Skype 1.1 - VoIPs - CNET Archive

User Rating: 1/10

Buggy and no support what so everby chh2410 - May 30, 2008

Pros: When it "works", it could be better than cellular phone

Cons: No customer support

Review: They had a security issue where my PC would freeze up many times. MS says Skype has a security bug. Next thing I know, my skype credit was disappearing. I had $25, then $19 next day and $10... I immediately contacted Skype for help via email. No reply for 4 business days. Finally support email me asking stupid questions. And the reply for that took another 4-5 days. I've asked for my credit back and they ended up freezing my account including my paypal account saying there is security breach. What a dumxasx. After trying to resolve this issue for a month, I finally gave up. There must be only one customer support guy and he is a dumx. Since I've already paid for 1 year subscription, I am still using Skype. Recently I am finding out that my skype doesn't ring sometimes. I miss calls because of that. (i.e. voice message shows up 20 min later but no incoming call recorded. I've tested myself once and it also failed)

User Rating: 10/10

spectacular free ( very cheap for SkypeOut)by inglesdesousa - May 23, 2006

Pros: good quality, freeee

Cons: occasional packet loss problems

Review: This is the best of the free ones, and the SkypeOut is very cheap and effective also. I constantly talk with people on four continents and Skype has reduced my telephone bills by over US$1000 per month. For the remainder I use a conventional VOIP provider. Skype has better sound quality and easier use.

User Rating: 5/10

it's not that goodby trungdng86 - February 9, 2006

Pros: friendly interface, and useful

Cons: so many people using it, hardly hear anything when it's busy

Review: i use Y!Messenger conference voice chat, not the voiceIP. The conference is Awesome, i am not trying to exaggerate it, but i talk to my parents from vietnam and it just likes i am talking to them from another city in vietnam

User Rating: 9/10

Excellent quality and serviceby acazorzi - January 4, 2006

Pros: Excellent voice quality; ease of use; lowest cost

Cons: Bridge ot traditional phones in the making; contact list should be reviewed and better organized

Review: I have been using Skype for over a year mostly for work and family/friend calls. I am really impressed and so far no other service has reached such levels. Some of the issues that I mentioned in the Cons are being worked on.

User Rating: 9/10

Goodbye to Ma Bellby pieskyphil - December 17, 2005

Pros: Excellent sound quality; fast set up; cheap

Cons: Regular callers dialing in must push "1" first

Review: My SBC phone was running me $38 a month. Since most of my calls were cellular, it seemed like a big fee, which compared to Skype, it is.
In one hour, I got my own phone number with Skype, hooked up the new Ipevo phone and was making and receiving calls. The aural quality is crystal clear, but I do have the new Skype USB phone (eBay).Installation was beyond simple and payment was a breeze thru Paypal. I figure this phone will now run me about $8/month.
However, if it were your only phone, the fee would be more. at 2.3 cents a minute outbound, you can easily do the calculations.Inbound is free.
The only problem is that people who call me must dial the "1" first. (i.e: 1-777-555-1234)rather than just the normal 10 digits for my town. If you live in area with 7 digit calling, your friends will have to dial the 1 and the area code.
But that's it. Bang for the buck:it's way above above bell tel.

User Rating: 9/10

Have been using for 6 months and have found it to be a very good service.by mmratner - December 5, 2005

Pros: Voice quality very good

Cons: Drops calls once in awhile.

Review: Have been using service for 6+ months with excellent results. Talk to Hong Kong 45 minutes at a time, peer to peer at no cost. Found voice quality to be as good or better as phone service. Does tend to drop call sometime but so does phone. Recently went overseas and bought 10 Euros of time. I've now made over 2 hours of calls while on my trip and after I returned and still have E7.7 left. What could be better.

User Rating: 9/10

Blows away Vonageby jrice - October 19, 2005

Pros: CD quality voice, handy chat and file transfer, easy setup

Cons: Occasional dropout, use-it-or-lose-it SkypeOut deposit

Review: Compared to the installation nightmare and poor voice quality of Vonage, Skype is far and away the best VoIP telephony. The setup is as easy as installing any new software. I call Denmark from California all the time, and it's like calling across the street - better, in fact. Sometimes the call gets echoey or under water if there are background programs running, which a quick reboot will fix. Also, I don't like the SkypeOut payment policy. You have to pay a deposit, which is drawn down, and you lose it all in 6 months, whether you use it or not. But the sound quality is so good and the setup is so easy, compared to Vonage, that these are minor quibbles.

User Rating: 3/10

Great, but TERRIBLE supportby marctos - October 18, 2005

Pros: good sound quality, low rates pc to phone, easy to use

Cons: Terrible Support

Review: All I have to sayis....Support is terrible!, you put your credit card on this site and they do what they want.
If you have a problem, you only can send an email, and they reply sometimes, when they want, maybe a week later, maybe never, and they play with your money while you keep waiting for a solution.

User Rating: 10/10

Best VoIP phone for freeby milea - October 14, 2005

Pros: call quality, chat, nice interface, minimal hardware requirments, works with slow internet connection

Cons: don't have video chat

Review: Perfect call quality without cut offs, nice and simple interface, in this moment about 4 million peoples are online. Works with old computers, tested on 350Mhz Pentium2 with 160mb ram and works without any problems. No needs of very high speed internet to call someone, with ISDN connection will work propertly. In this product only bad is that dont have a support for web cam (video calling), but on the net you can find plugins for that option. HIGH RRECOMMENDET

User Rating: 9/10

Great for International Callingby trijv - October 9, 2005

Pros: Cheap rates and great quality using a ADSL line

Cons: Wondering about security of credit card info

Review: My family anbd I live in China. My wife is from Taiwan and I am from the USA. We used to use my mobile phone to call both, but with SKYPE we are saving huge amounts of money. I have asked everyone how is the quality and everyone we call says the line is nice and clear. (ANd this is on an ADSL line and we are calling to phones with hard-lines.)

I heard China govt is going shut SKYPE down, which I think would really be a hinderence more to China than SKYPE. (I know of a way China Telecomm and SKYPE can team up to offer SKYPE to general China population....)

My only concern is that you have to purchase SKYPE credit over the internet. Given so many attacks over the internet, I hope (REALLY hope) SKYPE or their billing company have super-secure servers......

User Rating: 8/10

Use latest version with a USB to RJ11 adaptor so that I can switch from landline to Skypeby herve75019 - October 4, 2005

Pros: Cheaper than regular carriers (landline) and/or VOIP

Cons: Could use different skins

Review: Use SKYPE on a daily basis either PC to PC with friends in the UK. Great sound quality if you use a regular phone (versus PC's mike and speakers). New version allows you to forward calls to up to 3 phone numbers such as landline or mobile.

Would recommend it to anyone who does not want to give up their regular landline and commit to a contract with VOIP company

User Rating: 9/10

forget your land lineby dapc|net - September 6, 2005

Pros: price, sound quality, ease of use

Cons: a bit too much IM "let's meet people" flavour

Review: with SkypeOut and SkypeIn, I'm gonna lose my land line except for the broadband connection, and once WiMax rolls out I'm gonna lose the land line completely!

User Rating: 9/10

Keeps me connected to friends and family when I am awayby thartnell - September 4, 2005

Pros: Low cost calls to anywhere in the world, provides a phone number in the US that I can answer with the internet

Cons: Some calls to the third world can have short delays

Review: I am travelling constantly for my work and need to stay connected to my friends and family. Telephones are the most personable way to communicate but traditional phones are expensive and calling cards are a pain. Skype competes on cost with all comers when calling outside the Skype network. SkypeIn also makes it cheap for my family in the US to call me when I am away by providing me with a low-cost American phone number. The bonus of free digital voicemail with SkypeIn service is also useful. Finally, the ability to transfer vast files through their IM capability is welcome relief when I need to send large graphics and articles to my professors and colleagues. I recommend Skype to all users who need to connect internationally on a regular basis.

User Rating: 9/10

It works, and works wellby flytdeck - September 3, 2005

Pros: Bullet proof configuration, outstanding sound quality, easy interface, many enhancements, secure data transfer, free

Cons: Lack of video option, answering machine ability not included.

Review: This product does excactly what it is intended to do with little fuss or bother in either setup or execution. The interface is well designed and the sound quality outstanding.
An ever expanding user base is allowing more opportunities for instant and free communications around the world. I live in Japan an regularly talk to people in China, Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand. The connection quality is superb.

User Rating: 9/10

Works greatby mrtourne - August 18, 2005

Pros: Great sound quality, free PC to PC, cheapest PC to phone rates

Cons: Some issues on cell phones, SkypeIn numbers in limited countries

Review: I've been using Skype and SkypeOut for 3 months now - after countless calls abroad, each one of about 20-30 minutes, I still have over 5 euros in my account. The quality is the best of any product on PC to PC calls, and very good on PC to phone (My folks in Argentina report it's much better than regular phone - spending 20 bucks on a decent Plantronics headset helps) I set up my bf with a SkypeIn account while he was in Germany and that also worked great. His mom could call him on a local CA number and reach him anytime.

We experienced the drop-off problems at one point, but it was a combo of my computer setup (proper sound card wasn't selected) and the bf not knowing how to pick up a call (he was double clicking my name, which tries to establish a new connection and drops the existing one). There was also some issues calling cell phones in Argentina, but they were addressed and customer service did reply promptly (and reimbursed me for failed cell calls without me even asking!)

All in all, excellent product.

User Rating: 10/10

Exelent Way To Save Moneyby MoroseNYC - August 11, 2005

Pros: Call from anywhere in the world.

Cons: None so far!

Review: I loved this service so much my company BrainScanMedia.com, Inc. now uses this service and became an affiliate to push it to our customers.

User Rating: 10/10

Skype takes VoIP to the next level...by rasko - July 6, 2005

Pros: Great Sound Quality and it's Free!

Cons: There is nothing wrong with it!

Review: Skype is great and I have no problems with it at all. This is the first time I gave a product a perfect rating. Skype has zero defects and is free. That's all there is to say.

User Rating: 9/10

No problems using SKYPE!by JCMCP - July 1, 2005

Pros: Ease of use!

Cons: Minor quality issues.

Review: I am disabled with ALS, and can no longer speak. Why am I using SKYPE? With SKYPE'S peer to peer technology, I am able to use SKYPE to "converse" with family and friends in the US and internationally, both computer-to-computer, and computer to land-line phones, and cell phones. HOW? I use a digital voice program, turn up my speaker volume, and adjust the mic to high sensitivity. I open the digital voice dialouge window, log into SKYPE, receive calls and place outgoing calls, type my conversation which plays audio with a synthesized voice. I have preprogrammed an introduction and responses to save time. My callers are "amazed" by the quality and happy that "I am able to stay in touch". I know ths sounds "kloodgey", but it works and it's free!

User Rating: 8/10

Superb Landline Replacementby JoeyD - June 21, 2005

Pros: Easy to use, reliable, and stable. Converse at CD quality!

Cons: Dialpad a little unreliable for entering extensions. Getting better with new version.

Review: These guys did a great job. My cell phone minutes are down to nothing. I was going to dump my landline for my cellphone but I was hesitating. Now, with Skype available, SBC can take a hike!

Version is now 1.3.something. All the options, skype in, skype out, voice mail and now the video conferencing work great!

User Rating: 4/10

Great for Comp2Comp...No Good for anything elseby Fynack - June 20, 2005

Pros: Computer 2 Computer Calls

Cons: IM sucks and Computer 2 Phone is horrible

Review: Great if you want to make calls to other PCs but really theres no other use. I know of many other programs that can provide this with other useful features.

User Rating: 10/10

Simply Amazing!by Syphle - June 19, 2005

Pros: Free, Easy, Simple

Cons: No complaints, it's an awesome program!

Review: This program works perfectly. I would not critisize it in any way. Have recommended it to all my friends and family.

User Rating: 6/10

Promising but flawed.by reidnez - June 18, 2005

Pros: Great computer-to-computer calling, clean interface, no hardware required

Cons: SkypeOut calls to landlines are unreliable.

Review: I'm a serviceman stationed overseas and I wanted a cheap, easy way to talk to my family in the States. Since I already had broadband, VOIP made sense. I researched the different services a bit and settled on Skype because I could make calls to a landline for a mere 2 cents a minute and, as there's no extra hardware required, I could get it up and running immediately. I also liked that I could get a local number in my home area code, enabling me to receive calls at no cost to the caller. The other service I considered, Lingo, doesn't yet offer any numbers in my area code.

Calls to other Skype users work great. The sound quality is quite clear, provided both parties use headphones instead of speakers--the latter will cause a severe echo. Calls to landlines, on the other hand, are unreliable. I can always hear the other party fine, but periodically they will not be able to hear me and assume that the call has been dropped. It's pretty frustating to be screaming "HELLO, I'M HERE!!" over and over into your computer when you can hear the other person clear as a bell.

I've ordered the optional USB handset which integrates with their software, but I'm already looking into other services which provide more reliable computer-to-landline calls. If everyone I knew had Skype and was attached to their PC like they are to their cellphones, it'd be great. However, that's not the case and so the all-important SkypeOut function simply needs a lot of work--that's why I gave it a lukewarm 6.

User Rating: 9/10

For my use, Skype is perfect & free. What's not to like.by pawnosh - June 8, 2005

Pros: I only use this service for computer to computer calls, but it's already saved me a bundle on International calls.

Cons: I'm not ready to give up the quality of a landline for Skypeout.

Review:

User Rating: 9/10

Simple to use and clear callsby kunert10 - June 6, 2005

Pros: IT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING!

Cons: htere are no cons

Review: I have been using Skype for several months now. I have family in Europe and have had rare occasions where the call may have gotten aquatic for a moment, but cleaned up seconds later. Skype replaced my international long distance. Whether you use it PC-2-PC or PC-2-Phone it is a welcome (program) service to use. I totally recommend it.

User Rating: 9/10

Stick it to the phone companies!by zizzybaloobah - June 6, 2005

Pros: Cheap, no hidden fees or taxes

Cons: Occasionally poor call quality

Review: We seldom use our home phone, so why pay $15, $20, or even $25/month for it? Skype (along w/SkypeIn and SkypeOut) provides a low cost alternative to VOIP or non-Baby Bell phone services w/no annoying hidden fees or taxes. That's well worth an occasionally bad quality call.

User Rating: 9/10

Great program..by EliteKernel - May 31, 2005

Pros: Very interactable.. and user friendly..

Cons: Poor transfer rate and chat ...

Review: This is one of the best online communication programs I have ever used.. Great sound quality and none lagg, although it really uses up alot of resources.. And the transfer rate isn't all that spectacular.. But overall it's a great program...

User Rating: 3/10

this app really sux for chat and file sharingby limesaber - May 23, 2005

Pros: none realy just to make voice calls

Cons: sucky interface and confusing audio setup and bad compatabilty with some soundcards sounds laggy at times

Review: stick with msn

User Rating: 9/10

Great program.No crashes, no spyware like msn messengerby pjf - May 22, 2005

Pros: Great voice quality

Cons: no video support

Review: Never had this kind of pc to pc voice quality neither with msn nor with yahoo

User Rating: 1/10

Are you a n00b. If yes then go ahead an use this.by Blooangel05 - May 22, 2005

Pros: You can phone peeps for free...

Cons: Everythgin about it

Review: This is the stupidist thing i have ever seen. Use webcameras and stuff like that with MSN, yahoo etc.

User Rating: 7/10

Ok for peer2peer, Mywebcalls better for 'real' callsby westli1 - May 19, 2005

Pros: Peer to peer calls very good

Cons: Calls to PSTN/ Mobiles not great quality

Review: Skype is great for peer to peer calls. Works seemlessly, but calls to 'real' phones are often poor quality. Customer service is non-existent. Mywebcalls is better overall.

User Rating: 5/10

Voice in Yahoo Messenger is better.by lunite - May 18, 2005

Pros: General features are fine

Cons: Voice not clear

Review: I tried using Skype to talk to friends in Viet Nam from CA, USA. I only have dial-up. In comparison, Yahoo Messenger has clearer voice than Skype. With Skype, it sounds like we have a cold while talking. Voice break up more with Skype also.
With Yahoo Messenger, I could voice chat with my friend in VN, and my friend could call another friend over cellphone, and we all chat.

User Rating: 8/10

Excellant with my iPAQ using Wifi!by julianmaurer - May 17, 2005

Pros: My iPAQ has Wifi and this can be used with Pocket PC!

Cons: Quality of Sound can suffer at times

Review: I finally got an all singing and dancing iPAQ 4700. But the only thing missing was the phone! Once I went wireless at home I was able to use my iPAQ with a pair of stereo headphones as a phone. It works like a dream. An extra line in my house!

User Rating: 8/10

Great alternative to cut costs but don't make it your only phoneby jaysandkays - May 13, 2005

Pros: NO FIREWALL PROBLEMS unlike SIP VOIP routers

Cons: just like other VOIP solutions, the quality can vary

Review: I live and work overseas but my company is based in the USA and I support a variety of customers throughout Asia. Consequently, my phone bill using my company ATT calling card began to average about $2,000 USD per month.

My solution was to get a Vonage VOIP account (they provided the Linksys VOIP router). This was great since folks in the US could call me using a USA number which reduced their costs as well as whenever I traveled, as long as I had my router with me and plugged into a LAN, they would ring me with the same number regardless of where I was. With Vonage's calling plans, I was also able to drastically reduce my own phone charges and stop using the rape job that ATT calling cards provide with their ridiculous charges.

There was a problem though. Your standard VOIP providers all operate using SIP and this can experience problems depending on the firewall settings of the LAN you are connecting to. If the firewall doesn't allow access to all the necessary incoming and outgoing ports that your router needs, then your VOIP router is useless... as I found at at several customer sites and even some hotel rooms.

Skype was the solution. Skype utilizes a different approach then the SIP I mentioned above. Basically, it uses the same ports that your web browser does, and so when you connect to a LAN, if you can web-browse, then you can SKYPE.

However, Skype is most often used in its free mode for Skype to Skype calls yet I needed to make calls to traditional switched phone lines (someone with a real phone and not a PC). This wasn't a problem because I could use Skype-out where I prepay and call at fixed rates. And the rates are very affordable. For me to Skype-out to the USA, it was only about 2 cents per minute.

All in all, by combining these VOIP options, I slashed my company calling expenses by 90%.

The cost savings were super. But, given VOIP can choke due to bandwidth constraints on either end (caller or callee, or perhaps somewhere in-between), there were choppy or poor clarity, or even disconnects at times. And so, my suggestion is to use this for whatever you can... but there may be times when the traditional approach provides better quality.

User Rating: 9/10

One Awsome programby Streetmedik - May 12, 2005

Pros: Clear sound, easy to use

Cons: no video suppoer

Review: This program rocks. I use it daily to talk to my fiance in Hong Kong (I am in Oklahoma, USA) the sound is crystal clear, the conneections are stable. we many times leave the connection open for 10 to 15 hours at a time listening to eachothers "room environments" TV shows, music... whatever. This is a must have for dedicated chatters!.

User Rating: 8/10

easy to useby eriolse - May 12, 2005

Pros: both way - skype out - skype in

Cons: maybe sound

Review:

User Rating: 8/10

Skype In and Skype Outby stuartmorgan - May 12, 2005

Pros: Skype In is a wonderful innovation

Cons: The transmission quality for Skype out is often poor ie microphone output

Review: Skype 1.2.0.48 is much better than 1.1

User Rating: 9/10

PC-to-PC is free; calls to fixed line 1c/min; just like talking on a cell phone!by pasiphae - May 11, 2005

Pros: Free or cheap; Excellent quality sound; Only mic and speakers req'd; Can buy credit to call fixed line phones or cell phones anywhere in world @ cheap rates; Can buy voicemail; Can be called from PSTN

Cons: Ever so slight lag like a cell phone conversation; Needs at least 33.3Kbps to not mix up packets (broadband recommended)

Review: I believe this piece of software is one of the most amazing ways to keep in touch. With only a mic and speakers (prefereably a headset), you can call anyone else using Skype for free, including conference calls.
I use Linux and it is available for Windows, Linux, MacOSX, and PocketPCs!
I can talk for hours with my family on the other side of the country in conference calls and it doesn't cost a thing.

User Rating: 8/10

excellent with annoyancesby zee10 - May 11, 2005

Pros: clear loud sound

Cons: echo and delays in sound transfer

Review: Excellent with a few really annoying problems - echo and delay in sound.
Very often you have to wait about 5 seconds for the other person to hear you.
Plus impossible to talk simultaniously

User Rating: 2/10

skype is not freeby daniel small - April 19, 2005

Pros: only free to call pc's not regular telephones

Cons: not free. its not free.

Review: not free... why bother

User Rating: 9/10

Great quality in a free product!by henfetchit - April 14, 2005

Pros: Free PC-PC voice calls, really cheap calls to land lines

Cons: lags/distortion on some landline calls

Review: This is a real deal. Excellent voice/sound qulaity for computer-computer calls. Most calls to telephones are good quality too. The software is free as are computer-computer calls. Calls to telephones are very cheap anywhere in the world. Skypeout(used for calling telephones) is a snap to setup using PayPal and it's only about $.02USD/minute (in April 2005) to Europe and anywhere else I've called. Skypeout calls experience lags and a little distortion with some phones, but I've had worse experiences with telephones.
Some think IM (instant messaging) chats are better alternative. NOT me, I'd much rather talk with family & friends.

User Rating: 8/10

Good for PC - PC callsby Miguel Marquez - April 7, 2005

Pros: Easy to install and performance is good

Cons: It is imposible to buy minutes for Skypeout

Review:

User Rating: 8/10

Good quality and easy to useby andyingh - April 5, 2005

Pros: Easy to use

Cons: Occasional poor voice to landline

Review: Having used SkypeOut regularly for international calls I have found the calls of good quality. Only once have I had poor voice quality which redialling cured. Delay is not inconsistent with landline to landline calls.
Unable to test pc to pc as the contact I use this for cannot instal on their old pc.

User Rating: 3/10

Why not use the audio chat feature in other programs like AIM and Ichat???by k9calamity - April 5, 2005

Pros: I guess the quality is good.

Cons: Totaly useless and it gave my computer a nasty virus...

Review: Totaly stupid, with declining phone company rates, just get one of those VOIP phones... Even though the quality on both VOIP and SKYPE suck... If you can afford a $39 phone bill, just sign up for MCI or IDT phone........ This skype is pointless, also if you want to talk over the internet, just use Ichat or i think Yahoo messenger and maybe AIM will allow you to "audio chat" That is fine... SKYPE STINKS

User Rating: 9/10

great Apple to Windows programby heednst - March 24, 2005

Pros: free computer-2-computer calls ANYWHERE!

Cons: none...hey it's free and works internationally!

Review: I was interested in finding a program that allowed computer2computer calling that was platform independent. I previously had a windows PC and used yahoo to voice chat internationally. Since switching to Apple, I had problems voice chatting, but Skype has solved that problem. Can even use conferencing with others. For a completely free program, so long as it's computer2computer, I can't find anything better.

User Rating: 9/10

Built from ground up to be better than SIPby GaryRW - March 23, 2005

Pros: Outstanding call quality

Cons: Financial snafus for SkypeOut/In are notorious

Review: Unique service that requires practically no central company hardware infrastructure because of distributed technology. 100% encryption end-to-end. Using for over 1.5 yrs. Consistantly over 2 million simultaneous users during peak hours in USA, and growing.

Updated
When WiMAX rolls out, the potential to obsolete conventional cell phone service is great. Already Skype for WiFi hotspots is in use. Of course all this potential exists for other TCP/IP VoIP's, except the advantages of minimal company infrastructure continue for Skype.

User Rating: 9/10

Great Money Saving Toolby aetony - March 23, 2005

Pros: Excellent sound quality

Cons: Better be plugged in when on line

Review: Quality & ease of use are excellent. Buying time is easy with paypal. Overall a great money saving tool! I do a lot of overseas calling and this is the best method to go with.

User Rating: 7/10

I've been using it for last 6 monthsby ifhamsi - March 22, 2005

Pros: Free and Easy

Cons: Gave trouble while un-installing the software. Calls are not clear for all the countries.

Review:

User Rating: 9/10

best communication program todayby jacnor - March 18, 2005

Pros: easy t o use, very good sound, very popular

Cons: Needs a broadband

Review: The best program for an internet phone I ever used until today.

User Rating: 9/10

Easy to install, easy to useby arandall - March 17, 2005

Pros: Right price

Cons: Hard to convince others its this good

Review: The toughest thing about using Skype is getting your friends to sign up. I guess it seems too good to be true.

User Rating: 7/10

Failed to raise account with Skypeby Brizbane - March 16, 2005

Pros: Good at the price

Cons: Inability to email tSkype

Review: Couple of dropouts on pc to pc.
Not as clear or reliable as Firefly.
Frustrating inablility to initiate account by rejection of my credit card by their secure server. My credit card service assures me that they aren't rejecting payment.
I'm all for Firefly and only hope they come up with iPAQ software like Skype's.

User Rating: 9/10

it's awesome, even on our MAC!by shexpat - March 16, 2005

Pros: conference call facilities, IM capabilities, and very reliable service!

Cons: limited IM features and new set up required for user list for each computer

Review: skype saves me a ton and has great features. could only improve slightly, but for a free service, no complaints!

User Rating: 2/10

Drives you crazy trying to pay them for their servicesby walteradamson - March 15, 2005

Pros: Great voice quality, and features

Cons: Payment options are hell on earth

Review: In this opinion I'm just voting on how maddening it is to try to pay Skype for anything these days. You'll find your credit cards rejected, and in some cases disabled until you contact your bank, and payment options that disappear before your eyes.

The Skype Forum is getting overloaded with screaming raving mad posts on this.

How can Skype afford to give up so much income from so many people that JUST WANT TO PAY THEM - and IN ADVANCE??

Try if you wish but be warned that you're in for an internet nightmare.

User Rating: 8/10

Better alternative than MSN and Yahoo chat!by parsi_porio - March 15, 2005

Pros: Sound transmission is just like a regular phone call - when it works.

Cons: All international calls are not always smooth.

Review: I would tend to disagree with - "...clear calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world...". I tried this software almost a year ago. It worked like a regular phone call with my friend in Canada, but international calls to India were pathetic. All said and done I would rather use skype any day over MSN Chat and Boot Microsoft out of my life!

User Rating: 9/10

Great sound, great price (free!)by krusher - March 15, 2005

Pros: Free Skype to Skype calls

Cons: Must pay for non Skype to Skype calls

Review: This is the best VoIP i've used. I expected the quality of the sound to be subpar but it was crystal clear. Everyone should have Skype.

User Rating: 9/10

A must have for expats overseasby blackjack21 - March 15, 2005

Pros: Excellent comp to comp free calls adn VERY cheap to call home

Cons: Stable broadband required

Review: Wife and I from Hawaii and Denmark respectively...But living in Japan..Not cheap.
US$ 200-300 monthly phone bills calling home ..Now ... US$4-6 seriously !
Purchase SKYPE OUT (Comp-to-landline) credit in batches of $10... lasts for a long time.

If we keep using it this much will get the phone that connects to comp and can be used both for reg. calls and skype.

User Rating: 1/10

Couldn't pay!!!by ss1980 - March 14, 2005

Pros: Nothing good about it.

Cons: You can't pay to make calls.

Review: I spent 2 (two) whole months trying to pay for SKYPE services to begin placing calls over the world but was unable to do it.

Negotiations with Moneybookers.com did not bring any viable results. The answers that were given to me repeated themselves, many e-mails were left ananswered, online chats with Moneybookers and Skype employees brought up the belief that they place robots to chat with people instead of real persons. The answers given to me were standard and did not solve my problems at all!!!

User Rating: 9/10

Excellent Productby DrDigit - March 12, 2005

Pros: This one best PC to PC programs available

Cons: PC to Land Line needs some work

Review: Over the past five years our company has reviewed and used a number of different pc to pc VoIP programs and this is the first one that I would consider a home run.
We realize the PC to Phone part of the program is in need of some work but this company, SKYPE, has only been really pushing this product for a year to year an half. It is really amazing what they have done with it. Great IM features, plus there new voice mail feature will be a real assist. The voice quality is super and they are really trying to make this a super system. Unfortunately I think there is a lot of growth pains but in the long haul it will all get worked out.
We have almost all of our customers using this system and everyone loves it. For those of you who have had a bad experience just remember the experiences you have had with MS products and OS's. This company wants there product to be number 1 so they will get it together. Send your comments and suggestions.
All I know is that after five years of dealing with junk programs this is a real plus and we are going to stick with SKYPE.

User Rating: 7/10

Skype really works!by ptknight - March 12, 2005

Pros: The program is very easy to use

Cons: Forget about support from Skype

Review: The program is grea. In 1 minute you will be making calls to other skype users and in 10m to POTS. The support still has a long way to go - not only it is slow, but it is also inacurate

User Rating: 9/10

Nu pot să zic decât: este "the best!"by victoras - March 12, 2005

Pros: Merită încercat. Mi se pare un program excelent.

Cons: Anyway... e foarte bun! încercaţi-l şi voi!

Review:

User Rating: 9/10

VoIP that worksby Alaindupuis - March 9, 2005

Pros: Free, works when MSN Messager does not

Cons: Echo on the line sensitive to microphone choice, speaker

Review: I have been using MSN Messager for a while to connect with my familly and friends around the world. Many times, the audio connection cannot be started due to network issues. Lately I setup a PC at my Inlaws and could not get MSN to connect whatever setting we where using. We installed Skype and where able to talk right after setting up the software. No matter where you are or where you call, you always get though, even behind routers and firewalls and thousand of miles away.

The only issue I have with Skype is echo and delay. You can clearly hear yourself speaking through your speaker a second or two after talking. This was very bad using the embeded microphone in my Logitch Zoom webcam and improved a lot using a separate microphone connected to my PC (embeded audio on an Epox motherboard, 900MHz AMD CPU). This effect went from echo so bad that you could get any thing audible to some background noise that you would rather get rid off.

I have not tried Skypeout yet so I cannot comment.

We still use MSN Messenger for the webcam and text messaging

Conclusion: it's free. it works. My familly is talking for hours every week and everybody is happy

User Rating: 9/10

Nothing better for PC to PC communicationby sharkhy - March 9, 2005

Pros: Amazing PC to PC sound quality, easy IM style interface, conferencing ability, SkypeOut option to call non-Skype users

Cons: SkypeOut difficult to fund and has low sound quality, requires broadband (for me at least)

Review: I've been using Skype for a couple of weeks now to talk to relatives in India and it is truly amazing. I've never heard call quality like this over a regular phone....ever. The program is ridiculously easy to use, if someone is familiar with any IM client, and makes conference calls a breeze. The program didn't work until my relative upgraded to a broadband connection, though.

The only gripe I have is with SkypeOut. The only way I was able to fund my account was through Paypal (which I had to set up) because the credit card method seemed to assume that I could provide confirmation through SMS. The quality of SkypeOut calls has also been very poor, although pretty cheap for calls to the US. I have to shout to be heard in maybe 1 out of 4 SkypeOut calls.

User Rating: 9/10

This is just Great .by JosePablo58 - March 8, 2005

Pros: Rather good audio quality

Cons: Hard to open account for skype out.

Review: It took me a wile to start using Skype, but ever since, I use it to speak with my family spead around the globe. Even group calls have hardly any eco's and are good fun.
The only negative note is that it is almost impossible to open an account to make calls to PSTN connections as the "activation code" is not send to the mobile phone number provided. The option to provide a lot of very sensitive data over the www is a definite no go over a non secure path.
For the rest..BRAVO and thanks. Jos.

User Rating: 6/10

Could be betterby Robert Keylard - March 8, 2005

Pros: Incoming signal is loud and clear

Cons: Outgoing signal via satellite is of poor quality

Review: The conversation is mostly one way. I can hear the other side loud and clear, but my reply comes in waves of echoes with great time delays because of poor satellite upload quality.

User Rating: 7/10

Good but need improvementby Motiwala - March 8, 2005

Pros: Good Voice Quality only on Broadband

Cons: LBC is not any better than other VOIP, not so good echo cancellation, and no central contact management

Review: Overall I liked Skype but it is not upto the mark as advertised. I have experience voice inconsistent voice quality while talking to someone using dialup.

One of the major drawback is lack of central contact management. I use multiple systems and I have to add all contacts manually on all systems. It would be great if it has some Yahoo messenger like contact management system.

There are many important cosmetic changes are required. For example, everytime it asks for profile updation or register itself to start automatically with windows without users consent is pain (by default).

User Rating: 9/10

Sounds like they are in the next roomby mom-at-home - March 8, 2005

Pros: Free is always good, and it is easy to use, PC to PC sound quality is exceptional

Cons: Though I know it is widely used worldwide, not many people I know use it and for some reason are not willing to try it.

Review: I have not tried PC to landline yet, but I have been very pleased with how it performs PC to PC. I have been able to keep it running in the background without experiencing any degradation in PC performance. In short, I have not experienced any of the problems enumerated here. If I had three thumbs, I would give it three thumbs up!

User Rating: 7/10

better than the restby howardvb - March 8, 2005

Pros: will improve with time

Cons: needs to accept debit credit cards

Review:

User Rating: 7/10

Good value........it's freeby dogo - March 8, 2005

Pros: In time it can only get better.

Cons: Echo & breakup an annoying problem.

Review: For absolute clarity both parties must have broadband. When I talk to friends with DSL which I also have it's crystal clear. To dialup friends, much more difficult. SkypeOut also not good but, when your callee is in New Zealand, you can't complain about the cost if you're prepared to put up with occasional breakup. As this is Skype's entrèe edition I'm very optimistic.

User Rating: 3/10

Fine for PC to PC, but no good for PC to land lineby sharadkaria - March 8, 2005

Pros: Excellent for PC to PC calls.

Cons: Not very useful if who you want to call is not online. Calling land line always produces delays of 3 to 5 seconds, making conversations impossible.

Review: I was initially very exited about the product but after having tried it for a bit longer, I have found that it is only any good for PC to PC calls. As soon as you call a land line, there is an intolerable delay in making any conversation. I have not stopped using the product as I no longer find the opportunity/convenience for PC to PC calls.

User Rating: 3/10

It's alright, unless you want to understand what's being saidby karlraade - March 8, 2005

Pros: Easy to use, straight-forward product design

Cons: Low quality sound (both ends), no static phone number

Review: I don't have a phone at my desk, so I purchased some time with Skype so i could keep in touch with my family while I'm at work. I found that, under the best situations, sound quality was spotty, heavily compressed (children cannot get past the flange sound of the compression) and there was no way for them to contact me (there is presently no option for this). I tested this again on a variety of computers and internet settings (i'm an animator so I'm generally around machines with significant capabilities for multi-media support) but under no situation have I been able to find a way to make it worth using regularly. Wish I could get my money back...

User Rating: 9/10

Skype is excellent...Use it all the time!by ried--2008 - March 8, 2005

Pros: crystal clear, better than the phone..

Cons: delay sometimes when other applications are running.

Review: One excellent program......waiting for the next version.

User Rating: 8/10

Skype to Skype -Great! Looking forward to future developments.by Allanb - March 8, 2005

Pros: Saves heaps on long international calls.Clear as a bell calls.

Cons: A little confusing to get into at first.Could do with simplified menu.

Review: Call experience has been excellent when user has good sound card and uses headphones.Otherwise lots of feedback from speakers.Conference calls had a significant fall off in volume,also delays in communication experienced. But overall worth the effort.

User Rating: 7/10

overall good, bad quality to landlinesby francisco8104 - March 8, 2005

Pros: its free, generally good quality for pc to pc calls

Cons: bad quality of calls to landlines at times uninteligible

Review: Forget skype out. Its cheap but the quality of the calls is unforseeable, it can be acceptable (it never is good) and it can be a reap off. What good is it that its cheap if you can not understand at all (sound gets interrupted, cut all the time) most of the times. Skype for pc to pc calls is ok. The quality of calls is very often excellent, but sometimes (not as seldom as that) it is bad and you can not understand anything - However considering what you pay you can not demand too much

User Rating: 8/10

great, could be better thoughby danielkeder - March 8, 2005

Pros: easy set up, good quality

Cons: need to use headset

Review: Skype too the VOIP community by storm. I mean it was not the first, not at lease ONE OF THE FIRST. It was quite late to enter the market, yet it beat all the competition. How? Its just incredibly easy to use and set up and running. Its alright I guess, but the real use is somewhat limited because you need to have head set to use it and your comp. must be turned on. I hope Skype will come out soon with hardware telephones that we could use WITHOUT the need to have the comp.turned on and using the headset.

SkypeOut service worked for me great, although I haven't used it all that much. I wish Skype would support and be supported by JABBER technology (Instant messanging). Itd make it much more usable.

Now get this: if EVERYONE had Skype, then we wouldn't have to pay for the damn phonecalls

(at least to land-lines)

Try it out!

User Rating: 9/10

Excellent ....$$ saver, You can't afford not to try it.by froaderick - March 7, 2005

Pros: clear and completely free. no adware/spyware

Cons: some people need help setting up...or trouble shooting basic problems

Review: In my experience there are two scenarios.
A) It works and it works awesome. Voice is clear and there are no problems that can't be worked out(echo, microphone placement or adjustment)
B) It just seems to have trouble connecting or drops calls and makes it at times virtually unuseable. Trouble shooting the usual way doesn't help and is probably due to the environment (office setup, firewall, ports, etc.)

Luckily in my experience of my 20 or so users/contacts all are As and only one B. So that is 95% of my friends and associates love it. (The one B isn't allowed to have it at work so can't ask IT helpdesk for help)
In addition a number of my associates do business abroad and use the pc to pc ******* to save a lot on international calls (free vs $$$$)these calls are just as clear and good as local.
I don't have a lot of experience with the SkypeOut feature.

User Rating: 9/10

Skype to Skype works flawlesslyby Julien Furioli - March 7, 2005

Pros: Easy to setup, easy to use, perfect voice quality through good speakers

Cons: No webcam support, must have a good microphone and decent speakers, broadband required

Review: very simply: using Skype is great when you have a good microphone (Logitech) and decent speakers (any multimedia laptop of honest quality)- then using Skype to call another computer is a bliss.

don't try to call home phones with it, it does not work as well.

User Rating: 1/10

I've had this service for two weeks and have been disconnected each time I've called someone.by roadking02 - March 6, 2005

Pros: Haven't seen any yet.

Cons: Customer service is the worst I've ever experienced!

Review: I paid for Skypeout to call people I know until they join. So far I've made 7 calls. Each has been disconnected as soon as they answer. I've tried to find something in the member forums, the FAQ's and no luck. I've not been able to get anyone on their instant messaging (Ha!). I set an e-mail describing what I'm experiencing and received a message back to chect the FAQ's and forums. There doesn't seem to be any way to get any help here. I don't think their product and customer service is ready for primetime!

User Rating: 5/10

Others Cannot Hear Youby rkelly72 - March 4, 2005

Pros: when it works, it works well

Cons: no customer service

Review: Customer Service cannot give an answer to correct problems, e.g., the other party cannot hear me.

User Rating: 9/10

It's more than worth the tryby scud - March 4, 2005

Pros: It'll put phone companies out of business

Cons: Skypeout quality

Review: This is a wonderful service. I encountered some problems initially with the quality, but they were because I had two mic's running. My calls said I sounded as though I was in orbit.

When I purchased a headset with a microphone ($20), the problems went away for the most part. Sometimes if the internet is unusually busy the quality falls off slightly.

But I love this program and highly recommend it.

User Rating: 9/10

Free to downloadby kevin_liy - March 2, 2005

Pros: Free except for dailing

Cons: Dialing out

Review: Its good if you have to talk to someone overseas. Instead of dialing, tell them to sign up then just call them.

User Rating: 9/10

Very good. Money saving.by shliach613 - February 27, 2005

Pros: Clear sound. Decent interface.

Cons: Program has some annoying features.

Review: For PC 2 PC you probably can't do much better than skype. It's realy clear. Even on a dial-up connection. SkypeOut is generaly okay as well. The program has some annoying features that with time hopefully will be fixed. This will definately save you money if you call over seas a lot.

User Rating: 5/10

Not Bad but a bit System Resource Intensiveby ultravibe - February 27, 2005

Pros: Clear PC to PC communication World Wide.

Cons: Uses double the amount of system resources of other voice over IP applications

Review: I used this on a few call from the East Coast US, to Australia worked very well. I have a cranking highend system, so didn't notice the resource hit, but if you are running a ton of other apps or have a slow system this may slow you down a bit more than you'd expect.

User Rating: 9/10

Skype rulesby exitbrooklyn - February 27, 2005

Pros: Saves a surfeit amount of money for international calls

Cons: Landline connection is not very clear. You have to check update manually.

Review:

User Rating: 7/10

PC to PC it's great, PC to Landline not so greatby echollis - February 27, 2005

Pros: Easy, no ads, intuitive

Cons: It's not there yet for calling landline phones

Review: When this product works as good on landline phones as it does PC to PC, it'll be a winner for people who use their computers a lot.

User Rating: 9/10

I have found it great for international calls to keep in touch with family when I am on the road.by gdanshaw - February 26, 2005

Pros: Very easy to download, install and use.

Cons: Difficultly in using the PC to Landline Phone feature from overseas.

Review: I have found Skype to be a blessing when keeping in touch with my wife and family on my internation travels. We use the IM function to set up times when to be on line and I find the connection to be almost perfect. Once in awhile there are momentary dropouts, but what do you want for something that is free.

User Rating: 9/10

very good quality and easy to useby fagunat - February 26, 2005

Pros: It is very easy to use and its quality is pretty good

Cons: It's very annoying that every time asks to let it starting when the PC starts

Review: I like it very much and I have recommended it to many of my family members and friends.

User Rating: 9/10

Best PC-toPC call qualityby Majo16 - February 26, 2005

Pros: Excellent PC-to-PC call quality

Cons: Slows down PC with conference call

Review: Excellent call quality. Calls have dropped very seldom. I use it to discuss work matters with colleagues while working with my PC. When making conference calls, the conference is started by the one with the fastest PC or the one who will not work with heavy programs during the call because Skype slows down the PC performance.

User Rating: 8/10

Beware of credit transfer to Moneybookers!by seafox13 - February 26, 2005

Pros: Good quality pc to pc conversation reproduction.

Cons: SkypeOut still shows Pending since 22/12/2004 10 Euro transfer to Moneybookers!

Review: Works well pc to pc, but I have had no success with my enquiries to both Skype and Moneybookers re the fate of the 10 Euro bank transfer I made on 22/12/2004. Thus I have been unable to trial SkypeOut.

User Rating: 8/10

Nice, but you need a good micby spearman792 - February 25, 2005

Pros: You can talk hands free, unlike AIM, it's free, and I heard it is hacker free, so it's worth it to download it.

Cons: I have already tried Skype, but without a good microphone, it's not really worth using it, so I'm just sticking with AIM.

Review:

User Rating: 9/10

Recommendedby Shawzy - February 25, 2005

Pros: Quick & easy to set up

Cons: No video available

Review: During the number of calls I have made to quality has been outstanding.

CNET Archive BETA

Skype 1.1 (discontinued)

User opinions

Related blog posts

About CNET Archive BETA

Search Archive

Skype 1.1 specifications