Posts Tagged ‘Skype’
Samsung’s Broadband HDTVs to Come With Skype
First announced at CES with Panasonic and LG TVs, Skype will now come embedded on Samsung’s LED 7000 and 8000 series models of high-definition televisions. The embedded Skype software allows Skype users to make video and voice calls through the TVs.
Samsung, the global market leader in televisions, will begin shipping TVs with Skype software in the Korean market today, and worldwide in the first half of 2010.
“Our consumers want their televisions to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for entertainment and communication delivered with the highest quality,” said Kevin Kyungshik Lee, Vice President of Visual Display at Samsung Electronics. “Including Skype on our TVs meets that expectation perfectly. We’re thrilled that Samsung’s consumers can now use our TVs to experience the rich video and voice communication that hundreds of millions of Skype users worldwide enjoy.”
The debut of Samsung’s Skype-enabled televisions reinforces Skype’s commitment to making its video and voice calling capabilities available on a full range of Internet-connected devices, including TVs.
The Samsung LED 7000 and 8000 series televisions include Samsung’s free Internet@TV service, which allows access to select online content. Consumers who connect the TVs to the Internet can easily attach a FreeTalk TV Camera for Samsung provided by In Store Solutions (ISS), available at www.skype.com/store, making it possible to place and receive voice calls and High Quality Video calls. Voice calls will use Skype’s SILK audio codec, which enables super-wideband audio quality.
Using the TVs’ remote controls, consumers can create free Skype accounts, log into their existing accounts and navigate via a simple Skype interface accessible on the televisions’ screens. Skype video calls will be free, as will voice calls between Skype users.
Skype Available for Nokia Smartphones on Ovi
Skype and Nokia have jointly announced the release of Skype for Symbian, a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian platform. Skype for Symbian will allow Nokia smartphone users worldwide to use Skype on the move, over either a WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, EDGE, 3G). It is now downloadable for free from the Ovi Store.
“With Symbian’s global reach, Skype is that much closer to becoming the ubiquitous real-time communications platform for hundreds of millions of Symbian-based mobile users.”
Skype for Symbian enables Nokia smartphone users to:
•Make free Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world*
•Save money on calls and texts (SMS) to phones abroad.
•Send and receive instant messages to and from individuals or groups
•Share pictures, videos and other files.
•Receive calls to their existing online number
•See when Skype contacts are online and available to call or IM
•Easily import names and numbers from the phone’s address book
Skype for Symbian will run on any Nokia smartphone using Symbian ^1, the latest version of the Symbian platform. Skype will soon introduce this client to Symbian mobile devices from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson.
The initial Skype for Symbian application is compatible with the following Nokia touchscreen models: Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia 5530 and the following non-touch devices: Nokia E72, Nokia E71, Nokia E90, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E51, Nokia N96, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8Gb, Nokia N85, Nokia N82, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8 Gb, Nokia N79, Nokia N78, Nokia 6220 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 5320.
Skype to Offer Video Service on LG, Panasonic TVs
Privately held Skype has forged deals with consumer electronics makers LG Electronics and Panasonic in a bid to move its Internet video service beyond the desktop computer to the living room TV.
The service, which includes free video calls between Skype members, will compete with consumer video conference services being developed by bigger companies such as networking giant Cisco Systems Inc and Polycom Inc, which plans to develop consumer video services with International Business Machines Corp. Skype, a former eBay unit, said both LG and Panasonic will have high-definition TVs supporting its service around mid-year. Both television makers will embed the Skype technology in television models with Internet connections and will sell separate Web cameras that have built in microphones for television viewers who want to use Skype.
Skype said Panasonic will support Skype in its VT and G series televisions in the United States, with screen sizes up to 65 inches. LG will embed Skype in 26 new LCD and plasma screen TVs, which will also come in a range of sizes. Both LG and Panasonic are expected to demonstrate the service this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual gadget showcase in Las Vegas. Skype also plans to announce support for high-definition video services on computers at the technology show, including partnerships with makers of high-definition Web camera suppliers faceVision and In Store Solution.
High-definition Skype services will work on computers with a 1.8 Gigahertz processor and a high-speed broadband connection of about 1 megabits per second upward, Skype said.
Skype VoIP Compatible Phones in India
For the broadband-enabled, the perfect accessory is a phone or Wi-Fi enabled device that can let you run VoIP apps like Skype, either directly or through a third party app like Fring or Nimbuzz. It’s a big money saver when calling relatives or friends abroad. The old way to run these apps would be to use a desktop PC, laptop, or netbook, but being tethered to all that hardware is painful. With a Wi-Fi capable phone, you can run errands around the house, or make a cup of tea while having a voice chat on Skype on your hands-free.
If Skype doesn’t support your phone, there are workarounds – Fring, which supports voice over Skype, Windows Live Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo! and AIM, has a wider compatibility list. I’ve used Fring both on my iPod Touch; it’s a bit slow and unreliable at times, but can get the job done. Fring supports free video calls as well over Skype on Symbian phones, though I haven’t tried it out, it sounds like the coolest thing.
Fring is compatible with Symbian, Windows, Android, Linux and iOS devices, a list of Fring enabled smart-phones can let you make free VoIP calls would be quite exhaustive if we tried to compile one, so we’re going to use table of compatible smartphones as a reference point.