Skype

Skype is probably the most used application for making online voice or video calls and messaging other people. Skype also is used to make video conference calls. It is widely used in companies and for personal use every day. In the year 2010, there were 600 million worldwide users. The software was created in my neighbor country, Estonia. It offers many free features and you have to spend money only if you want to buy Skype credits and call mobile phones from Skype. User to user comunication is free. I use Skype for many years now, maybe seven or eight, I think it might be application I have used for the most time and I am very statisfied with it. I have used it for messaging, which is very convienent, or used it for voice and video calls, or file exchange. I make video calls to my friends abroad on daily basis. To use Skype, you just need to download the install package, set it up and log in. I think the hardest part of setting Skype up, is to think of a avaliable username. After you do that, you can search for your friends by typing their nickname in the search bar, invite him, then he/she accepts and voila, you can use all the communication features Skype offers. Software will find your audio and video devices, like, headphones, itself, so you do not have to set up your hardware, it has been taken care of. If you have many friends, it is no problem, I am not sure that there is a limit with contacts, I have seen a profile with more then 2000 friends. I think Skype is the easiest way to contact your friends, who are abroad. And I like that you can change your status bubble. For example, if I am working, I set it as “don`t disturb”, but if I am by the computer and I do not want others to see that I am online, I just set the “Invisible” bubble, so I can see if others are online, without being noticed. Skype has really changed the online hiring process. I can not think of a different program, used by bosses to make a job interview with employees or freelancers. I have been in some of them myself and I think it is the easiest way to have a business conversation. Also, it is a great platform to make business voice or video conference calls, if the company is international.

90% of the time, connection is superb, but sometimes it goes very glitchy, video call resolution is very low and the sound is twitching. When I had my iPhone 3gS, it was not suited for Skype mobile application, because when I had a message session, the application overloaded more than it should and shut off. Also there were problems with situation, when I conversated through my computer, after that I oppened application in my phone and it crashed, because it had problems to load all the conversations made. But now, I am using Skype on my iPhone 5s and it goes very smooth, no problem with messages or voice calls, but there is a problem when I make a video call using my front camera. The quality they see me, is not very good and the video is glitching. But on the rear camera, everything is okay. In my county, Latvia, I do not know a single person, who has bought skype credits. 90% of the mobile carriers offer unlimited calls and minutes, in the boundaries of the country, for fixed price. Also, if we have to call to other counties, we usually call through Whatsapp or just make Skype voice call, so I think that calling through Skype to ground mobile, is not profitable.

In general, Skype is a innovative software for making video or voice calls, messaging and exchanging data. The best thing about it, is that it is a software made with quality and it is free! And it does not stop there, you can buy Skype Business package for 43$ a month, which allows to integrate Microsoft Office 365 suite into it and makes Skype much more advanced for business management, which takes it to new level for company use. I have not used it, but I have read that is really is a great feature. But free version is more than enough for avarage user to use for calling friends and family. I definately suggest this application!