Skype, the popular VoIP service, most certainly had it’s ups and downs this year, though most of it seemed to roll together in the last few weeks of 2010. Used for businesses, long-distance calls, families, friends, and study abroad students, Skype has become a critical tool for global communications.
Despite the recent outage in mid-December, Skype hasn’t lost any ground against competitors such as Google Talk. Though slow to the mobile market, Skype has found its way onto the main smartphone operating systems including the iPhone (iOS), Android, and Blackberry. However, 3G calls for Android and Blackberry, at least in the United States, is limited to Verizon customers, due to an exclusive contract between Verizon and Skype. iPhone owners (who for the most part are under AT&T) only recently received 3G call functionality.
As of yesterday, Skype announced video chat capabilities for iOS devices, including the iPhone 4 and the new iPad Touch. The iPad and older iPod Touch, though without a front facing camera can still play video calls (albeit one sidedly). Engadget reports that Skype is promising additional announcements for CES next week. One may expect video chat capabilities to be brought over to other devices and platforms including Android and a possibly front-facing camera equipped second generation iPad (according to rumors).
One major setback for Skype came in today with the announcement from China (via the People’s Daily) that Skype (along with other “illegal” VoIP services) would be banned. However, banning Skype may deal a large blow to the China as well, as Skype has become an incredibly popular service for both businesses and the general population. Skype for the moment is still available in China and its ultimate fate may not be determined yet.
With CES around the corner as well, Skype is poised to make plenty of big splashes to start of the new year. Stay tuned for additional news and updates!
For fans of wild, crazy, and borderline NSFW gadgets, check out the Gmen Show hosted by Andrew Hoover and his forever rotating cast of co-hosts (including @phatemokid, @iyaz, @ASUdesigner and yours truly, @derrickc82). Check the link below for Andrew’s 2010 wrap up post!
2010 Wrap up: Andrew
There have been a lot of remarkable pieces of technology released this year. Unfortunately, we didn’t cover most of them because we were busy with off road high heels and boil buoys. Fortunately, we stopped giggling at the vibrator chess set long enough to realize we should add some real content so you, the wonderful and dedicated reader that you are, can get your money’s worth out of this show.
Andrew Hoover and Joshua Caleb join in this week to discuss the importance of password selection on the web. In light of the recent Gawker user data fiasco, remember to check your login info! We discuss some tips on choosing the right passwords. Andrew manages to slip in a rant on smartphone development and progress (or the lack thereof) as we take a look at the new Samsung Nexus S. We also got a slew of app updates and more on this week’s Gigawhat!
Don’t forget to subscribe to us on iTunes with the link below and follow us on Twitter (Derrick at @derrickc82, Iyaz at @iyaz, Andrew at @Frontline99, and JoshuaCaleb at @JoshuaCaleb75). Leave a comment and check out the links to the show on the blog post.
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Rejoice, Blackberry enthusiasts! Boy Genius Report has posted a 10 minute video of the Blackberry Playbook in action. Though the tablet was announced by RIM earlier this year, there was no live demo of the unit. The video shows a fair amount, including multitasking, application (Music, Video, etc.), and the virtual keyboard.
There’s still no update on the final price or release date. Still, it’s good to see another take on the tablet.
Iyaz is back and we have the latest and greatest for this week. We also explain what 4G is (and isn’t) and give our two cents on gifts for this holiday season!
Don’t forget to subscribe to us on iTunes with the link below and follow us on Twitter (Derrick at @derrickc82, Iyaz at @iyaz). Leave a comment and check out the links to the show on the blog post.
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