Skype Hacks

Chapter 6. Mobile Skype

Hacks 60–64: Introduction

The hacks in this chapter might prove useful to mobile users, travelers, and people otherwise on the move that use Skype. They might also prove useful to live-away-from-home students and their families.

Make Cheap Long-Distance or International Calls from Your Mobile Phone

Route calls using Skype, and take advantage of Skype’s low long-distance and international call rates.

Works with: Windows version of Skype.

Many mobile phone plans offer low-cost, or even free, limited calling within their “home” geographic area. Not so with long-distance and international calls, for which you normally have to pay a bundle. Using this hack, you can effectively substitute Skype’s very low long-distance and international call rates for the more expensive call rates of your mobile plan.

This hack takes advantage of three Skype services:SkypeIn, SkypeOut, and Skype call forwarding. SkypeIn is a prepaid subscription service (see “Try SkypeIn, Risk Free” [Hack #5] ), but is a comparatively low-cost way of getting a regular dial-in phone number. SkypeOut is likewise a prepaid subscription service that allows you to call regular phones anywhere in the world at very low rates (see “Try SkypeOut, Risk Free” [Hack #4] ). Skype call forwarding is a function that is built into Skype and costs you nothing. In fact, if the international “number” you want to call is actually another Skype user, you don’t need SkypeOut at all!

To make cheap long-distance and international ...