Many podcasters use Skype to do Podcasts. The benefits of PC-based voice calling are obvious compared to trying to record telephone conversations, and the free nature of them has allowed many long-distance podcast teams to collaborate. However, there are some good reasons why podcasters should look at other non-Skype tools to use when podcasting. In particular, Gizmo has some very compelling features for podcasters whne compared to Skype:

  1. Voice Quality
    While Skype is rightly know for it’s good voice quality in most circumstances, Gizmo’s quality is just as good. Some people even find it better especially for Mac to PC or PC to Mac communication.
  2. Free Recording
    While Skype has a number of add-ons to enable recording of conversations (eg, Skylook, Hotrecorder) recording is a built-in feature of Gizmo.
  3. More people in conference calls
    Skype allows up to 10 people per conference call (if you have the correct hardware). Gizmo’s only limit is the power of your hardware – while 10 people may be the limit in many circumstances, a simple work-around can allow up to 28 people in a call at once.
  4. Easier to use
    While ease-of-use is often subjective, and increasing number of people are saying they find the Gizmo GUI better laid out and more intuitive. This is very useful when podcasting with someone who is unfamiliar with either Skype or Gizmo, as they will be able to use it quicker – a podcast filled with where much of the time is spent trying to explain how to use the software is likely to annoy the listeners.