Skype targeting mainstream VoIP market

Internet phone giant Skype (an Ebay company) has announced the launch of several new products today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The new Skype VoIP products are all designed to target the mainstream market, which will enable Skype a more competitive edge with traditional phone services and other VoIP providers such as Vonage.

Skype has managed to gain several lucrative partnerships with industry leaders such as Kodak, D-Link and Netgear to develop these products which include new cordless phones and adapters that will give users the ability to wander away from their desktops while placing Skype VoIP, a standalone headset which will enable users to make free VoIP calls without a PC connection.

Industry giant D-Link has developed a new phone adapter, called the DPH-50U which will allow Skype VoIP call users to access services through a traditional phone. A Taiwan based company, Ipevo is currently the leading manufacturer for Skype VoIP enabled handsets, today Ipevo had announced that they have developed a new cordless handset and speaker phone to be used for VoIP calls.

Ipevo also announced that Panasonic has developed a cordless phone allowing users to make and receive Skype VoIP calls and traditional calls on the same device.

Skype stated that they are in the process of testing a new service with Kodak that will allow users to create a narrated photo album from Kodak's EasyShare gallery. After creating an album by selecting photos in the gallery, users can contact friends using Skype VoIP call service to simultaneously watch slide shows live.

Skype is expected to make yet another announcement with home networking equipment maker Netgear this Wednesday.