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Yahoo today launched its paid PC-to-phone VOIP services called Phone Out and Phone In service. This service would mainly be targeted for Yahoo Messenger’s users and would be in direct competition with Skype. Though the official announcement is still not out, the Yahoo services is expected to start tonight. This move is not surprising as Yahoo a couple of months ago purchased the VOIP firm called Dialpad.

This service is a kind of godsend to those who make long distance calls and are fed up with the exorbitant bills. The per-minute rates for the Phone Out service (calls from your PC to fixed and mobile numbers) are just 1 cent per minute to call any number in the U.S. (half of Skype’s 2.1-cents-a-minute rate) and the same rate for Canada and London (it's 1.5 cents per minute for other U.K. fixed lines, and 17 cents per minute for U.K. mobile/cell numbers). The users would get a regular phone number from the service ,however it is only available in selected areas in the US, France and UK.

Now Yahoo is gonna get some hot reaction from Skype in the next few weeks....stay tuned !

Yahoo’s Phone In service, which allows users to select their phone number, is expected to cost a flat rate of $2.99 per month or about $29.90 annually. That’s in line with the SkypeIn 12-month subscription price of 30 euros (or roughly $35), or 3 months for 10 euros (about $11.80).

Of course, Skype has two year’s momentum in the VoIP space under its belt already, with about 68 million customers globally. Several million of those customers use Skype Out.

New Yahoo PC-to-phone VOIP Service source

Sourced By Tanya Palta. Edited by Colbert Low