Skype Lite, speak on the mobile (almost) for free
The company Skype, founded in 2003, has revolutionised the way in which people communicate all around the world. Skype has more than 338 million users who can communicate via voice or video calls and instant messaging for free.
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show CES 2009 in Las Vegas, Skype launched the definitive version of the program Skype Lite, for Android, the popular open source operating system for mobiles by Google, as well as for more than 100 telephone devices which use Java.
With the launch of this new software, Skype have reduced of costs of calls on a 3G or WiFi connection by using the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP). In this way, the price of calls only depends to a great extent on the rates for voice and data charged by local operators, as Skype Lite uses 3G networks to function — although it can also use a WiFi connection.
The new application makes it possible to call other Skype users, chat with them, call landlines and mobiles at a low-cost or receive Skype calls on a mobile phone. For calls to landlines or mobiles it’s necessary to check the prices of Skype, which are very competitive with respect to the conventional operators.
For the moment, this service can be used with the operator T-Mobile in the USA and UK, the T-Mobile G1 - the first mobile telephone to use Android - and other handsets from LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Nokia. The service can be accessed from Skype Mobile, or from the computer . The webpage has a directory of compatible mobile telephones. Users of Android handsets can download the beta version in the Android Market.
The telephone over Internet market
At the same time, Telefonica and Microsoft has launched Voype, a telephone system based on Live Messenger, in eight countries of the American continent: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, USA and Venezuela. This system permits voice conversations and videoconferences from computers at very low prices or for free in the case of national communications from PC to PC.
Voype follows in the footsteps of Skype, the system which popularised telephone by Internet and is owned by eBay. Although it has ignored this market so far, Telefonica is willing to enter it in as a partner to Microsoft.
