Ebay's Skype Coming to a Television Near You?

Posted Mar 3rd 2010 1:00PM by Brian White
Filed under: Rumors, Products and Services, eBay (EBAY)

eBay's (EBAY) purchase of Skype for over a billion dollars years ago was seen by many as obtuse and strange. Did eBay really expect its auction buyers and sellers to want to speak over the Internet (or video conference, for that matter)? Part of the allure of online auctions is the relative anonymity both sellers and buyers have. No "meeting in the parking lot" Cragislist-ish type of meetings in most cases.

But Skype has not paid off like eBay would have hoped. While the purchase of PayPal was the best acquisition eBay ever made, the planned synergies never materialized with Skype. While still a popular voice and video service around the world (ultra-cheap as well), Skype may be posed to bring voice and video calling direct to flat-panel television sets near you soon. The "videophone" concept has never really been that popular, mostly due to the kludgy ways past products have been designed and marketed.

But would you be keen on taking and making full video calls over your living room television instead of hunting for that cordless phone or iPhone that has somehow slipped under the couch cushion? Some of the largest names in consumer electronics have signed up to include Skype software in 2010-model televisions, so the concept of the videophone -- one that works well and costs next to nothing -- may finally be about to arrive. With more televisions, game consoles and Blu-ray disc players coming with a whole slew of online services already, the gap between Internet and television is finally starting to close. Skype, for many, would be an awesome service to have on all those televisions around the house.

Tags: Ebay Skype, inthenews, Skype, Skype calls, Skype on TV, SkypeCalls, VoIP