[CAnet - news] Radio Shack first to offer Skype ready products

"Bill St.Arnaud" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups gmane.culture.publications.news
Message-ID <011f01c5eef9$9581b420$6400a8c0@amarillo>
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RadioShack Brings Skype-Ready Products to Customers Nationwide; RadioShack
Becomes First U.S. Retailer to Offer Skype Services and Hardware, Including
Motorola, Linksys, Logitech and Skype Starter Packs

FORT WORTH, Texas & LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2005--RadioShack
Corporation (NYSE: RSH) and Skype, the Global Internet Communications
Company, today announced an agreement to distribute Skype-certified hardware
and software in approximately 3,500 RadioShack stores. This makes RadioShack
the first U.S. retailer to offer this new Internet phone service.

According to Skype officials, Skype has successfully brought free Internet
calling to over 66 million people around the world since its launch in 2003,
with an average of 175,000 new people joining each day. People with Internet
connectivity can load Skype's free software enabling unlimited, high-quality
voice calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world. Unlike other
Internet phone services, Skype's unique software resides directly on a
computer or mobile device to facilitate communications. Skype runs on
Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Pocket PC platforms. Skype also offers premium
services providing enhanced functionality for its users to make calls to
regular phones for as little as two cents a minute.

This agreement with RadioShack supports Skype's growing presence in the U.S.
market as a leading Internet communications company. RadioShack's convenient
network of neighborhood stores staffed by knowledgeable sales associates
will help expose Skype's unique worldwide free call service to a broad new
audience of potential customers. Further, these retail stores will provide
consumers with a place to shop for new Skype-certified products such as the
Motorola Wireless Headset and Internet Calling Kit - the world's first
Skype-certified Bluetooth offering.

Skype-certified phones and headsets at RadioShack include:

-- New Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset and PC850 USB Adapter bundled in the
Internet Calling Kit - a RadioShack limited exclusive with a suggested price
of $99.99

-- Linksys CIT200 Skype-enabled Cordless Internet Telephony Kit with a
suggested price of $129.99 (with a limited time $15 mail-in rebate)

-- Logitech Premium USB Headset 250 with a suggested price of $39.99

-- VoIP Voice Cyberphone K USB Internet phone with a suggested price of
$39.99

-- Skype Starter Packs: the Skype Starter Pack, priced at $4.99 until Dec.
24, 2005, allows anyone to get started with free Skype software, a
Skype-enabled headset and 30 SkypeOut minutes to call any number anywhere in
the world

"RadioShack is known for helping make the market for new technologies, and
by all indicators Skype is poised to resonate with U.S. customers after
experiencing huge success overseas," said Jim Hamilton, RadioShack's senior
vice president and chief merchandising officer. "Customers should love how
they can cut their phone bill without cutting their phone line, making
unlimited free calls to other Skype users around the world."

"Skype is looking at innovative retail channels for distribution, and with
94 percent of the U.S. population living or working within five minutes of a
RadioShack, we see them as an ideal partner through which to offer consumers
access to Skype accessories," said Saul Klein, Skype's vice president of
marketing.

About Skype

Skype allows people everywhere to make free, unlimited, voice calls, chat
and share files. Skype is available in 27 languages and is the fastest
growing voice communications offering worldwide. Skype has been downloaded
more than 200 million times in 225 countries and territories. 66 million
people are registered to use Skype's free services, with over 175,000 new
registered users each day, and more than 4 million people using Skype
simultaneously at any one time. Skype earns revenue through its premium
service offerings, and has a growing network of global affiliates, and a
community of developers working with the Skype APIs. Skype Technologies SA
is headquartered in Luxembourg, with offices in London and Estonia, and in
15 other countries with users in every nation. Skype is an eBay company
(NASDAQ: EBAY). To learn more visit www.skype.com.

Skype is not a telephony replacement service and cannot be used for
emergency calling.

About RadioShack

Fort Worth, Texas-based RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) is one the
nation's most trusted consumer electronics specialty retailers and a growing
provider of business-to-business retail support services. The company
operates a vast network of sales channels, including: nearly 7,000
company-owned and dealer stores; over 100 RadioShack locations in Mexico;
and more than 700 wireless kiosks. RadioShack's knowledgeable and helpful
sales associates deliver convenient product and service solutions within
five minutes of where 94 percent of all Americans either live or work. For
more information on RadioShack Corporation, visit
www.RadioShackCorporation.com. To learn more about RadioShack products and
services or to purchase items online, visit www.RadioShack.com.
	
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