Free calls anyone? (Skype)

Member Name: REALTRAVELLER

Product:	Skype
Date:	29/08/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free calls

Disadvantages: None

Skype is the most widely available software to talk over the Internet.
It is free to install, free to use and there are no hidden costs.

You need to download the software from www.skype.com, this will take you probably 10-15 minutes, once the software is installed and you have created a login, you are ready to start.
The next thing to do is to add your friends and contacts. There is also a search engine to look for people in different countries, I have a friend who actually use it to chat with new people, but I never tried it.

You can either make calls to your friends or you can use the chat. I normally use the chat because of the slow Internet at home. Skype will only work if you have a good Internet connection, otherwise you will get crazy saying "erm, sorry, I did not hear you, what did you say? You are breaking up" and so on.

Since you will use your PC or laptop, it is definitively good to have also good microphones installed. You can also use the Webcam facility, in my case, as I said earlier, the connection is not good, but I noticed that this is not having any impact on the video quality.

When I need to talk to a couple of friends who have Skype, I normally go to one of the Internet cafes near where I live, they have good connection and I must say that the quality of the conversation is nothing short of what you have on your mobile phone. I had some poor quality mobile phones and I must say that if you have broadband, you will probably get better quality on Skype.

One of the limitations of Skype is that it does not support more than one to one conversations.

You can also use Skype to make calls to landlines, for landlines the rates are quite good, you only pay few pennies per minute, but for mobile operators the rates are very stiff. You need to set up an account and pre load a certain amount from your credit card for this.

In conclusion, Skype is a great tool to keep in touch people who are away from you, it is free and you only need a good connection and good microphone on your pc.

Summary: Free calls

Variety of features:
Reliability:
User friendly:
Installation:
Update possibilites: