BT Communicator integrates VoIP functionality into the Yahoo instant messenger client. It will provide free voice calls to other PCs, and will also allow users to call landlines and mobile phones for the same price as using their BT home telephone.
Andrew Burke, director of value added services at BT Retail, said that BT Communicator, which was launched on Thursday, would turn a home PC into the "smartest phone in the house".
The Communicator product is essentially a souped-up version of the latest Yahoo IM client. The call facility has been upgraded to allow phone calls beyond the Internet, and the address book now offers a link to the online version of BT Directory Inquiries.
According to Nick Hazell, Yahoo Europe's alliance director, this address book also offers better integration with Microsoft Outlook.
BT's entry into the VoIP market means it is now going head-to-head with the likes of Skype, whose peer-to-peer Internet telephony product has attracted plenty of attention.
BT's Burke claimed on Thursday that Skype was "nowhere close" to BT Communicator in terms of functionality.
"If you compare feature by feature, Skype has no video telephony, no address book lookup, no avatars or audibles," said Burke.
Skype was adamant that its prospects remain bright.
"Skype will continue to innovate to provide the best of breed Internet telephony to broadband users around the world," said a Skype spokeswoman.
"With SkypeOut, which offers PC calls to the public telephone network, launching soon and more user-requested features in development, we expect to continue to grow the 7.5 million beta users we've attracted in over 170 countries around the world," she added.
"SkypeOut will be offered at highly competitive rates and will effectively be global calling at competitive local call rates."
Burke, though, claims that SkypeOut will be poorer than Communicator because SkypeOut users will have to "scrape minutes" off a prepay account that will need topping up from a credit card, rather than paying through their standard phone bill.
One source close to Skype, though, was keen to dismiss the benefits of BT's integrated billing.
"We believe phone bills will be a thing of the past," said the source, who said that Skype, like BT's Communicator, has avatar options via its 'my picture' feature, an address lookup through its user-propagated Global Directory, and a network-based address book feature throughout the Skype global directory. And, just like BT, Skype is working on video telephony.
Talkback
i hope the whole thing ends up free ha ha!!
but dont we have video conf in msn messenger xp?
samuel
\we use the Skype right now, and the sound quality is wonderful, and we don't get cut off, and loose sound quality after talking for a few minutes like some programs do.
We are in the UK and I have talked all over the world.
It's great and will be worth the cost when they go out of Beta.....about time we have some compition here....phone prices are terrable, especilay to mobile number's.
yes but the main problem is you can bet your bottom boots that when asked to support Linux Bt will as usual barf runa mile and hide saying that Linux is not worth supporting
Thanks but no thanks BT I'll stick with SKYPE they actually know that Linux IS going to Kick M$ Corp right in the nuts .
I am an BT Broardband customer and i dont care what they say it is a RIPOFF £30.00 all but the shouting just because i want/need pop3 email Moe Power to Skype thats all i can say .
if you are after cheap international calls, BT has a looong way to go to catch up with Skype
Yes, MSN offers a chat and video function, but I used to use it and moved to SkyPe, and frankly, there's no comparison.
BT can nag and whine about their avatars and bells and whistles. Skype focused on the one thing that really counts - sound quality - and it's head and shoulders above anything else I've used.
What's more, Skype's cut-down interface is light, simple, doesn't burden the PC in the same way as MSN/Yahoo/AIM all do, and has never - to my knowledge - clashed with any other piece of software I run, and I run many.
As they say, it's internet telephone that just... works.
Truthfully I don't see what the big deal is... Join them all like me and use whichever suits you at the time.
Logitechs' webcams come with the software ready to connect to the 3 biggest at the touch of a button.
Short comment but straight to the point.