About 6 weeks ago, Skype started a promotion of offering SkypeOut (calls to land lines in US and Canada) free from US and Canada.

Since then, I’ve been using Skype a lot when I’m sitting here. For starters, the sound quality is better than when I use my Vonage account through the adapter and then to my Vtech handset. Guess there’s less devices for the call to filter through. Skype has a nice status blog to alert folks to system-wide problems.

The disadvantage is that I’m tied to the computer, literally, while on the phone. No running down to the kitchen to get a drink while I’m talking. Of course, there’s Skype-happy hardware I can get but then the pricing starts getting ridiculous for something that is a convenience.

It appears that Skype is doing better overall as a VOIP company than Vonage is. Last I checked eBay’s stock was 3x what Vonage is if that’s any indication. But I’m not nearly ready to give up my Vonage phone numbers. I wonder if a Vonage-generated phone number is even portable? And if so, would Skype take it? At some point Skype should offer a deal to Vonage customers…if I could get the online features of Skype with the offline convenience of using a standard handset phone like I have
now, and I could port my existing phone numbers I’d seriously consider it. E911 issues aside.