Just wondering if anyone here uses Skype regularly to call family/friends overseas? And how do you find it? (connectivity, etc) - is the quality dependent on your Internet connection?
My husband will be going to the States alone to spend a year doing research, while I come to Taiwan on my own (with the pets) for financial reasons - and we’re hoping to ease the hardship of being apart by talking on Skype regularly, as it’s free and you can see each other in real time through the webcams.
I don’t know anything about internet service providers, etc, in Taipei but I know I’m going to need good high-speed internet to use Skype well…
Just wondering if anyone here uses Skype regularly to call family/friends overseas? And how do you find it? (connectivity, etc) - is the quality dependent on your Internet connection?
My husband will be going to the States alone to spend a year doing research, while I come to Taiwan on my own (with the pets) for financial reasons - and we’re hoping to ease the hardship of being apart by talking on Skype regularly, as it’s free and you can see each other in real time through the webcams.
I don’t know anything about internet service providers, etc, in Taipei but I know I’m going to need good high-speed internet to use Skype well…
So does anyone use it and how do you find it?
Thanks!
H’sin-'Yi[/quote]Should be fine. It always used to be OK for me even on a relatively slow cable connection. From some reason it works fine on my laptop but not on my desktop. That’s nothing to do with the connection, though, obviously.
We use Skype and iChat, frequently (almost daily). Both are pretty good… wish they were better… but, they’re free and I can talk with and see my boy almost every day… can’t complain too much about that.
[quote=“Tigerman”]We use Skype and iChat, frequently (almost daily). Both are pretty good… wish they were better… but, they’re free and I can talk with and see my boy almost every day… can’t complain too much about that.[/quote]One thing I’ve found with Skype recently is that the dynamic compression (the way the program tries to keep the volume the same) is a bit strong. Sometimes if I talk a bit loudly the volume goes really quiet for a few seconds.
Anyway, it’s generally pretty good. I mostly use Skype out and it’s really cheap.
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“Tigerman”]We use Skype and iChat, frequently (almost daily). Both are pretty good… wish they were better… but, they’re free and I can talk with and see my boy almost every day… can’t complain too much about that.[/quote]One thing I’ve found with Skype recently is that the dynamic compression (the way the program tries to keep the volume the same) is a bit strong. Sometimes if I talk a bit loudly the volume goes really quiet for a few seconds.
Anyway, it’s generally pretty good. I mostly use Skype out and it’s really cheap.[/quote]
I use skype unlimited at least 10x per day…For the most part its great.
I’ve been using Skype to talk to my family since I got here about a month ago. I haven’t tried it at my new apartment yet which has an ethernet connection (I’ll update this post tomorrow after talking to the family providing the typhoon doesn’t knock out electricity or my internet).
I stayed in a hostel for about 2 and a half or 3 weeks with wireless internet access. There was only a small amount of delay that you could hear in the call and I can’t be sure if that was caused by the wireless transmission or by my laptops speed. Its a year old lenova so the laptop shouldn’t be the problem…
I haven’t tried the webcam option yet though with skype. I only tried that with MSN messenger. It also has a webcam plus voice option, but based on personal preference I would use skype. The call quality on MSN wasn’t that great.
I also have Skype Out, an option that I use it to call a US based landline to talk to my folks. Its pretty cheap too, something like 2.1 US cents a minute. It only costs me to call them and may work for your situation. I know sitting using the headset gets a little annoying during long phone calls. Skype offers special phone sets that work with their service, but it gets expensive…
I have used Skype to chat overseas, but at times have problems with delays on it.
When I was home this past summer, my Dad bought me a nifty little gadget called MagicJack, which is pretty cool. You hook one end of it up to your computer (while online) and the other end to a telephone, and then you can call any phone in the US or Canada for free. It’s just like chatting on a regular phone. You can order it in the States, it costs $39 (plus $20 a year after the first year).
Skype is a free download and is great because you can use a webcam with it. The only problem is that I tend to get delays and voices break up on it quite a lot. But I am in the UAE, not in Taiwan, and I can’t remember if reception was better in Taiwan or not when I was there.
I use skype to call overseas fairly often. I have almost no problems with it here in the states, chatting or calling, but on the Taiwanese end, the calls are frequently “dropped” and chats have delays. Still, it’s free, can be used with web cam, and I can send a chat when it’s convient for me and friends will get this message usually quicker than email, since it just pops up at them when the turn on skype. I like it.
Apply for a 4 or 8 MB landline (ADSL +/- 1200 NTD) month inc. telephone line .
The bandwith will give you enough buffer to have “decent” video streaming (with lag obviously (lag = delay in image streaming to keep it simple ))
No issues on verbal part. ispretty clear : My buddy’s in Belgium think that I call local even.
When on the move (not being forced to stay home waiting the skype call)
Apply for a 3G connection for a (PDA) mobile phone on which you install Skype Mobile. A 3G unlimited plan costs around 600 NTD and you can use Skype , surf the internet etc without limit.
3b. Don’t post your Skype name on this board. We all look forward seeing you here in TW
The experience can vary. Sometimes Skype is better, sometimes Windows Live Messenger is better. I’ve also had different results depending on which USB-port I hook up my webcam to (yes the computer is veeeeery old).
Thank you so much, everyone, for your posts -they are really helpful!!
It was especially useful to know the details about the internet connection I’ll need (thank you ceevee369!), etc when I come to Taipei so I’ll know what to request. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a ditz in that area and don’t really understand things like bandwith, etc - in Auckland, we seem to have 2 options: dial-up or broadband (we’re on the latter) so we never went into the details. I do know that our plan allows us 3GB per month but that’s all I know about it.
(also - what does PDA mean?)
About Skype Mobile - I looked it up on the Skype website and I’m not sure I understand it. It seemed to suggest that you can receive calls from everywhere but you can only make calls from your mobile (through Skype) if you’re in Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Sweden and UK?
(http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/mobile/)
So if I’m in Taiwan and my husband is in the States - does this mean that I can call him using Skype from my computer at home - either on his computer or on his mobile. But if I’m out & about, I can’t call him from my mobile using Skype…I can only wait until I go home to do it from my computer?
(and similarly for him?)
Brett - thanks for the suggestion about Skype Out - I have tried that already here, using Skype on my computer to call my parents’ landline in Dubai (who don’t know how to use Skype) - but I find the quality very poor and so usually give up and just revert to normal calls!
Anyway, hopefully, as my husband will also have Skype on his computer, we won’t need to go through landlines.
Hey Indianna - do you live in Dubai? Small world! I grew up there and my parents still live there. It’s interesting that you say you use Skype cause I’ve been trying to get my parents onto it for ages (calls to the UAE on landlines cost almost $1 a minute! And you know Chinese mothers, they NEVER stop talking…) - anyway, my mother always told me that Skype is banned in Dubai and that’s why she can’t use it. But obviously you managed it!
I use Voipbusters which is great. It allows me to phone Australia landlines from my computer for free as long as I have 10 pounds on my account. It is also free to call mobiles and landlines in America. The connection is good, there is some echoing occasionally and whatnot but for the most part it is a great free way for me to keep in touch with family.
I’ve been using both messenger and skype for almost a year now, and I find it’s good to have both.
Skype generally has a better/louder sound (it’s nice to have headphones with a volume wheel on) but msn has a better picture. skype allows you to have various sizes for the video, msn only has 3 fairly small boxes and full screen. when one doesn’t work, you can just swich to the other…
[quote=“bighoneydog”]
Hey Indianna - do you live in Dubai? Small world! I grew up there and my parents still live there. It’s interesting that you say you use Skype cause I’ve been trying to get my parents onto it for ages (calls to the UAE on landlines cost almost $1 a minute! And you know Chinese mothers, they NEVER stop talking…) - anyway, my mother always told me that Skype is banned in Dubai and that’s why she can’t use it. But obviously you managed it! [/quote]
Hi there! I live in Al Ain…what a small world that you grew up in the UAE! I have been here for just over a year now and love it!
Your Mom was telling the truth, Skype is banned here. I had to buy a software package to get onto blocked sites through an alternate VPN. I bought it so I could use Skype, that phone gadget I mentioned before (MagicJack, which is also blocked), plus there was some talk last year about the banning of Facebook and other picture websites that my friends, family and I stay connected on. It has worked wonders!
I have been trying to get my parents on Skype for years now too, and they live in the States but won’t use it. I think they are creatures of old habits and prefer to use the phone and pay big phone bills rather than utilize new technology! So it’s not just your Mom.
I am using Skype now since 5 years for keeping contact with my mom in Germany.
Calls to landlines only 0.017 Euro per Minute (0.8NT) and if the quality was not good I hang uop and calll again to catch a better line.
Since last week, I supscribed for Unlimited Country - Germany, which gives me the possibility for free landline calls to Germany which includes also an Online number which i can chose freely.
I selected an Online Nuber in Germany, so friends and my mom can call me now at a local number in Germany and its routed to my Skype no matter where i am online. They pay only he local call.
Unfortunately Skype-To-Go is not offered in TW, otherwise I could use also my mobile or PDA to make calls to Germany and pay only the Datafee.
I don’t use webcam with Skype, cause my mom doesn’t have a PC.
And I am not affiliated with Skype in any way.
If chosing a datapackage, try to use the official Skype homepage, not pchome. Seems they are only localized reseller with higher price and changing the offers regularly without notifying or that a change is comes into effect immediately.
I have been using Skype off and on since it was first introduced. Until about 3 years ago it was a novelty and ok for quick calls but next to useless for real conversations. Then it improved to the point where I could use it for chats with friends and family but not enough to make business calls. In the past couple of months I gave it another chance and the quality from Taiwan has now improved to the point where I can use it for all of my calls. I pay about NT$800 per month for unlimited calling to most of the world including Taiwanese landlines which saves me about NT$6000 total on my old landline and cellphone bills.
SkypeIn is where the good stuff happens. If you set up Skype to divert all your missed calls to a landline number you can receive calls through a local number in country X and have them diverted to your local phone in country Y. The quality is much better than a regular Skype call - somewhere between a cellphone and real landline. I have 4 SkypeIn numbers (3 come free with the unlimited calling package) that divert to my office, home and cellphone numbers. If I pick up on my home or office numbers that counts under the unlimited package so I pay nothing. People can call me from any one of four countries as a local call, I pay nothing on top of the $800 per month and everyone (except CHT) is happy.
