Skype passes 100m users; launches SkypeIn & Skype Voicemail Beta

- Gary Thayer, Editor

Luxembourg, April 18, 2005 -- (MobileVillage) -- Internet telephone service provider Skype has announced the public beta launch of two new services: SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail. The two services, which require paid registration, are bundled with the latest version of Skype's free software for Linux, Mac OS X, Pocket PC and Windows platforms.

SkypeIn customers can receive inbound calls to their Skype client from ordinary fixed telephones or mobile phones while they travel worldwide, without having to pay costly roaming charges. Customers choose a country and area code and are assigned a regular telephone number. Anyone may call the SkypeIn user at their SkypeIn number wherever the user travels. Users may purchase up to three numbers from their home country in Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States during the beta period.

Skype Voicemail enables users to manage incoming voicemail messages, making their Skype usage more ubiquitous. Customers can receive a voicemail message up to 10 minutes long from any user or traditional phone, and customers can record their own personalized voicemail greeting, playback messages online or offline, and send incoming calls to voicemail.

SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail complement Skype's first premium service, SkypeOut, which allows global calling to public telephone numbers for local rates. Skype also includes user-controlled privacy settings, with the ability to block SkypeIn numbers.

Three month SkypeIn subscriptions are available for €10 (US $13) and 12 month subscriptions for €30 ($39). Skype Voicemail subscriptions are available for €5 ($7) for 3 months or €15 ($19) for 12 months, and a free subscription is included with all SkypeIn orders.

SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail betas are available with the latest versions of Skype for Linux, Mac OS X, Pocket PC and Windows platforms. The new downloads also include the ability for users to access their personal contact lists and the ability to import contact lists from other desktop applications.

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