While it may not be the holy grail, it's definitely one of the most prized treasures of thus-far undelivered iPhone apps: Skype. Well, GigaOM says maybe not for much longer:
A tipster — a very reliable one — tells me that Skype is almost ready to launch that iPhone version, perhaps as soon as next week. CTIA Wireless, a large mobile industry trade event, kicks off in Las Vegas next Wednesday, so perhaps the announcement will be made there. I am working on getting more details, as well as screenshots of the service.
Dieter will be live and in-person at CTIA, eyes peeled and iPhone at the ready, just in case. Meanwhile, we have to wonder what the carrier reaction will be. We know consumers want it, right?
Reader comments
Skype for iPhone Coming Soon?
I take it that this will only work on wifi lol
Wow! Now I can make calls for free on the phone that charges me so I can make calls! :roll:
That's kind of late for them, Nimbuzz was just updated and now supports SkypeOut and SIP (it even shows how much you have to spend on calls), and the call quality is very good (compared to Fring).
hmm !
Front facing camera only avialable on 3.5G / wifi ? ^_^
For what I know about skype , I'm 100% sure you can do video chat with the desktop version.
I just threw the front facing camera out there because faster data speeds ( 3.5G / 802.11N) were speculated.
I can't see how AT&T will let this slide. Gotta only work on wifi...I bet
@Wesley
Fring will also gateway to skype (either skype to skype or skype out).
I read here on TiPB that international traffic does not generate all that much revenue for the carriers so maybe they don't care.
With push notifications Skype will be great for international calling.
@Wesley, I'm using nimbuzz also and it's pretty good! Skype works perfectly!
Come on 3G/EDGE support! If not I can always use the jailbreak trick that makes the phone think it's on wifi.
I know Fring has had SkypeOut functionality for awhile now, but I was never able to use it reliably. Hopefully I have better luck with an official client.
@Ben
Even skype to skypeout isn't all that reliable.
Skype to skype is usually flawless and skype via fring seems to be as well, as long as skypeout is not involved.
When you consider that with ATT you can add a line to your plan for nine bucks, but you still have to pay the 30 dollar data plan you could take the position that at&t is already being over compensated for the data usage. Skype won't add that much.
Pointless. I can already make phone calls ony iPhone. Might be nice for Touch users.
Frog, ur just to far away
This probably will only work on wifi. Can't wait for it though :-)
"Dieter will be live and in-person at CTIA, eyes peeled and iPhone at the ready, just in case."
Well DataViz is attending CTIA, so I sure hope there is iphone news there! A whole lot more about about docs-to-go hopefully! I'll be very angry if they don't include powerpoint editing.
@Bigpadabuu: Yes you can make calls on your iphone. We all know that. But if you have friends (or customers) in other countries it gets VERY expensive, and if you are on a minute starved plan skype is a great alternative.
So Pointless is purely from your limited perspective, in which case simply not installing makes the most sense for you.
Here is an interesting thing I found on http://tinyurl.com/iskypereview
Important solutions to the COMPLAINERS:
1) Complaining that you can't use Skype on 3G?
Just Jailbreak your iphone and install 'voipover3g' from cydia. Jailbreakers will be able to save their minutes whenever they want because this app makes the iPhone think that it is on wifi all the time.
2) Complaining that you can't run skype in the background while using another application?
Just install 'backgrounder' from cydia on your jailbroken phone.
3) Complaining that you cant use gtalk, msn and other IM's?
Its a SKYPE only app. Duh! Use Beejive or someother app if you want to chat using other IM's.
4) Complaining that there is no video conferencing, SMS and other desktop client features ?
Play the waiting game for a while. The folks at skype will definitely be releasing these features in not-so-distant future updates.
it works great over 3g and edge but you need a jail broken iphone to set it up through 3g/edge,i got mines set up today works great outcalls and incalls