Skype is in a rut. What we’d all hoped for when eBay consumed the European microventure just hasn’t come to pass. Here’s what we wanted:
- SIP connectivity added to SkypeIN/OUT.
- Real support for Skyping on mobile devices.
- An enterprise-friendly Skype.
- eBay integrated with Skype in a meaningful way.
Here’s what we got:
- Discounted SMS messaging (outbound only, thank you).
- Call transfers on the Mac version.
- A beta that sucks the horsepower out of my MacBook.
And the blogosphere hasn’t been as friendly to Skype of late. I complained about Skype’s performance, deciding to remove it from my Startup Items. Then, Ken Camp proclaimed, “Add me to the list of Skype users who don’t use Skype“, saying Skype is losing relevance. Others piled on as well.
It seems Gizmo gets it–while Skype is lagging behind in many ways. Gizmo’s voicemail, hold-music, and mobility features (there’s now a full Gizmo version for Symbian) simply rock Skype’s featureset out of the water. So the question is–since it’s clear bloggers have soured on Skype, how much innovation is left at Zennstrom and Co.? Are they gearing up for something big, or is the gravy train running on cruise control?
