Skype is teaming up with Wal-Mart to address the growing popularity and demand for Internet communications among U.S. consumers. Starting today, Wal-Mart is offering Skype Certified hardware in the Internet and voice communications area of 1,800 of its stores throughout the country, providing more opportunity and accessibility for people looking for affordable calling options. This partnership gives shoppers immediate hands-on access to headsets, webcams and handsets designed to work with Skype, as well as the first pre-paid cards for Skype available in the U.S.

The addition of Skype Internet communications products to Wal-Mart stores comes at a time when VoIP adoption among U.S. households is growing rapidly. According to the Telecommunications Industry Association, 9.9% of all landlines in the U.S. were VoIP lines in 2006, and this will rise to 34.1% by 2010. In addition, Skype is the number one software-based VoIP application in the U.S. by market share, according to a March 2007 report by In-Stat.

MOBIVOX announces the Beta launch of its groundbreaking hosted service, making it the first ever communication provider to bring Skype to ANY mobile device. The service also offers free international fixed and mobile calls between MOBIVOX users. Best of all, MOBIVOX works with every mobile phone and requires NO download on the mobile or on the PC. MOBIVOX is underpinned by a global infrastructure and extensive proprietary technology. The service is now available in 23 countries including the US and the UK at www.mobivox.com.

MOBIVOX brings mobile consumers a unique and powerful suite of communications services, allowing users to do much more with their existing mobile phone and enjoy:

Skype and Intel Corporation announce a joint effort to advance a shared vision of establishing the personal computer as a central and reliable platform for voice and video calling over the Internet. By offering an Intel-sponsored day of free global calling over Skype on Mother’s Day to U.S. and Canadian consumers, the two companies are encouraging U.S. and Canadian users to take advantage of Internet communication via their PCs or laptops. This builds on the success of the Skype Unlimited Calling plan which has enabled thousands of consumers across the U.S. and Canada to save hundreds of dollars on domestic calling since it was introduced in December 2006.

According to a March 2007 In-Stat report entitled U.S. Residential Voice-Over IP Market Dynamics and Market Tracker, the number of VoIP households in the U.S. continued to grow briskly in the fourth quarter, with more than 10.6 million households now using VoIP. In-Stat found that while cable providers drove strong adoption of VoIP, Skype gained significant market share in the quarter, consolidating its leading market position at the expense of its client-based VoIP rivals. The report credits Skype’s innovative and disruptive pricing and product strategy for its success, citing the Skype Unlimited Calling plan for allowing registered users to make unlimited SkypeOut calls to any phone number in the U.S. and Canada for a flat, annual subscription fee of just $29.95, almost 90 percent less than traditional calling plans that can cost consumers $24.95 per month or more.

Eurodesign introduced in the beginning of November its newest product MobiGater - Skype to GSM and GSM to Skype Gateway. This unique device connects your PC that runs Skype and your mobile phone. It acts as a gateway between these two devices allowing its users to make free Skype and very cheap SkypeOut international calls from their mobile phones wherever they are.

MobiGater combines all the advantages of the mobile phones and Skype telephony. It gives its users true mobility and free calls worldwide. All you need is one MobiGater device and an extra SIM card.

Unlike similar products currently on the market, MobiGater does not require neither any additional software for the user’s cell phone nor any special phone or handset.

Wizzard Software is pleased to announce that WizzTones will be highlighted in the latest version of the Skype software.

The WizzTones application can be found today under “Personalised” in the Get Extras section in every download of Skype 3.0 for Windows or later.

WizzTones gives Skype users an easy, entertaining and practical way to manage their Skype contact list. By downloading WizzTones, users can create a personalized ring tone for everyone on their Skype contact list, giving them the freedom to walk away from the computer but still keep tabs on who is trying to get in touch.

The unique feature of WizzTones allows users to create personalized "talking" alerts using Wizzard's one-of-a-kind online text-to-speech creation process. This exclusive feature provides the ability to produce an announcement alert, spoken in a computer-generated, life-like male or female voice, in up to 10 languages.

WizzTones can manage all ringtones for Skype, including the many free, pre-recorded ringtones built-in with each WizzTones download. Another fun feature of WizzTones allows users to create ringtones using their voice and a microphone.

DigiLinea announces partnership with Skype to provide internet calls to selected Latin American markets. The DigiLinea platform allows service providers to offer local Latin American numbers, unlimited calling plans, and direct termination. This provides a turnkey suite for serving the Latin American community whose needs are very different from the average US or European consumer. DigiLinea allows service providers to quickly and efficiently launch customized internet-calling services that lower their customers' cost of communications to and from Latin America while increasing service-provider revenue and profit per line.

"We are delighted to be working with Skype," said DigiLinea CEO and Chairman Gregory Keough. "They realize that Latinos spend more per month on telecom services than other demographic groups, due to their high volume of calling to and from Latin America. By partnering with DigiLinea, Skype will be able to offer features that address the specific needs of the Latin American markets."

Actiontec Electronics announces that three of its international corporate customers, each with significant international calling needs, have cut their overseas phone costs by an average of 50% or more through the use of VoSKY Exchange, Actiontec's PBX-to-Skype gateway product. In addition to their dramatic telecom savings, the companies have increased productivity and convenience for their employees by allowing them to access Skype lines from any standard desktop phone connected to the PBX.

VoSKY Exchange enables companies of all sizes to centralize and control Skype calling by bridging their Private Branch Exchange equipment directly to Skype, the world's largest VoIP supplier with over 130 million users. The VoSKY Exchange connects directly the company's PBX equipment, adding multiple Skype lines.

Panasonic announces the availability of the Panasonic Wi-Fi phone for use with Skype, the world's fastest-growing Internet communications offering.

The KX-WP1050, an easy to install and use Wi-Fi Panasonic product, is one in a series of planned products that are Skype Certified. This new device uses Wi-Fi access to allow Skype users to make and receive free Skype-to-Skype calls, make inexpensive SkypeOut calls to landlines and mobiles worldwide, and receive SkypeIn calls from landlines and mobiles. With the included Wi-Fi base unit, the solution is simple to plug in and use, without using a PC.

"With the growing popularity of Skype and the mass availability of broadband in homes, offices and hotels, the KX-WP1050 will be a powerful communications tool for anyone who wants to take advantage of easily accessible and either free or inexpensive Internet calling," said Mike Timar, national marketing manager, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "This exciting product will enable greater flexibility in communications for both home and business users."

iSkoot has secured $7 million in Series B financing. iSkoot has become the leader in mobile VoIP solutions, recently working in close partnership with Skype to enable The 3 Group to become the first mobile operator to bring Skype-enabled mobile phones to consumers. iSkoot software was pre-loaded onto Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets used by The 3 Group to launch the industry's first mobile Skype service.

iSkoot Founder and CEO Jacob Guedalia said, "This investment from Charles River Ventures and our returning investors validates iSkoot's vision and execution. We look at Skype as a company that showed the world a new way of calling. We would like iSkoot to be known as the company that brought Internet calling to all mobile phones. We will continue to work with mobile operators and handset manufacturers to bring more mobile phone models to market preloaded with iSkoot software to enable ubiquitous mobile-to-PC calling. By embedding iSkoot in their handsets, mobile operators can satisfy user demand for Skype and expand average revenue per user, a clear win-win situation."

Actiontec Electronics announced that K2, a global sporting equipment manufacturer best known for its K2 skis, has installed the VoSKY Exchange gateway in its corporate headquarters to allow Internet-based Skype calls to be routed to and from users’ standard desk phones over the office PBX. The Exchange solution paid for itself in four weeks by enabling free Skype-to-Skype calls between K2 employees anywhere in the world and the main office in Carlsbad, California.

Users at K2 headquarters can make Skype calls from their existing desk phones with no need to install Skype client software on their office PCs or use a PC/headset setup during Skype conversations. Users on the road or in satellite K2 offices can call any colleague in the Carlsbad headquarters by clicking K2 headquarters’ main Skype ID through their own Skype-equipped laptops or desktops and entering the appropriate office extension. In both scenarios, calls are free because VoSKY Exchange automatically directs Skype calls to the Skype network.

Skype has released details of its Skype Pro service in Europe. Skype Pro costs £1.50 a month with an £8 introductory fee for the first five months of service, while the connection fee per call is 3.3p. Britain users will be able to talk for free to landlines in the UK.

Users who sign up receive a number of discount opportunities that include: £16 on SkypeIn numbers and £4 in credit. Additionally new Pro users are offered a £21 discount on the Philips VoIP 841 phone and a £7 discount on an SMC WiFi phone.

Features:

• Video calling
• Conference calling for up to 10 people
• Voicemail
• and Skypecasts

Skype Store Europe
Skype Store USA

Free mobile calls platform barablu is giving Skype and Google Talk users the chance to make free calls from a mobile.

barablu has perfected the technology enabling contacts from Skype and Google Talk to be transferred to a Wi-Fi enabled mobile phone.

This breakthrough means users of Skype and Google Talk can utilise the barablu service and call anyone from their contacts list without being tied to their PC. They not only gain free calls, but free texts and voice mail.

Free phone calls using the Internet is rapidly attracting a growing number of converts. This demand has up to now been driven by the likes of Skype and there are 171 million registered users worldwide. barablu takes the development into the next generation.

With barablu they not only gain free calls, but free texts and voice mail from a Wi-Fi enabled mobile phone.

Update: The promotion link in this article is now live on the Skype site, sometimes news come faster than development it seems.

I just received an email about a new Skype promotion. "As the Chinese New Year is quickly approaching, Chinese ex-pats located in the U.S. and Canada will soon start calling China to wish their family and friends back home a Happy New Year."

This promotion might be so new that their link www.skype.com/YearOfThePig doesn't exist yet, so keep an eye out for it to be working soon hopefully. Anywho here's the lowdown on the promotion thanks Chaim for the heads up.

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, Skype announced that its users in the United States and Canada can make free calls to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, through March 8.

Launching today, the 8-8-8 promotion allows U.S. and Canada-based Skype users to redeem twenty-four minutes of SkypeOut credit to call landlines and mobile phones in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and wish friends and family abroad a Happy New Year. Such calls normally cost $.021 a minute plus a $.039 connection fee. Skype to Skype calls anywhere in the world remain free.

HelloSoft announces that Skype has licensed HelloSoft's Internet-Telephony technology which will be incorporated into Skype's communication software. HelloSoft's technology will allow consumers to enjoy free, high-quality voice calls anywhere their smartphones and Pocket PCs can connect to the Internet.

"HelloSoft products being a low-footprint design are extremely cost-effective and power-efficient," said Krishna Yarlagadda, HelloSoft's President and CEO. "Our technology will support today's mobile and wireless generation as they use Skype on the go. We are excited to be working with Skype to enhance the performance of Skype for Windows Mobile."

Actiontec Electronics announces a new generation of VoSKY Exchange, a family of PBX-to-Skype gateways. With these products, businesses can use standard desktop phones to make and receive free and low-cost long-distance and international calls over Skype, the world’s fastest-growing Internet communication offering. The new 9140/9180 series adds remote access to Exchange-based Skype lines for users who are out of the office, other convenience features, and a new PBX connectivity strategy that reduces costs.

VoSKY Exchange is a rack-mountable, PBX voice gateway that adds up to eight outgoing Skype lines to the office PBX without changes to existing PBX or phone equipment. Multiple Exchange boxes can be set up in company offices in different locations worldwide to enable free calls between colleagues. Calls to other Skype users are free, while SkypeOut calls to landline or mobile phones are charged at very low rates. The system eliminates the need to use a PC and headset to make Skype calls, has a low one-time cost, and can pay for itself in a few months. Skype itself has no signup or monthly access fees.