Twisted Sideways

If you have never heard of Skype, it’s time to get with the program.  I feel like I have been one of the last few people to get on board with Skype.  Many of my friends that live overseas have been using it for years and a lot of people have said nothing but great things about it.

Only recently did I being to pursue a little more information into Skype.  For about $30 a year, you can get unlimited (Read: 10,000 minutes a month) calls to the US and Canada.  For an additional $30 a year, you can get a local number so that friends and family can reach you through a normal land line or cell phone, without having to have Skype. It of course makes free calls to other Skype users.  And it includes free voice mail when you purchase a year’s worth of calling.

Since I was with Time Warner and purchased their bundled package of digital cable, digital phone, and internet, it took me about two years to really look at my bill one day and realize that I was paying an unbelievable $49.95 a month before taxes and fees for my local phone service.  I couldn’t believe the savings between the two. In just two months, I would already be saving.  Through out the entire year, I would have spent $600 on my phone service.  I now spend $60 a year.

To add to all of this, I also purchased a Skype phone.  The GE – SKYPE – Dect 6.0 Cordless phone. The phone allows me to talk on the phone while not being at my computer.  It’s a cordless unit just like a regular phone but it syncs to your contact list on your Skype account. And because it links to your Skype account you have an electronic call log of who you called, who called you and how long you talked on the phone. It even shows you when you have missed calls and you can check your voice mail from your computer or the phone itself. The phone does have to be plugged into the internet to work but does also support land lines in the event you move or find that you don’t have internet service in your area.  It’s a two-in-one phone.  The service however, does not allow calls to 911.  I don’t think I have ever called 911 from my house and I still use a cell phone while out of the house.  So that wasn’t really an issue.

So far though, I love the purchase.  It’s a move I should have made a very long time ago.