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.

Not according to Joe Siegrist, Senior Vice President of Technology at eStara (www.estara.com) — the world’s leading developer of VoIP-based click to call applications.

“With eStara’s technology, a pay per call solution is available to online advertisers without the headaches of requiring advertisers and users to install a peer to peer application,” says Siegrist. “Our technology lets the end user choose between entering their phone number for an immediate call back, or using an extremely small, fast PC VoIP client that requires no installation.”

Siegrist is the co-inventor of the first PC to Phone VoIP for eCommerce application. He is available to comment on the latest developments surrounding pay per call. Siegrist directs software development and systems operations for eStara. An innovative software architect and accomplished VoIP development leader, Siegrist holds three patents and is a named inventor on a dozen patent applications in the voice over Internet and Internet-initiated calling space.

According to Siegrist, relying on a proprietary peer to peer application for a pay per call solution is a sure fire way for advertisers to reduce their call through rate. “It means users would have to download a specific application in order to click on an ad. In contrast, with eStara’s click to call service the end user experience is seamless, thus resulting in higher call rates.”

The monetization of online lead generation has become a top priority for ad networks, web portals, search engines and media groups, with pay per call leading the charge. The Kelsey Group predicts that by 2009 pay per call advertising revenue will reach an estimated $4 billion. “In order for it to work, you have to give the consumer choices,” says Siegrist. “You can’t tie them down to proprietary software because then you’ll lose the millions of consumers out there that don’t want to download and install yet another application on their PC.”

eStara provides a full PC to PC VoIP end-to-end call experience if customers desire using Softphone on their desktop, a PC to Phone experience, a click-to-call back Phone-to-Phone experience, and a strictly Phone-based experience using VoIP-enabled local and toll-free call tracking numbers. Regardless of how companies want to implement their pay for performance ads, eStara is able to track their calls and prove ROI, and the experience to tell them what will and won’t work.

With more than 350 large enterprise clients across hundreds of countries in 15 languages, eStara’s technology is the most widely deployed click to call service in the world. “Companies are recognizing the promise of pay per call,” says Siegrist. “A call is worth more to most businesses than a click through to a website or a text chat request. We don’t want companies to miss out on potential revenue by buying into a trend before they consider a proven, turnkey solution suite.”

About eStara:

eStara (www.estara.com) develops business-to-consumer communications services for large enterprises, media companies, online directories and search engines that improve communication and collaboration, increase revenue, and enable clients to attract and retain more online customers.

eStara’s Push to Talk service is the most widely deployed “click to call” service in the world with over 3,000,000 users in 113 countries. The company serves more than 350 global enterprises across multiple industries including directory and on-line publishers and lead generation companies, financial services, retail, travel and hospitality, real estate and automotive. To date, companies such as Dell Financial Services, JCrew, Continental Airlines, and DaimlerChrysler — to name a few — have used eStara’s Push to Talk.

eStara’s Track the Call (www.trackthecall.com) service provides a flexible, scalable call tracking and monitoring service that supports a variety of revenue models, including pay per call and subscription with the largest inventory of local numbers in the industry. eStara call tracking technology is used by search engine and directory publishers including ThomasNet, Amazon.com’s A9.com, Yahoo UK & Ireland and Verizon’s Superpages.com.

“The BlueParrott B200 wireless headset lets professionals work in comfort, enjoy greater freedom of movement and reduce the physical strain of cradling the handset, including cell phones, between the head and shoulder,” said Jim Mahaney, vice president, consumer product sales, VXI Corporation.

The BlueParrott B200 includes a base unit, which connects to an office telephone, and a wireless headset, which charges in the base unit when not in use. System features include:

– Compatibility with most office phones (including IP), Bluetooth-enabled cellular phones and Bluetooth-enabled computers

– Range of up to 75 feet

– Noise canceling microphone to greatly reduce background noise

– Lightweight, ergonomically balanced headset for all-day wearing comfort

– Mute and volume controls

– Talk time up to six hours. Standby time up to 100 hours

– Simple set up. Unlike other wireless office headsets, there are no compatibility switches to set

– Bluetooth eliminates interference issues associated with other wireless technologies- allowing up to 127 wireless headsets to be installed in one area

– 128 Bit digital encryption provides airtight security during wireless communication

The VXIBlueParrott B200 is offered at a highly competitive suggested retail price of $199 and is backed by an industry-leading two-year warranty.

About VXI Corporation

Founded in 1989, VXI designs and develops high performance headsets for office, home, call centers, OEM, VoIP and speech recognition markets. From VXI’s first products - professional call center headsets, to its newest line of VXIBlueParrott wireless headsets, VXI has been at the forefront of translating the needs of end-users into innovative, technologically advanced products.

For more information visit www.vxicorp.com. For information about VXIBlueParrott headsets, please visit www.blueparrott.com

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:CY), the market leader in USB, today introduced a suite of new additions to its versatile family of USB microcontrollers. The new enCoRe(TM) III (enhanced component reduction) microcontrollers extend the enCoRe family’s industry-leading performance and flexibility to full-speed applications, while the enhanced low-speed enCoRe II devices have added Flash memory and reduce overall system costs while increasing performance. The enCoRe family’s flexible mix of speeds and configurations serves a broad range of human interface devices (HIDs) such as mice, keyboards, wireless dongles, and gaming controllers as well as Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) handsets.

The enCoRe III device has 16K of Flash memory and a digital system that allows for true flexibility when choosing peripheral configurations. The device provides users with 16-channel/10 bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for demanding, full-speed USB applications such as gaming controllers. In addition, the enCoRe III provides a Pulse Width Modulator for force feedback gaming capability. Based on the highly flexible Programmable-System-on-Chip(TM) (PSoC(TM)) architecture, the enCoRe III can be used in virtually any full speed application ranging from USB-Serial applications to VoIP Handsets to USB gamepads.

The new enCoRe II microcontrollers are targeted at feature-rich, low-cost USB mice, including trackball, optical, and laser models. The enCoRe II architecture provides many performance and cost options to build the right mouse for multiple markets. Users can choose from 3K to 8K of Flash memory to find the appropriate performance and cost combination. In addition, the enCoRe II provides a 3.3V regulator that can power external devices such as an optical sensor.

“Cypress’s USB technology has earned an industry-leading position by offering the best value across a broad performance range, and the enCoRe family of USB microcontrollers is a prime-example of this architectural flexibility,” said Steven Larky, managing director of Cypress’s USB product line. “Portable consumer devices, mice, keyboards, and other HID devices are becoming more and more complex and powerful, increasing demands on connectivity. Our enCoRe products empower application designers to select the ideal combination of performance and price.”

About the enCoRe Family

Cypress’s enCoRe USB technology features a breakthrough crystal-less oscillator. By integrating the oscillator on-chip, an external crystal or resonator is no longer needed. Cypress has also integrated other external components commonly found in low-speed USB applications, including pull-up resistors, wake-up circuitry, and a 3.3V regulator. This integration results in shorter development cycles and lower system costs. In addition, the enCoRe family offers a Flash-based design that enables storage of wireless binding parameters as well as in-system reprogrammability and EEPROM emulation.

Pricing and Availability

All of the new enCoRe products are available today. The full-speed enCoRe III (CY7C64215) is available in 56-pin QFN and 28-pin SSOP packages and pricing starts under $1.30 in high volumes. The low-speed enCoRe II suite of devices is available in multiple configurations and packages (see the chart below) and pricing starts under $0.96 in high volumes. A high-resolution photo is available at www.cypress.com/enCoRephoto.

Family Part Number Configuration Pin/Package
—————– —————– ————- ——————
enCoRe II CY7C63310 3K Flash 16, PDIP/SOIC
—————– —————– ————- ——————
enCoRe II CY7C63801 4K Flash 16, PDIP/SOIC
—————– —————– ————- ——————
enCoRe II CY7C63803 8K Flash 16 SOIC
—————– —————– ————- ——————
enCoRe II CY7C63813 8K Flash 18, PDIP/SOIC
—————– —————– ————- ——————
enCoRe II CY7C63823 8K Flash 24, PDIP/SOIC/QSOP
—————– —————– ————- ——————
enCoRe III CY7C64215 16K Flash 28 SSOP, 56 QFN
—————– —————– ————- ——————

About Cypress

Cypress solutions are at the heart of any system that is built to perform: consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Leveraging a strong commitment to customer service and performance-based process and manufacturing expertise, Cypress’s product portfolio includes a broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing solutions, network search engines, specialty memories, high-bandwidth synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions, and reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CY. More information about the company is available online at www.cypress.com.

Cypress and the Cypress logo are registered trademarks and enCoRe, Programmable-System-on-Chip, and PSoC are trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:CY) today introduced its next-generation 2.4-GHz WirelessUSB(TM) Radio-on-a-Chip. The new WirelessUSB LP offers the most robust solution with the lowest power consumption for keyboards, mice, and other Human Interface Devices (HIDs), while providing an unparalleled feature set enabling low BOM costs, higher data rate applications, and faster time to market.

WirelessUSB LP operates between 1.8 and 3.6 volts, using many advanced techniques to extend battery life in devices such as wireless mice. As part of Cypress’s WirelessUSB portfolio, the device uses Cypress’s patented Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and frequency-agile technology to offer best-in-class interference immunity for a 2.4GHz radio system. This combination of low power consumption, interference immunity and low cost make it ideal for wireless HID applications such as keyboards, mice, remote controls, presentation tools and game controllers. WirelessUSB LP brings these benefits to the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) market for products like wireless headsets by transferring data at a maximum speed of up to 1 Mbps.

“WirelessUSB continues to see dramatic growth, particularly in HID applications, due to its ease of use, plug-and-play installation, low cost, and outstanding interference immunity,” said Norm Taffe, vice president of Cypress’s Consumer and Computation Division. “The new WirelessUSB LP adds an unrivaled combination of features and benefits, including low power consumption and high data rate transmission to our already strong offering.”

WirelessUSB LP uses Cypress’s patent pending AutoRate Receiver(TM) technology enabling the device to receive data at any data rate without the need to negotiate speed changes. In addition, the device includes integrated features such as an automatic transaction sequencer, deep packet buffers (16 byte) for TX and RX, and a boost converter (generating up to 2.7V). These features simplify firmware design, offload processing requirements, allow for the use of lower cost microcontrollers, and power external devices such as optical sensors. The device also has highly optimized timing, including quick startup, fast channel changes, and immediate link turnaround capabilities. All of these enhanced features combine to significantly extend battery life, save design time and reduce overall system costs.

WirelessUSB LP lowers support call costs with the user-friendly KISSBind(TM) feature, which enables a user to intuitively link a wireless peripheral to the desired host by simply bringing them in very close proximity with one another. The device also supports the recently announced TouchWake(TM) capability to save additional battery power by allowing a WirelessUSB peripheral to instantly wake from an ultra-low-power sleep mode when the user touches it.

Price and Availability

Cypress is sampling the WirelessUSB LP (CYRF6936) today in 40-pin QFN packages. Full production quantities are expected to be available in early Q1, 2006. Pricing is approximately $1.20 each in high volumes. A high-resolution photo of the WirelessUSB LP device is available at www.cypress.com/WUSBLPphoto.

About WirelessUSB

WirelessUSB delivers the best combination of performance and cost versus competing wireless technologies. Featuring a highly integrated radio transceiver plus digital baseband on a single chip, WirelessUSB enables designers to significantly decrease development time, component count and system cost while improving operating range, power-consumption and latency. The DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum)-based technology is robust to interference and features a range of up to 50 meters and beyond.

About Cypress

Cypress solutions are at the heart of any system that is built to perform: consumer, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial, and solar power. Leveraging a strong commitment to customer service and performance-based process and manufacturing expertise, Cypress’s product portfolio includes a broad selection of wired and wireless USB devices, CMOS image sensors, timing solutions, network search engines, specialty memories, high-bandwidth synchronous and micropower memory products, optical solutions, and reconfigurable mixed-signal arrays. Cypress stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CY. More information about the company is available online at www.cypress.com.

Cypress and the Cypress logo are registered trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. WirelessUSB, AutoRate Receiver, KISSBind, and TouchWake are trademarks of Cypress. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 20, 2005–Phoenix Audio Technologies, today at Fall VON 2005, introduced the DUET PCS Speakerphone that delivers clear, full duplex communication to VOIP users that demand high quality audio. Business, SOHO and a growing number of Consumers that have adopted VOIP services, have a higher standard for true full duplex performance. Phoenix is delivering the audio devices to complete desktop VOIP solutions for these users. The Duet PCS offers a true alternative to headsets.

The DUET PCS is a Personal Conferencing Speakerphone for voice over IP, webconferencing, distance learning and desktop videoconferencing applications. The DUET PCS is plug & play, USB powered and includes a connection for headphones / loudspeakers. The DUET PCS makes VOIP better by delivering crystal clear communication and allowing more than one person to participate in a conference at the same PC.

Phoenix Audio Technologies is also announcing the Duet Executive model which provides enhanced communications for both computers and telephones. The Duet Executive provides exceptional speakerphone performance to IP Phones, analog phones, cellphones and Blackberrys. A new feature introduced with the Executive model is the ability to connect multiple Executive units together. Chaining DUET Executives will address larger conference rooms, classrooms and courtrooms distributing audio input and output to larger areas.

Clear, boardroom conference quality is the result of Phoenix Audio’s disruptive and proprietary technologies which include acoustic echo cancellation, noise suppression, line echo, voice level compensation algorithms and acoustic modeling. Small, Superior, and Easy to Use.

Pricing & Availability

The DUET PCS is listed at $199.95 and available through distribution now.

The DUET Executive is listed at $299.95 and will be available through distribution in mid October.

About Phoenix Audio Technologies

Phoenix Audio Technologies develops, manufactures, and markets high quality audio conferencing hardware for PC, Laptop and enterprise IP Phones. Phoenix microphones and speakerphones complete the desktop & mobile audio conferencing solution for softphones, web-conferencing, voice over IP and distance learning applications. Phoenix Audio Technologies is improving VOIP communication within Financial, Telemedicine, Enterprise and Contact Center markets. More information at www.phnxaudio.com