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New & Improved Skype
By Mark Evans | March 23, 2005
Hey, new and improved Skype!
Hot on the heels of SkypeIn, which gives Skype users a telephone number for the first time, the company has launched version 1.2 for Windows. So what’s different? For newbies, a “Getting Started Wizard” simplifies the launch process, while experienced users get some new bells and whistles such as the ability to remotely access contact lists, and tools to import contact lists from other desktop applications.
With 31.4 million registered users and a growing number of features when will Skype start to be taken serious by carriers – if, in fact, it isn’t already. I still get the feeling Skype is seen as disruptive, but somewhat harmless, because it has yet to find the killer business app to shed its free roots. Maybe Skype will never find a single app but, instead, hope to create a big, low-cost business by earning a small amount of money from millions of customers. The ironic thing is Skype’s move into the mainstream and new revenue sources such as SkypeIn are being driven by its move into PSTNs. This, however, increases its costs, which goes counters to its business model. Call me a skeptic but the jury is still out on one of the world’s most popular free services.
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