched iSkoot for Android appears to have encountered a rougher road; Andy speculates they may have launched prematurely to meet the G-1 launch date. I'm sure we'll see upgrades to address the outstanding issues.

Personally I have iSkoot running on my BlackBerry Bold, largely to keep current on my Skype chat sessions when away from my office, and have experienced it on the 8820 as well as a Nokia N95. Look forward to learning more about the services whose launch is being supported by this new funding round in today's somewhat rough economy. At least there's still support for innovation in the real time conversation space.

• iSkoot Presentation at eComm 2008
• iSkoot Gets Third Party Recognition
• iSkoot Extends Partnership with Skype

Tags: iSkoot, Skypephone, BlackBerry Bold, Android

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BlackBerry Bold: A Laptop for the Hip or Purse...

With about two months' experience using a BlackBerry Bold, I was able to pull my experiences together for Web Worker Daily yesterday when this smartphone became available on AT&T: BlackBerry Bold: Upgrading Your Mobile Experience.

Last night at a small local dinner on the topic of social networking in public relations, a few attendees had Bold as it has been available for a couple of months in Canada. Our consensus was that in a world where one wants to keep current in real time with Twitter, email, document viewing and editing (a new feature of Bold) and browsing weblogs or many websites, the BlackBerry Bold can be considered as the first generation "laptop for the hip or purse".

As for Skype via the Bold, whenever I'm away from home, I open iSkoot and am able to follow Skype chat messages (including Twitter4Skype) while riding the commuter services or in a restaurant. With Ontario's forthcoming law banning cell phone use (except for Bluetooth headsets) and text messaging while driving. it means safer roads but I may not respond immediately. Of course iSkoot also gives me calls to Skype contacts with only charges for local wireless minutes.

And, if you don't want to be "Always On", BlackBerry Bold (as well as the forthcoming Storm and Pearl 8220 Flip) includes a bedside mode feature with options to turn off both phone call and email notifications (but logs them) yet still allows the alarm to work.

BlackBerry will continue to be a major player in the smartphone market; but these new smartphones are devices you have to see and experience to realize their full potential as not only a business productivity resource but also a personal associate for both your business and personal social networks and activities.

Tags: BlackBerry Bold, iSkoot, mobile, smartphone

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