CES 2009

LAS VEGAS--The sinking economy has actually been a good thing for Internet telephony service Skype.

Scott Durchslag, the company's chief operating officer, told reporters during a press conference here at the Consumer Electronics Show that Skype is actually seeing a surge in new users as people look for ways to cut their phone bills.

"We are seeing consumer take-up of Skype accelerating because people feel they can get value and quality without making a huge trade off," he said. "And we're seeing a whole new opportunity in the business market, as companies that I'd never have thought would be a target for Skype are pro-actively coming to us and asking for a solution."

Skype, which is owned by eBay, offers downloadable software that allows people to make free calls to other Skype users and low-cost calls to cell phones and regular phones. The service also offers free video chat. The company boasts it now has over 370 million registered users. It's been adding about 30 million subscribers a quarter, Durchslag said. And these users are making lots of phones calls. Today, about 8 percent of the world's voice minutes originate from a Skype call, he said.

All told, Durchslag said Skype has been growing about 50 percent compared to the previous year in almost every metric from minutes used to new subscribers to revenues. He also said the company just had its seventh straight quarter of profitability.

All this is happening while other technology companies are hunkering down for a long, dark recession. Meanwhile, Skype is looking to expand its services and address new markets. In particular, the company sees opportunity to develop special services for the business market, offer more video , and expand its presence on mobile phones.

As part of this effort, the company announced here that an enhanced version of its software Skype 4.0, which drastically improves the quality of voice and video, will finally come out of beta in February. It also announced it will be offering its Skype software for mobile devices preloaded on Google Android phones along with about 100 Java-enabled handsets, including some sold in the U.S.

Sadly, Skype is still not available for Apple's iPhone, but Durchslag said an iPhone version will be available in the App Store, someday. But exactly when is still up in the air.

"We have to make sure the call quality is there and the application works really well before we can announce the software for any device," he said in an interview after the press conference. "But we will have something for the iPhone as soon as it's perfect."

INQ Mobile boasts a handset made for social networks

(Credit: INQ Mobile)

The idea of a "social networking phone" seems redundant at first--don't all phones have an ability to connect to a social network of some kind? But INQ Mobile, a company based in the U.K., claims that it is the first to really bring social networks in the form of Facebook, MySpace, et al. to those of us who prefer to have regular, affordable phones. INQ's argument is that most handsets with dedicated Facebook and Skype applications have so far been of the smartphone variety, and thus out of touch with the mainstream. But with the INQ1, as it's called, these social networking applications are now available in a simple and affordable phone.

Indeed, as we played around with a sample model at a CES press event yesterday, we could go directly to Facebook with a single push of a button from the device's home screen. Facebook and other similar applications are laid out along the bottom row of the home screen, allowing for simple and direct access. The INQ1 comes with Facebook, Skype, Yahoo, Google, eBay, and Windows Messenger built-in, but since it also supports Java and BREW, you're able to add other applications like MySpace. The phone's contacts list is closely integrated with these applications, allowing you to see the online presence of all your contacts directly from the address book. For example, as you scroll down your contacts list, you can see the person's Facebook online status, Skype availability, and IM status. And then you can just choose whichever way you wish to contact him or her.

The hardware itself is decent, but nothing out of the ordinary. It has a nice display and a slider form factor. It also has a 3.2-megapixel camera, and once you take a picture, you can immediately upload it to Facebook, MySpace, or any site you want. The INQ1 also has a music player, which you can then connect to last.fm right out of the box, allowing you listen to your favorite streaming music. Of course it also has stereo Bluetooth, text messaging, and a speakerphone.

The INQ1 slides open.

(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)

You are prompted to enter your login and password the first time you use the device, but from then on you'll always be connected. We asked the INQ rep about security concerns, and he said that the phone does prompt you to enter the password every once in awhile. That said, the surest way to prevent a security breach in case your phone is stolen is to just change the password on the Web site.

So the big question is: is it affordable? INQ said that for now, the handset will go for 79 pounds, and right now the handset is only available in the U.K. and Australia. The company is shopping around for U.S. providers at the moment, and hopes to expand its partnership to other European carriers this year as well. We're not too sure how this will sell in the U.S., but perhaps its simplicity and ease of use will appeal to some.

Skype Lite on Java

(Credit: Skype)

Skype announced on Thursday the forthcoming release of Skype Lite for Google Android and other Java-enabled phones. Skype Lite marks the communication company's first native VoIP client for Java.

Skype is submitting the app to Google's Android Market on Thursday morning, though it could take Google a few days to offer it for download.

In addition, Skype Lite will also be available on Thursday to about 100 models of Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, LG, and Samsung phones. The app has been available in beta form for a growing number of handsets on Skype.com, and isn't expected to change in this initial release.

Skype Lite is truly that: a back-to-basics build that allows the customary cut-rate international calling to Skype contacts, and also calling credits to non-Skype buddies using the SkypeOut service. You'll be able to IM other Skype friends in addition, an activity best done with a data plan. Users anticipating the fuller features of the newly updated Skype for Windows Mobile beta won't find them in this debut version.

Skype Lite will process calls to the United Kingdom, Poland, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo), Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Australia, and New Zealand, and will also work for calls made in the U.S.

Skype Lite takes the communications company a step deeper into the mobile world with service for the top five phone brands, but it faces fierce competition from Fring, a relative VoIP youngster that already brings more advanced features than Skype Lite to Symbian devices in the Nokia and Sony Ericsson families, including file transferring and instant messaging with contacts on multiple chat networks.