Features Wanted in Skype
I realized there are some neat little features I would love to see in Skype (while playing around with Microsoft Outlook and getting it to call out using Google Voice, I’ll blog about that next).
Calls Out Using Modem
Doesn’t Skype do some fantastic Skype-Out thing where you can even use a specific number as a calling card and call out using it? A whole crapload of notebooks and desktops still ship with modems, why not utilize it! If you don’t have a connection to the net (or you’re just crazy), you could call out using a Skype-Out Call-In Number! Wouldn’t that be AWESOME?
Calls Out with Calling Card through Modem
Yeah, yeah, companies don’t like competition or whatnot, but if the previous is supported, why not spice it up a little and allow us to use a different calling card through the settings? That would allow Google Voice users to make outbound calls using Google Voice through Skype, and that would just be AWESOME.
Answering Calls Through Modem
Is your phone ringing? Yeah, don’t you wish you could pick it up using Skype? All it has to do is learn to speak through the modem and BABOOSH, you can now answer your landline ON SKYPE (GOOGLE VOICE MAKES THIS MORE AWESOME).
Contact Synchronization with Google
Come ON. EVERYTHING needs this.
Improvements for @GoogleVoice
Google Voice is in dire need of some few improvements if it wants to be useful:
- Archive & Labels feature of Gmail
This one is fairly self-explanatory. It allows us to keep records of voicemails, calls, SMS, and the likes, but it doesn’t allow us to archive, label, or tag them. This would make organization much simpler.
- MMS
Google Voice does wonderfully with it’s support of SMS; but it’s lacking in one thing that more and more phones are getting: MMS. Without MMS, or at least an MMS to email forwarding system, it’s impossible to receive those cute and funny picture, sound, and/or video messages from your friends. This is a much needed feature.
- Contact Bridge
This is another issue I can see with Google Voice. How am I supposed to randomly SMS someone from my phone? Right now, it’s impossible. But doing something simple (that US carriers support) would make it super-easy to SMS people, and would remove the requirement for Google Voice to send the contacts name with each SMS.
CONTACT_NUMBER@YOUR_GOOGLE_VOICE_NUMBER.gvoice.com
ex. 15555555555@13055085676.gvoice.com
Verify that the sender is indeed the phone number supported, and then send the text from the email, and reply back from that email. SMS and MMS over email is supported by many (if not all) US carriers. Like this, I would be able to add my contacts to my phone’s address book, and message them seamlessly.
- UTF-8 Texting
So far, through my tests (in SMSing an iPhone, since they have a world keyboard) I have only been able to receive Japanese text messages through Google Voice. Attempting to send a text that's either partially or completely Japanese appears garbled on the receiver’s iPhone.
- Shortcode SMS
Maybe? This may not be cost-effective for Google.
- Ringback Tones
GrandCentral had them, and we want them back. At least the basic ones, like “Russian Ring” and “Japanese Ring.”
- Alias Numbers
One Forever number is pretty good; but you know what’s even better? Two forever numbers. Unfortunately, not all landlines have free long distance yet (Heck, not even all cell phones do yet!) So even (at least) a paid model for another number would be nice.
- Skype
Seriously, you bridge over to Gizmo but not Skype? Adding a Skype bridge would be pure awesome. PURE AWESOME. I don’t think anybody can argue with that.
Skype Oddity: Send SMS from Skype
Don’t get me wrong, I love Skype. It’s one of the best IM services I’ve used, the best voice chat service I’ve ever used. But it does do one thing that I find quite odd.
You can send SMS messages through it; as long as you purchase Skype credit.
Now, as an American, this is fairly odd behavior. Through most other IM services I use, I can also send and receive SMS – Completely Free.
Maybe Skype just doesn’t have enough money rolling in to be able to do that?