Enough has been said about the chat capabilities of Yahoo Messenger. Now, many also would know that one can call telephones using Yahoo Messenger.
It’s long overdue. I wanted to post a comparison article between Yahoo Messenger and Skype. By this, I am trying to compare the telephony capabilities of both players.
Yahoo Messenger is good w.r.t chat. Can broadcast webcam video. I think webcam broadcast may not work in older version of windows - windows 98, I think. Name lists are stored in server so you get the same list wherever you login from.
I travel a lot and let me publish the Yahoo rates to call India. As of today, 19/06/2007, it charges flat rate of 0.079 U$(3.16 Rs/min) per minute whether it is mobile or land line. The rounding is 1 minute. No connection fee. You can charge using your credit card online. PC-PC call is free.
This is cheaper if you compare this to Skype. Skype charges are like this. 0.17 U$/min(6.8 Rs/min) for calling indian mobiles and 0.154 U$(6.16 Rs/min) for calling indian landlines. Rounding is 1 minute. Add a connection fee of 0.039 U$(1.56 Rs) for each call. PC-PC is free.
Clearly, Skype is much more expensive. There is hassle charging it as they expect you to pay through other channels which are expensive. Like they insist you pay using moneybookers.com for which we have to pay for their service.
I like Yahoo Messenger if I want to call India from abroad. Quality is good too. I have no complaints.