Skype

What AT&T's bombshell means for Apple

AT&T's (T) surprise decision Tuesday to reverse course and permit low-cost Internet calls over its cellular network is good news for iPhone owners, but it leaves Apple (AAPL) with some explaining to do.

Apple was quick to welcome AT&T's change of heart. "We are very happy that AT&T is now supporting VoIP [Voice over Internet Protocol] applications," said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. She promised that the company would get updated versions MORE

New owners plan to supercharge Skype

All you 480 million Skype users out there should be rejoicing today, now that the Internet calling and video service has been freed from the clutches of eBay.

As was announced this morning, eBay is selling a 65% stake in Skype for $1.9 billion in cash to a group of private equity shops and venture capitalists. The deal also includes a loan from eBay of $125 million.

So let's call it $2 billion. That's MORE

Don't give up on eBay yet

Don't give up on eBay yet. Despite posting a second quarter drop in earnings for the second quarter, the company beat analyst estimates.  Merrill Lynch and Bank of America upgraded it to neutral on the news, while Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse raised their earnings targets. Since the announcement yesterday evening, eBay's stock has jumped over 10% to $21.52.

eBay (EBAY) CEO John Donahoe helped explain that show of faith today MORE

Group asks FCC to probe iPhone Skype restrictions

It didn't take long for Skype's free application for Apple's (AAPL) iPhone to climb to the top of the App Store bestseller list -- nor for net neutrality advocates to cry foul over the restrictions placed on its use.

In the first two days after its release, the iPhone Skype app has been downloaded more than a million times -- about six downloads per second, according to Skype's official blog.

The application MORE

Skype by the numbers - Update

Skype, the world's most popular program for making free overseas phone calls over the Internet, was released as a free download to Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch on Monday. You can get it here.

This could be big. How big? Let's look at the numbers.

In 2008, Skype users spent 33 billion minutes talking to people in other countries, representing 8% of all international voice traffic, according to TeleGeography Research. (link)
That MORE

EBay looks for Skype payoff

By Scott Moritz, writer

Ebay (EBAY) rolled out Skype's unlimited calling plan in a bid to keep up with rivals and - let's face it - to finally land some paying customers.

For $2.95 a month. U.S. Skype customers can make unlimited calls anywhere in the United States. Calling plans from the United States to Europe cost $9.95 a month.

The move comes amid speculation that eBay might be considering a carve-out option for the MORE

U.K. wireless carrier unveils Skypephone

By Michal Lev-Ram

While most mobile operators have shunned Internet phone calling, British carrier 3 has launched a Skype-enabled phone that lets customers make free calls.

While other WiFi mobile phones let people download Skype software, none come with an out-of-the-box experience like 3's Skypephone. The handset, which doubles as a conventional 3G cellular phone, has a dedicated Skype (EBAY) button and an address book that is integrated with the MORE

eBay: Not yet out of the woods

It could have been so much worse for eBay (EBAY). Two weeks after the giant online auction site acknowledged that it had paid far too much for Skype, the Internet phone service, and would be writing off $1.4 billion in charges, the company surprised Wall Street with relatively strong results in the rest of its operations.

After the market closed on Wednesday, eBay reported record revenue of $1.89 billion in the MORE

Skype me on MySpace, not eBay

One company's trash is another company's treasure. Just weeks after eBay (EBAY) essentially admitted it overpaid for its $3.1 billion acquisition of Skype, another major company has found a better use for the Internet telephone service.

MySpace (NWS) will announce on Wednesday that it will lets its members call each other for free by adding Skype to online chat. MySpace and Skype will share revenue for paid services like calling to MORE