Skype's Holiday Survival Guide

December 7, 2006; 06:55 AM
The holidays are again upon us, and along with tidings of peace on Earth and goodwill toward men come those seemingly unavoidable holiday hassles. Skype, the global Internet communications company, is helping users cope this season with a holiday survival guide of Skype Certified™ products, available both online and in retail stores in time for the holidays.

Skype’s affordable gear, coupled with free calls among the users of Skype™ software, can help save precious cash to be put toward shedding post-holiday debt as quickly as those unwanted holiday pounds. Skype Certified products are now available on Skype’s Web store at skype.com/store.

• WiFi Phones: Whether you’re stranded in an airport, snowed in at school or dealing with spotty cell coverage while en route, Skype has a solution. With the new NETGEAR SPH101 and Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype phones available online now, you’ve got an inexpensive and reliable means of communication from open access points anywhere in the world.
• Skype End-of-Year Bundle Pack: We all have that special someone on our list that is impossible to buy for. Instead of wracking your brain for a trinket that will be promptly re-gifted at next year’s office party, give them a more meaningful gift of communication with a Skype bundle of products and services. This year’s Skype End-of-Year Bundle conveniently includes a SMC WiFi phone, La Fonera WiFi router, 500 SkypeOut™ minutes* and 12 months of Skype voicemail. It’s such a good deal that you’ll be tempted to buy one for yourself. Don’t worry, you deserve it, but now there’s no excuse for not calling Mom more often.
• Web Cameras: Whether your family tree is rooted in another country or you’ve got a loved one abroad in the military this season, Skype can bridge the miles and still make it possible to create holiday memories together. Logitech’s QuickCam Chat for Skype is a great stocking stuffer for those who want to take advantage of Skype’s free video calling. Creative’s Live! Cam Voice, available now, blocks out side chatter with special adaptive array microphones, and the whole family can pile in front of the ultra wide-angle lens. Not only are they a useful way to watch friends and family open gifts from multiple locations, but you can also—at your own risk—suggest this one as the perfect means to celebrate at a safe distance with the in-laws.
• Hands-free Headset: You want to give junior a fitting gift, but you’re worried you’ll find it posted for sale online two weeks later with the net profits going towards his fraternity’s “beer fund.” Enter the Motorola Talk & Tunes headset, which is available now online and in stores; not only can he jam to his favorite MP3 tunes while surfing the Web, but the headset also automatically pauses to take Skype calls and then resumes the tunes when the call has ended. And as an added bonus, the money saved on his phone bills can now go directly into your “retirement fund.”
• Cordless Handset: Consider the following scene: You’re propped up on the couch, immobile after a dangerous blend of spiked eggnog and three helpings of holiday turkey. Sound familiar? Fulfill your holiday duties with ease using the new Philips 321 Cordless Handset, which is available now. Make both Skype and traditional landline calls from the comfort of your couch, or from any room in your house, for that matter. And no, laps back and forth to the fridge for leftovers do not count as exercise.
• Cordless Phones: Spare Dad another mind-numbing manual to thumb through, cursing “some assembly required.” Instead, give him something user-friendly such as the RTX 3055 DUALphone, which he can use for both traditional landline calls and Skype calls. With the money he saves on phone bills, he can buy something for himself…or stock up on those AA batteries in honor of the second most-hated holiday phrase: “batteries not included.”
• For Young Adults: For the kitten or puppy fans in your family, consider the available Skype gift alternatives that will keep the little tykes as occupied this season: the new Perfectel Hello Kitty Phone and Verballs animated speakerphones. Everyone’s favorite feline has added Internet calling to her repertoire, and Verballs are talking furry critters that bring Skype to life by moving their mouths at exactly the same time as your friend talks to you. And fun fact: All of the Verball characters were created by the team of designers who also worked on the Oscar award-winning Wallace and Gromit films.

Looking for more information on these or any other Skype Certified products? Skype Gear, a new blog at www.skype.com/gear dedicated exclusively to the world of Skype hardware, can give you the latest news, comments, reviews and behind-the-scenes information directly from Skype’s gadget gurus.

*The 500 SkypeOut minutes in the End-of-Year Bundle are based on calls to destinations that fall under the SkypeOut Global Rate, applicable to calls to fixed lines in more than 30 countries.

About Skype

Skype is the world's fastest-growing Internet communication offering, allowing unlimited free voice, video and instant messaging communication between users of Skype Software. With over 136 million registered users, Skype is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to and from landline and mobile phones, voicemail, call forwarding and personalization including ringtones and avatars. Skype also has relationships with a growing network of hardware and software providers.

Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). To learn more visit skype.com.