2006 is coming to an end and so is the free phone calls via Skype in the US and Canada. I previously blogged about the promotion whereby you could call any phone in the US or Canada, using Skype and not pay any long distance. However, don’t give up on Skype yet, as they have a new service. For $14.95 per year you can continue to call any phone in the US or Canada without long distance charges. I have been using this service for hte past 6 months and it is great. Little known feature is that you can forward your calls to your cell phone. For example. My family is in Vancouver, I am in Toronto. When they call me on Skype, if I am on the computer I just put on my headset and start talking. But…if I am away from my computer, the call is automatically forwarded to my cell phone. No charge to me and no charge to them. So click on the graphic below and download the all new version 3.0. Then sign up for the SkypeOut service. The special price is only available until Jan. 31, 2007. After that it will be $29.95 per year.

No this is not some spam that I recently received. This is not some bait and switch tactic to get you to sign some multi-year contract with an ISP or cell phone provider. This is the real deal.  Out of the blue on Monday, Skype announced they would allow FREE SkypeOut calls to any phone number in North America. SkypeOut is a service where you buy credits, and it allows you to call a land line phone number for about 2 cents a minute. Well now that service is FREE until the end of the year. After that Skype isn’t saying. I can tell you from experience over the last 2 days, that is words fine. I called family in B.C. and it was crystal clear.  So what are you waiting for. Download Skype and start making your free calls.