Why I ditched Skype for Gizmo Project*

UPDATE: Gizmo users may be interested in Zfone, an encryption plugin for VoIP calls developed by security expert Phil Zimmerman.

I’ve been a Skype user for about a year now, in part to save money on my mobile phone bill. Rather than pay more money for a plan with more minutes, I turned to Skype and used it to make long distance calls to family, friends and clients.

A few months ago I also purchased a Nokia N80, a mobile phone with built-in WiFi / WLAN. A mobile with wireless internet power? Well that’s just a VoIP device waiting to happen. Think about it: super low-cost phone calls from any place with a wireless internet connection. Genius. So genius in fact, that Skype offers a mobile version, and a Skype-enabled WiFi phone.

Just one problem: the N80 runs Symbian. Skype Mobile only runs on Windows Mobile.

Foo on my dreams of making VoIP calls from my mobile, right? I could totally lose my ‘reach-ability’ whenever I visited my parents home where the wireless router singal is strong, but the mobile is not.

Enter Gizmo for S60. I downloaded the software back in May, installed it on my laptop and phone, then signed up for an account.

Then I forgot about it. That is, until Skype’s recent outage. Remembering that I had an account, I fired up Gizmo and poked around.

Know what I found?

• Built-in call recording. With Skype, you can choose from Pamela or Hot Recorder — both are for-pay products. Gizmo, however, lets you record calls without extra software.
• Interoperability with other instant messaging clients. Like Skype, you can make PC-to-PC calls and chat with any user. Unlike Skype, you can also call Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk or Windows Live users. Plus you can chat with AOL Instant Messenger and MSN Messenger buddies.
• Integration with Adium. Yep. There’s a plugin.
• Free voicemail. Do I need to repeat that? FREE. VOICEMAIL. Skype’s voicemail costs €5 (just shy of US$7) for a three-month subscription. A small sum, granted, but an unnecessary one.
• Free conference calls. For landline and mobile users too.
• Free access number. Need to get a call from a landline or mobile? Give ’em one of 20 access numbers along with your Gizmo account number. Oh, there’s Gizmo Call In too if you want to let folks dial you directly. Cost? About 40% less than a SkypeIn line.

And oh yeah, Gizmo is a service backed by an international industry standard. That means Gizmo is interoperable with a ton of other VoIP systems.

What else? Your Call In number (if you purchase one) will show up the callee’s Caller ID whenever you phone them. None of the “+0123456″ or “Unknown” identifications that you get with Skype calls.

Let’s see: a cheaper Call In line, free voice mail and call recording, interoperability with instant messaging services — and it works on my phone? Someone please explain to me why was I using Skype.

Although I’m bashing Skype a bit, there is one area where Skype kicks ass: video calls. Gizmo is not video capable not. But since you can’t take advantage of this feature unless the callee also has Skype, I still think Gizmo is the better option.

*Okay, I haven’t yet ditched Skype, since my call out credits and SkypeIn number expire February and June 2008, respectively. And I’ll probably still keep Skype around since Skype-to-Skype calls are free, and I know a few people who use it.