NEW YORK --
The dedicated Skype section will feature handsets, headsets, and webcams designed to work with Skype, a provider of free and very cheap long-distance calls, including to phone numbers abroad. Wal-Mart will also sell the first prepaid cards for Skype calls to be sold in this country.
The new section at more than half of Wal-Mart's roughly 3,300 US stores will feature Skype-compatible gear made by
Those manufacturers already sell those products in stores through their relationships with
Wal-Mart also sells products that work with Vonage, which also transmits calls over an Internet connection but tends to more closely replicate the experience of using a traditional telephone. By contrast, while there are a growing number of cordless phones compatible with Skype, the service is commonly used by plugging a headset into a computer and clicking on names in a buddy list.
With tens of millions of regular users, Skype has developed a huge following, especially among international callers. But the service is not as well known to the general public, even among people with high-speed Internet connections.
"We think there will be a lot of Wal-Mart shoppers who will not be familiar with Skype," said Don Albert, general manager for Skype North America, a unit of
"We have worked with Wal-Mart to describe Skype simply in the display," Albert said, noting that the products may vary from store to store, depending on the market. "In more tech-savvy areas, you may see higher-end Skype certified hardware."
Wal-Mart typically rolls out new products in 1,000 to 2,000 stores, and the 1,800 featuring Skype products will be evenly spread across the nation, said Melissa O'Brien, a spokeswoman for the retailer.