[tags]skype, usability[/tags]

So I’ve been thinking more and more about Skype lately. Especially now that I have a cordless Skype phone from Philips.

Some easy UI Changes

The best UI change to Skype would be listing the time for everyone in your list and maybe an icon to indicate day or night. I, like many of you, have people from US/Central, Holland, Japan, New Zealand and California. It’s really confusing… New Zealand is near the International Date Line! I have to do a lot of mental math before I know it’s okay or not to call them.

SkypeOut/Domestic calls

A few years ago, I would have thought that using Skype was a great idea. Less than 3 cents a minute for calls? Awesome. Now I just use my cellphone for all my calls. It’s cheap. A good portion of my friends also use T-mobile so those calls are free. My wife and I share a family plan with a friend so those calls are free. I’ve used 281/1000 shared minutes. I think I’ll stick with my cell phone for now.

Even when Skype in the US was free, it wasn’t worth using the service, so the current $3/month unlimited plans aren’t really worth it.

International calls

International calls are cool, but honestly I don’t talk to people that much domestically. It is nice to know that I can pick up the phone and for pennies call my relatives in India or my friends in East Asia and Europe. It’s not the cheapest, but the convenience of Skype does win.

SkypeIn

SkypeIn also sounds really appealing… maybe because I have a new handset that I’d like to ring. Also the thought of having a number that I can dispose of, use as a business line, forward elsewhere have a new area code, etc.

It’d be nice if I could get an Indian Skype number for my family.

Man… Skype would have been so awesome 5-10 years ago.