It was unlikely that Google could launch its disruptive Voice service without a storm of response from other parts of the industry, and from being the most basic part of the wireless business model, suddenly this week’s CTIA Wireless show looks like it will be packed with voice-related developments. Alcatel-Lucent has unveiled what it calls “its answer to Google Voice”, while Skype has confirmed that there will be a free version of its mobile client for the iPhone from tomorrow.
Skype will mark its pre-CTIA press conference by making the new version of its mobile software available in the Apple App Store, doubtless to the consternation of its key carrier partners, such as AT&T and O2 UK.
Early reviewers say the application, unsurprisingly, looks basically the same as variants for other phones like the Nokia N Series or 3 Skypephone, but also has some important differences, some good, some not. Reviewers on CNET say it looks more like the traditional iPhone app than the new Skype 4.0 for Windows, but makes good use of the iPhone’s capabilities, notably for organizing screens and adding filters to make contact management more efficient.
Skype calls only work over Wi-Fi on the iPhone, presumably a sop to the cellcos, whereas on the Nokia and other cellphones they use the 3G connection too. However, Skype chat will work over the iPhone’s cellular connection. Taking a photo from within Skype to use as an avatar image, and pulling a picture in from the camera roll, are two iPhone specific features; but the new version omits some Skype features, such as SMS, conference calling, purchasing SkypeOut credit directly; and receiving a second incoming Skype call.
Meanwhile, Alcatel-Lucent has unveiled Rich Communications Manager, a platform that supports converged communications through a web portal, allowing landline and mobile users to drag and drop content such as photos or video across voicemail, SMS, MMS, email, fax, calendars and address books. Like Google Voice, it also provides a visually converged message queue and converts voicemail to text. A later release will include a web phone. ALU says its products will enable carriers to offer similar features to Google Voice, and to outdo that platform, by leveraging the customer data they already have – for instance, they already have security, billing and identification information, and do not need to assign new phone numbers.