Does Google Heart Skype? GrandCentral Hopes So

This has already had a ton of discussion in the blogosphere, but it's come up again.  Rumor has it that eBay is again thinking over the possibility of selling Skype, and it seems to me this is the most seriously they have ever thought about it.  Despite languishing under eBay, Skype is still an attractive piece, especially if Wall Street knows you as GOOG.

Skype would be a HUGE win for Google.  Google Talk is already a fairly popular amongst many people, and making Skype Chat compatible with it would only expand the user base.  But that's not where the major benefit lies.  The single most important reason for Google to pick up Skype, is GrandCentral.

Many of you already know about GrandCentral, one phone number, many phones.  The basic premise is that you get one phone number, which you give to everyone.  You configure your settings in GrandCentral, and that one number will ring as many of or as few of your phones as you want, in whatever order you want.  In addition to setting up your home, business, and mobile phones, you also have the option to ring Gizmo.

Gizmo is essentially the same thing as Skype, only much smaller and not nearly as well known.  It's VOIP that sits on your desktop.  Gizmo offers you a SIP number, which can be added to your GrandCentral account.  Basically, you have a regular phone number, and it will ring to your computer.

Adding Skype to the collection in GrandCentral could be the feature that pushes it to mass adoption.  Having one number to ring your cell, home, business, or Skype account.  Super low cost calls throughout the world with your Skype account.  One number for on the go, sitting at home, or at work.  No more tracking down all your friends and relatives because you changed your phone number.  With this, every phone company in America should be scared.  As broadband further penetrates into our every day lives, we have less need for a land line phone.  If all we need is broadband, we'll be able to have a phone connected to our computers, and the phone line, and all of the revenue that goes with it, will soon disappear for hundreds of phone providers, and many of them aren't offering enough of anything else to survive without it.  And I won't even get into all of the potential integration possibilites with the much hyped Android.

However, the dark horse in the race to acquire Skype is Vonage.  They have achieved a moderate amount of success, but aren't nearly as wildly popular as Skype is.  They use the same underlying technology, but Skype emphasizes use on your computer, as opposed to using an adapter for your old phone.  Skype would give Vonage a major leg up in this still emerging market.

eBay still hasn't decided to sell, for now.  But when that day comes, and I'd wager it happens in 3 to 6 months, we'll find out how much value Skype still holds in in the tech sector.