For eBay investors, it's starting to feel like all the growth and excitement at the company is with Skype, its Internet calling division. On April 28 Skype hit the 100 million user mark.
And today Skype released a new version of its free software, promising to make the service easier and more affordable. The latest release has new features like easier payments, a drop-down menu with country codes, and a new "Skypecast" capability allowing up to 100 users to join in a conference call. That feature seems to be generating the most enthusiasm among Skype fans so far.
I haven't tried Skype myself (yet), but here's what some reviewers around the Web had to say:
David Janowski of PC Magazine, calls it, "new and modestly improved" but still gives it four out of five, uh, circles (?). A commenter to his review wished he'd mentioned how great the voice quality is.
Kevin Tofel likes what he sees. And he should know -- it's already one of his "most used apps," he writes. He notes you can host your own skypecast on anything you want and invite all your friends.
Comments on the Skype company blog show lots of happy customers. They especially like the SMS features and note smooth installation. Would we expect anything less?
And be sure to read this BusinessWeek story, which scopes out the long-term business strategy for Skype.
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