Last year, when MS acquired Skype, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said; "By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we’ll deliver amazing new experiences for consumers and business around the world."We are still waiting for amazing, however while we wait, getting free credit for a genuinely useful service, like Skype, is not to be sniffed at. Skype is a great free computer and smartphone app for voice/video calling via Internet data usage, and it is practically free to any other user of the program anywhere in the world. The credit offered for free, from using the Bing Bar, extends this service very usefully to;
- Calling landlines or mobile phones
- SMS to mobile phones directly
- Set up a Skype To Go number and call abroad from any phone
- Access Skype Wi-Fi through third-party hotspots
Bing Bar US and UK, spot the difference! Also no rewards for non-US folk.
For users outside the US who don't get the rewards the toolbar isn't nearly as fully featured, so there is much less incentive to install it. On a personal note I am very protective of my vertical pixels, even though I run on a 1,600x1,200 monitor so I have no tool bars on constantly, I imagine widescreen users are even more so. In short I would be happy to be offered more vertical option toolbar choice. What about you?
