Skype
SteveInWA:
Quote from: Ostracus on April 24, 2016, 06:57:14 am
There's Skype ATA out there if one wants it. No need for Obihai to change their hardware.
Hunh? Links to such product(s)?
As far as I know, Skype is a closed system, with no SIP credentials available. The hardware products that were sold at one time or another were simply USB audio devices, essentially no different from any USB headset/mic or speakerphone. They all relied on using the Windows or MacOS-based proprietary Skype software clients.
Note that the market for Skype hardware basically dried up, and blew away, because of this.
rolandh:
Apparently, there is something called a Skype-ready phone that claims to work without a computer. Links, https://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-home-phones and http://www.amazon.com/RTX-DUALphone-Black-Skype-Certified/dp/B007TH0X7C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1461546804&sr=8-3&keywords=skype+phone.
Additionally, there is this old thread regarding use of Skype and an OBi, https://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3920.0. No idea if this still works, merely pointing out its existence.
SteveInWA:
Quote from: rolandh on April 24, 2016, 06:20:04 pm
Apparently, there is something called a Skype-ready phone that claims to work without a computer. Links, https://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-home-phones and http://www.amazon.com/RTX-DUALphone-Black-Skype-Certified/dp/B007TH0X7C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1461546804&sr=8-3&keywords=skype+phone.
Additionally, there is this old thread regarding use of Skype and an OBi, https://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3920.0. No idea if this still works, merely pointing out its existence.
So, that phone relied on a concept similar to OBi devices and Google Chat: it acted like a small computer, with a built-in Skype client. Note that it's apparently the only such hardware product still sold, and it's being sold by a third-party, and any sort of support from the manufacturer is gone. Interestingly, the Amazon reviews are polluted with what looks like fake posts from a review farm (nearly identical "five star" reviews).
Bottom line: there is no viable market for Skype hardware devices; the smartphone killed it off.
rolandh:
Quote from: SteveInWA on April 24, 2016, 06:59:43 pm
So, that phone relied on a concept similar to OBi devices and Google Chat: it acted like a small computer, with a built-in Skype client. Note that it's apparently the only such hardware product still sold, and it's being sold by a third-party, and any sort of support from the manufacturer is gone. Interestingly, the Amazon reviews are polluted with what looks like fake posts from a review farm (nearly identical "five star" reviews).
Bottom line: there is no viable market for Skype hardware devices; the smartphone killed it off.
I'm not arguing that there is or ever was a viable market for Skype compatible hardware devices. To the extent such a thing existed, it was probably in Europe given Skype's origins. I merely responded to your request for links.
Regarding the smartphone killing said market off. One might argue that the smartphone and wireless phones, in general, are in the process of marginalizing fixed-location telephony. Like the typewriter and vinyl records, fixed-location phones will be a niche market (the business market being a large niche). For most consumers, the trend toward wireless only is both unmistakeable and irreversible. The tipping point is upon us, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless201512.pdf.
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