Gizmo Project's Robertson: 'Skype has a lead, but...'

Last night and early this morning, I received three emails from Gizmo Project spearheader Michael Robertson.

Before I share some of what he had to say to me, a little background is in order.

Already known for MP3.com, entrepreneur Michael Robertson launched SIPphone, Inc. in April, 2003 to build a VoIP platform and directory on which any hardware or software developer could offer free VoIP service.

SIPphone's biggest bang in the VoIP space to date has been the launch of the open standards Gizmo Project softphone. Originally built by SIPphone for internal use, and then for a group of peering partners, Gizmo Project softphone has been publicly available for about a month.

Some call the Gizmo Project a "Skype-killer." And since quite a few of you have written me to ask what I think of the Gizmo Project, I have been filling up this blog with related posts this week.

These posts have captured Mike's attention. He writes to tell me:

"Obviously, Skype has a lead since they have been out for quite some time and have more then 100 engineers, but I think Gizmo Project is a very valiant beta. We've got lots of feedback from users that like call recording, free voicemail and call mapping. We've only just started and we've got terrific features that go way beyond what you've seen from any VOIP client immediately in the works."

Mike then added some points from users that he wanted to share with me. For that, you'll want to read my next post.