I'd been using Skype as a free service for years, but couldn't understand why the company so proudly touted its value. My calls were abysmal in quality, despite consistent high speed Internet access (Verizon FIOS or Comcast cable); the interface difference for Mac & PC were counterintuitive--lacking the polish we've come to expect from the ubiquitous user friendly apps pervading the market space, and free services like Google Voice offered an easier to use product with comparable (still poor, alas) voice quality.
But last year I bit the bullet and invested in Skype Premium, thinking for the money I'd get a substantially better product--especially call quality. I couldn't have been more wrong. Most of the time the call quality is so poor that the other person snappishly orders me to call them on another line. The conference call (with or without video) function is so terrible that whenever I've tried to use it I've had to cancel the meeting and have everyone come into the office anyway. Embarrassing when the other parties are clients.
I wanted to use Skype for a small business, but the product is so unprofessional, so laughably inept it is just a liability for us and we don't use it anymore. And yet I keep getting updates from Skype to continueextend my paid service with them. Although Google Voice exhibits similar voice quality issues, they're a free service. Until the Internet-VOIP infrastructure is widely reliable, we'll stick to the more expensive, functional options.
Price: Free
review details
- Interface
- Features
- Ease of use
- Value
- Recommend to a friend? No
- Posted Jun 27, 2012 for v5.10
Skype
review details
