Skype allows users to make telephone calls from their computer to other Skype users free of charge, or to landlines and cell phones for a fee. Additional features include instant messaging, file transfer, short message service, video conferencing and its ability to circumvent firewalls. Skype is more than just a telephony client. There are many accessories and add-ons that enhance the basic Skype functionality. Here are the: 7 add-ons and accessories that enhance your skype experience.

TalkandWrite: This is a highly recommended add-on for anyone who spends time working with a team preparing for a project (a real time-saver). TalkandWrite will give you video and voice conferencing as well as real-time collaborative document editing. That means, you and your team members can get to work on any document as though you were side by side. Then you can write on it, draw on it, add text, point to elements, and erase the notation. Each of you will see each other’s cursors, and all of the annotation, in real time.

Universal Chat Translator: You can communicate with people no matter what language they speak. The software only produces text translations, so you may feel like you’re watching a foreign film with subtitles, also this add-on can translate text in 11 languages and understand spoken text in 50 means that you can also convey your point with each other.

NetGear WiFi Skype Phone: The NetGear Wi-Fi Skype phone that you can use anywhere you can get an open Wi-Fi signal. The NetGear WiFi Skype phone is portable and will let you make or receive Skype calls when you’re near an open Wi-Fi hotspot. To use it in your home, you’ll need to install a Wi-Fi network. You can also join a WiFi service like Boingo or use one of the many free WiFi hotspots worldwide.

Pamela: offers automatic call recording, an answering machine for voice and video, automated chat reply if you’re away, Skype VoiceMail management, and email forwarding of audio files. In addition, Pamela will let you setup a separate greeting or voicemail message for different users, so that your business and personal calls won’t hear the same message. The best function in pamela is remote control, meaning that if you forget to change one of the voicemail settings before you somewhere, you can make the changes via any computer anywhere.

VoSky: This gateway or telephone adapter bridges the gap between using Skype only while sitting at your computer to using Skype anywhere in your home using the same cordless phone you use for landline telephone calls.This will let you check your landline and Skype voicemail messages from anyone’s Skype account or by calling your home and retrieving both your landline voicemail and Skype voicemail on the same answering machine device. You can even setup speed dial entries in your cordless phone to make Skype dialing even easier. This only works on Windows systems presently.

Record Calls with HotRecorder: HotRecorder allows searchable Meta text to be added to each recording, and works with Google Talk and other IM clients.

DualPhone Cordless Telephone: The DualPhone plugs into your computer via a USB cable and also into your telephone wall jack so that you can make and receive both regular landline calls and Skype calls from the same telephone. If you do not have an existing cordless telephone base or want to add a dual purpose Skype/landline telephone that is fully Skype enabled, this is a serious option to consider. The DualPhone also allows you to add three additional extensions to place anywhere in your home. You can scroll your Skype contacts right on the telephone display, so no interaction with your computer is necessary. The dual phone does not have an answering machine option so you will have to look for another voicemail solution. This only works on Windows systems currently.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!