SkypeIn is Out

Skype is probably the best application to make voice or video chats. The Skype brand is really fun, and the Web site is very well written and designed. Being a fan, I was excited about the idea of replacing my land-line phone with SkypeIn. In the long run, the costs seem to pay off:

So I ordered both SkypeIn and SkypeOut which gave me one year of unlimited calling for about $53. Then I purchased the Linksys iPhone CIT200 (not to be confused with the other iPhone). The phone has a base station that plugs in through a USB connection. The phone itself is cordless like the majority of standard phones today. After a simple application install the phone worked fine - I could call out and the reception was clear. Then I discovered two major disadvantages to this service:

1) No Outgoing Caller-ID

The first thing I did was call my own cellphone and discovered that SkypeIn does not support outgoing caller-ID. So all calls I make with the phone will show up on other people's phones as "Unknown Call". A lot of people will skip calls that show up like this, so I'm realizing that people won't know that it's me calling. This is pretty annoying, but I wasn't quite ready to give up on Skype. Until...

2) My Local SkypeIn Number is Not Local

Using a land-line phone, I tried calling my wife at home and the call would not go through. I must have tried six times before finally calling the operator to ask what is going on. She explained the number given to me was not a local call. So even though the number had the same area code, callers would have to dial 1 + Area Code to call me. I looked over Skype's Web site extensively to see if I had just missed some information, but I did not. The help documents on Skype's Web site all suggest that anyone in your city will be able to call your SkypeIn number like it is a local call.

After doing more research on the Skype Forums, it turns out that Skype needs to acquire a prefix (123-xxx-1234) associated with your area code, and they have only done this in the major US cities. I was able to get a refund, and I'll be hocking the iPhone on eBay, but I'm still surprised that Skype is not more upfront about these issues.