skype

Hope you all have been following this series in which I am outlining some consumer technologies that I think is posing a problem for IT industry in general and human community in particular.

In last two parts I tried to put down my view for three technologies, namely instant messaging, Web mail and Portable storage devices, that I think is causing we human beings to drift away from human relationships

Asus has introduced the world's first wireless music Skype phone; namely, the AiGuru S1, in the Indian market.

The phone is around 117mm long, 46mm wide, and 23mm tall; and weighs in at 100g along with the battery. It offers free international calls with Skype support, Wi-Fi technology, wireless music player functions, remote controller features, amongst others.

Launching the phone, Altaf Ansari, Product Manager of Asus India, said, "The AiGuru S1 Skype phone not only provides mobility to Skype users but also allows them to enjoy music on their PC wirelessly. The AiGuru S1 supports Duo-Audio features which allow playing PC audio and making Skype calls simultaneously."

Commenting on the phone, Joe Hsieh, Director of Digital Home Business, Asus, said, "The goal of digital home technologies is to share computer resource with other electronic devices around the house, and provide greater convenience. The AiGuru S1 packs several practical features for easy and wireless access of PC functions. One can Skype, listen to music, or even manage a music library with this new product."

Significantly, the AiGuru S1 features 802.11b+g support, and facilitates Skype calls sans constraints imposed by wires. According to Asus, the S1, unlike other Bluetooth-based wireless Skype phones, offers superior wireless signal quality as also larger signal coverage.

With the high-quality speaker, the S1 is transformed into an MP3 player for accessing and streaming songs stored in the PC wirelessly.AiGuru S1 includes Microsoft Media Player support plus remote controller functions, thereby allowing users to manage their music without having to be in the vicinity of their computers.

Other features of the new phone include: caller ID, phone book entries, call history, speaker phone for conference calls, and answering machine functions. Unlike other Skype phones, phone numbers, call history, and other such information is not required to be accessed via the computer; it is displayed on the AiGuru's in-built LCD display.

And, thanks to the dual-audio channel, users can watch DVDs or play games on the PC even as they make free long distance calls.

The AiGuru S1 will be available at an approximate end user price of Rs 7,750.