I took a bit of a risk when I saw how easy it was to order a Skype phone from their official online store and have it ‘delivered to my door’ in Cairo, Egypt.

Little did I know that there’s much more involved than entering my credit card details and clicking a button or two.

Skype logo

They say it’s not only about having a good product, it’s just as important to make it extremely easy and comforting for customers to purchase. I’ve had my eyes peeled for a Skype phone before I moved to Paris for a few months last year. It’s the logical choice, given that I’m frequently on the move, and want to be able to stay in touch with people worldwide at low prices.

I had written a blog post about the Skype – Vonage rivalry, with the latter having the edge, mainly due to its simple plug-and-play, computer-independent setup. However, now that Skype phones are more affordable and widely available, it’s cheaper and much easier to use the cross-platform Web 2.0 application for long distance calls. Some of the advantages of a Skype phone include:

• Free calls to all Skype contacts, something Vonage does not offer
• Plug an ethernet cable into the phone (or connect wirelessly via some models). No need for a computer, just a constant internet connection
• Enjoy much more competitive packages, suitable for all needs
• Easy to carry around with you and plug into any internet connection

Egypt isn’t considered one of the ‘internet shipping’ friendly countries. Some services, such as Aramex, provide a US postal address so that Egyptians can purchase from the likes of Amazon and have it delivered to the US. The 3rd party postal provider would then charge them for bringing the packages to their doorstep. It is both expensive and time-consuming, but the best option out there nonetheless. Rumor has it you’re less likely to come up against any trouble with customs via Aramex.

After following my instinct and burning LE1,000 on Skype’s website for a Dual Phone, I quickly regretted it. I’d never ordered something from Egypt to be delivered to my door. And after three weeks and no show, it was clear that it was not a simple walk in the park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1mflr-kQlk

Indeed, about a month after ordering, I get a handwritten envelope and a printed letter saying that my package was there and that I needed to go pick it up. Skimming the letter quickly, I fooled myself, albeit momentarily, into thinking that all I needed to do was stop by the local post office (the guys there are pretty chill – we go way back) and pick up my VOIP phone and talk away.

Yeah…..about that. It turns out my package is held by customs and requires ‘experts’ inspection’, followed by an evaluation of the price (the actual price, which was included in the package, obviously, is no document the authorities go by) which I’ll pay and leave.

So I take the subway and get off at Ramses sq, and make my way to a huge communist block known as the Central Post Office. Funny enough, the entrance was hidden. The entire area is an architectural disaster, but with experience, you can find your way around things.

I went up to the 4th floor, where packages are received, and got to an enormous storage area with government employees scattered all over. After asking 4 or 5 people, I reached my destination where I gave them the form I received, and they gave me the catalog (pulled out of my package), and an official letter. I was told I need to hike to the other side of town and pay a visit to the official ‘Technology Management’ office where they can give the go-ahead for the phone to enter the country. After my 2nd question, the lady at the desk made it clear that she did not see it as part of her responsibilities to answer my queries, and that I should move on.

I took a cab through prime time traffic with a handful of papers and eventually made it to a modern, air-conditioned office where I wasted 10 minutes filling out a form before meeting the guy with the authority to sign my original form. He was on the his cell phone and wouldn’t even hang up, “This isn’t going to enter. I’m not going to let this through. That’s final”, and then he continued with his phone call.

Needless to say, I tried everything possible and could not get him to give me permission to let the Skype phone into Egypt.

As it turns out, any VOIP machine, of any sort, is completely forbidden from entering the Arab Republic of Egypt. That is mainly due to Telecom Egypt wanting to openly monopolize on all of the international calls made form within the country, but much more importantly, it allows the government to be able to track all of the calls made, and to review the log if there’s suspicion of any sort. They are so strict about it, that you can’t even bribe your way through it. True story.

I got back home and told my mother about it, which is an indirect way of asking for the highest connections that can do us a favor or two. We finally got to the assistant to the minister of technology, who said he’ll try his best. He came back saying that he couldn’t do anything, and that there’s absolutely no way around it.

We’re in the process of trying to get it somehow, but it looks like I’ll have them reject the package and return it, and hopefully get an almost full refund.

Bottomline is this: buy yourself a Skype phone from abroad, and smuggle into Egypt so that you can make all the calls you want for close to nothing. This old-fashioned government is trying to use outdated techniques to control the people. But as we all know, they will inevitably fail. The web, with all its protocols, is power to the people, and no authority is big enough to contain it, nor control it. We have the saying, and we decide what to bring up, and what to demolish.

If you are collaborating on a given project with someone else, whether on the technical or the business side, you have to rely on a handful of tools to ensure proper communication. After all, reaching a final quality product requires communication on the highest level, and this means: voice, chat, screen-sharing, remote control and file-sharing. And while there are quite a few solutions in the market, both free and commercial, it’s important to bring up a software that seems to be ideal for the huge majority of designers and developers.

TeamViewer Logo

TeamViewer prides itself in its ease of use, and rightly so. It is a all-in-one solution for the communication channels that I mentioned earlier over the internet. With TeamViewer, you can connect with anyone using the software, regardless of whether they are using Mac OS or Windows (not available for Linux). There are several versions available, the free version on one hand, and the lifetime licenses for the remaining three on the other, priced at $700, $1400, $2600 respectively. It might not seem very economical at first, but then when you see the features offered by the free version, plus the fact that if you choose the paid product, it’s a one-time fee (as oppose to paying a small monthly fee for the rest of your life), it makes more sense.

The catch is that the free version is only for personal use, which means that if you are using it on a freelance project, for example, then you’re breaking the rules. Of course, there’s no way of finding out, but the guys back at TeamViewer are placing their bets on the fact that the users will play fair, or opt for a paid product to benefit from more features.

To use TeamViewer, all you need to do is download the software from their website, and then you can run it directly (no need to install), although it makes more sense to permanently place it on your local machine. And once opened, you arrive at this screen:

TeamViewer Screen

All what is left to do, is for the other person to enter your ID number, and then the password that appears above, and voila, you’re in! Once logged in, you can choose the screen to share, and you will both be viewing the same desktop (ideal especially for the designers showing their work to colleagues or partners). You also have the ability to chat using the side window that appears, or with a click of a button, start chatting via VOIP. One of the more appealing features, besides how easy it is to handle and work, is the fact that it works around any firewalls and will never require any configuration from the user.

As for the disadvantages, apart from the fact that you should not be using the free version for commercial use, it limits the usage to one-on-ones, requiring you to get a hold of a paid version in order to invite more people to the virtual meeting.

In conclusion, if you do not rely on remote access and screen-sharing solutions on a regular basis (meaning it’s more of a once-in-a-while activity), and you want the simplest, most straight-forward method of communication on several levels, then TeamViewer might just be the answer. If remote meetings are part of your daily routine, and it’s normal to bring a handful of people scattered all over to the conversation, then you are going to need a paid solution. In which case, you should visit Wikipedia’s page on desktop sharing and compare your options.

This is a graph that visually maps out internet usage world-wide. You can look through numbers all night, but nothing can help us comprehend the massiveness of the web like an illustration as such:

The Exploding Internet

There are several thought-provoking digits to draw conclusions from:

• China has the biggest user base, even though it is one of the countries that censors the web the most. Also, if your were to take into consideration that it is the most populous nation on the planet, and that less than a fifth of the population access the internet, the number loses significance. Japan, on the other hand, boasts a usage percentage of 74%
• India is widely believed to be an IT haven, and surely enough over 60 million Indians are connected to the information super highway. However, that number represents no more than 4% of its population
• Voice Over IP represents a mere 6%, which is shocking. With an infrastructure already in place, and the costs mostly taken care of, why is the huge majority still relying on old-school telephony? I expect this number to triplee in 2009, especially with various options available
• Africa doesn’t seem to exist – the sad story that I had discussed in an earlier post

It is beneficial for regular users to visualize the latest trends in terms of Internet usage worldwide. When the 2009 graphs are out, it will be interesting to compare and spot where the movement is heading. The beauty of the usage trends is that it is set by no one, except for the users themselves, and that is the source of freedom. The downside of the story, however, is the significant world population that is left outside of the internet game.

There’s no doubt that Voice Over IP has substantially grown over the last five years or so, and looks to become the way for the future. With high-speed internet connections everywhere, it makes sense to take advantage of the infrastructure available, and offer people the ability to contact each other with voice (as well as video), at very low prices.

Vonage

Vonage logo

One of the most popular VOIP providers, and one who happens to have been battling non-stop in court for the past year or to, is Vonage. Vonage provides you with a router to be connected to your own router on one end, and to a regular phone on the other. And for a monthly fee depending on the subscription you’ve chosen, you can use the regular phone set to make calls over the internet. You will be given a US number, and you have a large selection to choose from. The following are the most important features:

• When you sign-up for a one year contract, there are no installation fees, and you receive their router free
• You can use your own phone set. It’s always nice to have that sort of flexibility
• Comes packed with a ton of features, most notably: call waiting, caller ID, 3-way calling, and an online account that shows all of the details regarding calls made, received, etc.
• Allows you to sign-up for more features, such as a fax line, and my personal favorite, a virtual number. That means you can have a number in Spain, for example, where people from that country can make a local call to reach you on your Vonage phone.

The downfall, is the pricing. The following are the most popular packages:

1. Premium Unlimited: for about $30 monthly, you can make calls anywhere in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico for as long as you want. Plus you can make free calls to landlines in Italy, France, Spain, UK, and Ireland
2. Basic World: for about $35 monthly, make the same calls as above, plus 29 other countries’ landlines
3. Call Europe: for about $40 monthly call 17 countries in Europe
4. Remaining international plans: all for about $45 monthly, and each specializes in a certain region

Not to mention that to add a feature, such as the virtual number, you’ll be paying $10 monthly on top of your subscription fee. Overall, not incredibly expensive, but still a bit pricey.

Skype

Skype logo

Originally not considered to be from the same league, the leading VOIP and PC-PC messenger has entered the competition and looks very promising. The majority of the regular users depend on Skype to make free calls to friends and family all over the world who also have the program installed. But now, more and more home users and small offices buy Skype credit to make very cheap calls world-wide from their computers.

Skype prides itself in its simplicity. When compared to Vonage, you won’t find that many features to brag about:

• Skypein, your US number that non skype users can call you on. Costs vary, but generally between $5-$10 monthly
• Send SMS to cell phones
• Choose the number to appear when you make calls to cell phones of phones with caller ID
• Forward your calls so that when you’re not online, you receive the call elsewhere. Free to landlines.

In terms of pricing, the per-minute costs of international calls are comparable to those of Vonage. What is different however, are the subscription fees:

1. Unlimited Country: for about $5 a month, you can choose a country who’s landline calls will be free
2. Unlimited Europe: for about $7 monthly, make calls to landlines in over 20 European countries free of charge
3. Unlimited World: the fascinating option. For only $12 monthly, you have over 40 countries to call (landlines) for as long as you want

So far, Skype seems like a solution for your computer. But then there are three ways to use skype without your computer

1. USB Skype phone: I personally think it’s a waste of money, because a headphone with a mic will do the same job. So we can neglect this option
2. Ethernet or WiFi Skype phone: those are big and can only get bigger. They’re basically phones that you can connect directly to the router and do no need a computer. This means that, as long as there is an internet connection, you are automatically logged into Skype, and can make and receive calls as you would normally. So if you have the WiFi phone and are sitting at a cafe with internet access, you can call Skype users that are online for free. Otherwise, you can make calls using your credit for dirt cheap. Those phones are insanely expensive, though (we’re talking $100-$150). But it’s only a matter of time before the competition kicks in
3. Skype on your mobile phone: whether you’re using Symbian, Windows Mobile or the iPhone, you can install Skype (sometimes indirectly via another software, like Fring) and use any WiFi network, or the 3G network (if your provider has high speeds at affordable rates)

NOW Skype is comparable to Vonage. In fact, it is difficult to tell which is the better solution, because that would depend on how you plan to use it

Should You Skype or Vonage?

There are valid arguments on both sides of the fence. The trick is to find the plan that most suits you.

Choose Vonage if:

• All your calls are from home, you’re not on the road much
• Most of your calls are either to the US, or one of the five countries that are free to call
• You want a fax line and/or you want to have a local number in a foreign country

Choose Skype if:

• You don’t make that many calls in general, in which case you’ll just use your credit
• All your international calls are directed towards certain countries, in which case you’ll get the right plan for that
• You’re always on the move, and have your laptop with you
• You have a cell phone where Skype can be installed
• Many of the people you call use Skype. Nothing better then free calls, with video

Personally, I use both. I have Vonage in my home/office to make and receive calls internationally. However, I rely on Skype as much as possible, as it is cheaper and constantly improving. Although once Skype phone are available everywhere and at logical prices, I think Vonage will have to make convincing moves, or else they’ll potentially cease to exist.

Needless to say, they are both nowhere near perfect. And when compared to the traditional phone cards and cell phones, there’s quite a way’s to go in terms of quality and consistency. Nothing’s more frustrating than calls breaking up and dropping, and that will happen with both of them. However, the internet connections and physical infrastructure are constantly improving, and the entire globe with eventually shift to VOIP. Who knows? Maybe we will be left with another competitor that offers the best of both worlds, and with a convincing quality of service.