June 28th, 2007
Skype-Toshiba pre-bundle: convenient but not transformative
I’m a bit late to this one (concentrating on the debut of (what was that again?) but I’ve just sipped a cup o’ Joe a-cogitatin’ about the meaning of this new program where Skype will be bundled into several new Toshiba laptops.
As fellow blogger Tom Keating notes, these will include the Satellite, Tecra, Portégé and Qosmio product lines. He tells us the Skype-featured Toshiba models will feature built-in webcams and microphones and customers will be able to see the branded offering with a Skype logo found adjacent to the units’ built-in webcam.
In addition, customers will be able to access a Skype icon available on the desktop to quickly and easily download the very newest Skype build from a co-branded Skype and Toshiba landing page.
I’m sure Skype paid a bundle for this real estate. But given that it is so easy to download and install Skype over a web connection- on Toshiba laptops as well as most other Internet-ready devices- how many more users will come to Skype via the Toshiba bundle that wouldn’t have before?
Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
