Skype 3.2 Beta

Wow... I've gotta say. This new Skype is amazing in terms of what it's got packed under the hood. The new CoDec that Skype has implemented, their own SVOPC CoDec is amazing. I've tested it with a friend and it really impresses me. Not that I'm the only one saying this either.. others are equally blown away.

Apparently, there is no more need for a headset. You can talk without one now, as the CoDec is so smart that it removes the echo entirely. I used Skype 3.1, so did my friend (in the USA) and then we both tried Skype 3.2. Not only did the roundtrip time (time that it takes from my signal to reach the recipient and back) reduce, but the sound quality was crisp! Especially when it comes to the pronunciation of letters such as the "s" or "c" which in my experience are much more intense. Not that I'm an audiophile, but I really do think that this is the single most important achievement for Skype since Skype itself. It's still a beta so I'm sure that the CoDec is being tinkered on, but I'm sure that we can expect many more great things from these guys.

Another wonderful feature is that you can import your Gmail/Yahoo/MSN contacts. You can log in, it checks the email addresses of your contacts and sees whether or not they're also using Skype. I've checked and found around 10 'new' contacts for Skype, people I didn't know also use the program. It's something you can do once in a while since new people start using Skype daily. Very, very useful!

If you wish to see the changelog, go here. If you wish to download the Beta, go here.