Anyone know about Skype?

Hello folks,
Can anyone give me some information about Skype please?

Next month my daughter is leaving on a gap year trip. She is starting in Australia and intends to move around doing conservation work. Anyway she expects to be pretty inaccessible some of the time. :eek:

She is not sure yet whether she will take her laptop so I`m trying to find the best way to keep in touch with her.
If she does take it we are considering one of these which she could buy in Australia and use there

http://www.three.co.uk/personal/hand..._/overview.omp

Skype would work free computer to computer, and by phone at a lesser charge than normal (I think)

My main questions are
What is the phone quality like from one end of the world to the other?

For the computer option, would we just need USB headsets with mics?

Anything I should know that they don`t tell you?

Is there anything better than Skype to suit our needs?

I`m open to suggestions :)

Thanks

Elaine

I've called aus. with it. The phone call quality is better than a phone if you get a decent headset mic, and by decent I mean roughly 10 quid. The PC to PC quality is slightly better than the phone quality, mostly because there is no phone involved (headsets have better speakers and mic than a phone does). Of course this presupposes that you have a fast connection. At least 2mb down, and .5mb up.

However, for PC to PC voicing, I still think MSN msgr has a slight edge. It's not a huge difference (since skype's last update) but I still think it does have a slight advantage.

dunedin--Both of you will need a broadband connection.
You do not need the 3G handset data card, if you are willing to be connected to the PC with microphone/earpiece. The range of the 3G sounds a bit limited. Skype offers a cordless phone, too. Requires no PC, but does require broadband. 300meter range is claimed.
http://accessories.skype.com/item?p=4580&sku=951020
There are others.
I assume you have accessed the skype website for the UK for more data and FAQ's. I have not provided a URL since www.skype.com accesses only US info.
Here is what Google offers if I search for "Skype in UK".
http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...GLG:en&q=skype
No page that just starts off with an explanation of what Skype is--comparable to www.skype.com here.
It does seem your program is somewhat different than ours in the US and Canada.
I have been using Skype without problems for years. I make lots of calls to Europe as well as the US. Of course, all are Skype Out costing me about 2 US cents per minute..

You might also want to take a look at JAJAH.

:cool:

The 3G Datacard is subject to cell phone reception as far as I know. If she'll be out in the bush in Australia, she might not have reception.

Thanks everyone for all of that information.


I think the first thing is to make a decision on whether the laptop is going or not.

JPnyc Well that`s good to know about the quality as that was a concern. It seems that taking the laptop would be a good idea in more ways than one. She has all her music on it too.

Jim, as you say Skype in the UK is a bit different and I have not yet found a site with good information about the UK. I`ll keep looking :)

Dr. Bob thanks for telling me about JAJAH. I had not heard of it. I will look into that too.

usil. Yes, there might be places where nothing will work at all. I was thinking that the 3G Datacard might be good when she was not in such an inaccessible area. It might not be worth the money though. The problem is not knowing where she will be :rolleyes:

Thanks again everyone

Elaine

I've also used it from computers in the UK, and there is no appreciable difference. I just got back from northern England and Scotland and I made phone calls from my friend's computer in northwest England. It works just the same. The only special equipment that I think it requires is a decent headset. I never have and would never purchase a hardwired phone for it

Thanks JPnyc :)

That helps a lot. I think this will be our best option.
All I need now is a decision from her to take the laptop

Elaine

You're very welcome, but again, if your only interest is making PC to PC calls, MSN messenger is every bit as good if not a little better. The only thing Skype does that MSN messenger can't do in that regard, is allow group voice chats. I regularly have group PC to PC voice chats with one friend in the UK and another in Australia, simultaneously, using Skype.

I`ll bear that in mind.

It is just possible we may have group chats as my son wants to speak with her too.

Thanks again JPnyc :)

Elaine

Elaine

My daughter is currently back-packing round some pretty remote parts of South America. We had originally hoped to keep in touch with her via mobile phone using Maxsim (http://www.maxsim.co.uk/) for much cheaper calls. However she and boyfriend were mugged after about a month and her phone was stolen. We have kept in touch instead by e-mail - I have been surprised how readily she has managed to find internet cafés, even in the most remote areas (e.g. the Atacama Desert).

Carrying a laptop may make your daughter a more attractive target for muggers (even in a country like Oz) and will certainly be an additional encumbrance when she will probably be wanting to travel light. I know it's good to talk and hear their voice, but it's also a pleasure to receive an e-mail, sometimes with photos attached.

I know this doesn't address your original point, but I thought you might find the personal experience (from a fellow Scot) helpful.

mhl :)

Thanks for the warning. I had not considered that aspect of taking the laptop and will give it some thought.

My daughter will not be exactly back-packing. She hopes to get a flat and stay in Oz for a few months, working to finance a trip somewhere else to do conservation work (helped by The Bank of Mum and Dad :D ). This could well be Fiji or Madagascar or similar.

The conservation projects she has been considering are organised trips so I`m hoping she will be relatively safe, although I don`t really know enough about them.

Poor you.....an exiled Scot. Are you missing the rain and midgies? :)

Elaine