Skype: End Of Free Calls

Skype: End Of Free Calls - December 23, 2006

As stated by Skype earlier this year, free calls within the United States and Canada will be discontinued on December 31, 2006. PC-PC calls and chatting through the Skype software will not be affected and will remain free as always. If you wish to continue making calls Skype has a $15/year (not month, it’s year!) plan which will allow unlimited calls to the United States or Canada for 2007. Pricing will double to $30/year after Jan 31st, 2007, so make sure you sign up before it’s too late. SkypeIn numbers are also available to turn your computer into a digital “land line” for ~$38/year.

Along with announcing the year of free calls, they also released Skype 3.0. The new program includes an updated interface which has some performance improvements and a new look. Skype has also added “live” ~~chat~~ talk rooms similar to Yahoo’s feature. Another neat feature Skype includes is a plugin for Firefox, which automatically converts any phone number on a page into a special Skype link. When clicked on, the number will automatically be dialed in Skype right from within your browser. Skype is currently available for Windows, Macs OS X, and Linux. If you have a previous version we suggest updating since this is a major upgrade.

Links: SkypeOut | Download Skype
Related: Skype Press Release