Skapple - Could That Work?

I can't believe all the buzz around Skype and Vonage for IPO or takeout scenarios. Seems to be at a fever pitch, and every day it's another dance partner combo. They're all in the mix, esp with Microsoft acquiring Teleo and Google launching voice. eBay is today's story du jour, and maybe tomorrow it will be AOL. Lots of interesting stories and blog postings out there. I spoke with a few pubs about it today, and will pass on the links when the stories run.

With all that's going on, here's the one that makes some sense to me - Skype and Apple. I haven't seen or heard about that combo yet, and it's just my thinking, but I like it. I'm not really an Apple follower - am sure Om Malik would have a lot to say here - but at a high level, I see a good fit and some complementary offerings.

Just look at the companies, their cultures, their leaders, their audience. It all fits - if you recall, at VON Canada, Jeff Pulver noted that Niklas Zennstrom is the Steve Jobs of VoIP - Skype is the iPod of our space. It's all true - they're both visionary guys, with maverick, upstart companies that are reinventing their spaces with offerings that are fun, good, easy to use, and wildy popular.

I can certainly see ways they could work together. How about downloading iTunes to Skype? Or custom ring backs? Of course, these are the kinds of things that the Skype developer community is frantically working on now, and no doubt more cool stuff like this is in the works. How about bundling Skype with the iPod? Maybe incorporate voice into future models of the iPod. And we'll call it the Skypod. I sure like the sound of that - and just remember where you heard it first. This is sounding better all the time. I think I'll stop now, but would love to hear what others think.