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Skype 3.0
Price: Call charges to landlines and mobiles apply

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 18/01/2007
Featured in magazine:
Issue 153
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Skype
Web Address: www.skype.com


Skype's already a popular internet telephone (or VoIP – Voice over IP) service, which offers free calls between Skype users, and good discounts on domestic and international calls from your PC to a standard telephone. However, the technicians at Skype are being kept busy. While the latest version of the Skype software doesn't do much to enhance standard phone calls, it offers a range of new social features for those using Skype as their link to the outside world.

Features
Numerous plug-ins are now available to tie Skype in with other popular web services. A good example of this is Last.FM, which will show other Skype users which track you're listening to if you happen to be a Last.FM fan. There are also games to play and a few other bits and bobs. The other area this version of the software has expanded is Skypecasts – essentially audio versions of public chatrooms – which have come out of their beta testing phase and are now integrated directly into the Skype software. If you use Internet Explorer you can also install a handy click-to-call tool that lets you make a call to a number without even having to cut and paste it. All the other elements we've come to know and love about Skype are still present.

Performance
All these extra features would be pointless, of course, if the basic internet telephone service didn't work, but we're pleased to report that it's as healthy as ever. PC-to-PC calls over broadband are sharp and clear. Calls to landlines aren't quite as crisp as if you were talking from one phone to another, but it's still easy to hear what people are saying.

Ease of use
One of the secrets of Skype's popularity is that it's very simple to use. It uses the look and feel of an instant messenger, though there's still a representation of a keypad that you can simply dial numbers in to if you wish. The new features are neatly integrated into tabbed sections of the interface, so if you aren't interested in them, they won't get in the way.

Value for money
You can't argue against free calls; so as long as you can persuade your friends and family to install Skype, you can save a stack of money. Calls abroad are also heavily discounted compared to the likes of regular BT landline rates, which means you could save if you make a lot of international calls. The software itself is free to download, so there's little reason not to give it a try.

More Internet Telephony reviews:

• Skype Pro
• Skype 3.0
• Vonage Wi-Fi Phone
• Freetalk
• Babble