Skype for Android is available

http://www.skype.com/intl/en/get-skype/on-your-mobile/download/skype-for-android/?cm_mmc=m104

by ifesdjeen • 16 years ago

85 82 16 years ago

codedivine4• 16 years ago

Heads up: Do read the fine type at the bottom. For example, currently its only available over Wifi in the US. Does anyone know why? Surely if it works on 3G at other places, its not a technology problem?

Sidenote: So skype is now available for many major platforms including iPhone, Symbian and now Android. Does anyone know if Skype (and not skype-lite) is available on blackberry?

heyitsnick• 16 years ago

>> or example, currently its only available over Wifi in the US.

Can you link/quote the part that says that? I can't see it.

edit: Sorry, I read your post wrong. I thought you meant, "skype over wifi is (a feature that) is only available in the US". Rather, I see now you mean, "Those in the US can only use skype over wifi (not on 3G networks)".

I just went through the whole process of skyping myself from phone to laptop, and back again (and getting some nasty feedback!) before realising what you meant!

codedivine4• 16 years ago

Here is a blog entry from Skype: http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/10/android.html

On the bottom you can find the following disclaimers:

* Skype is not available in the Android Market in China or Japan.

* Skype has been tested on HTC and Motorola devices with Android OS 2.1 and above. It may work on other Android phones, but we can’t guarantee full functionality or compatibility.

* We’re aware of some problems with the Samsung Galaxy S, and we’re looking to address these in the future.

* It’s free to use Skype in a WiFi zone. If you use Skype with a mobile data connection, operator charges may apply, so we recommend an unlimited data plan.

* In the US, you can make calls only over WiFi.

* A fair use policy applies to unlimited subscriptions.

rue• 16 years ago

Maybe because U.S. "3G" is very slow in most areas?

nuclear_eclipse3• 16 years ago

More because US carriers are deathly afraid of anything competing with them for voice calls, ie, to prevent people from buying just a data connection and still getting voice calls over Skype.

jawee• 16 years ago

I haven't used it on my own phone or anything, but I have several friends that use Skype on their Blackberries for IM and calls. I assume this is Skype and not skype-lite since it can make calls, such as on Verizon's Storm.

dLuna• 16 years ago

I would guess that it's because of the Verizon deal. Skype probably had to promise to make it only work for them.

jeffclark• 16 years ago

Skype is available on Blackberry on Verizon. I'm not sure about availability outside of that.

The client is pretty packed. Apparently you can't use it on wifi though, but otherwise it's a full-blown Skype client.

moe3• 16 years ago

Says "unavailable for your mobile" when trying to install on Samsung Galaxy S.

ifesdjeen• 16 years ago

Hm.. Here's an APK, although i'm not sure whether it'll run or no http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4650425/com.skype.raider.apk

sssparkkk• 16 years ago

It runs on my Froyo firmware (JPK), however, the voices are very robotic (you can barely understand what's being said).

Here's to hoping they fix the version for the Galaxy S soon.

[Edit: hm wait, this might be my provider limiting VOIP bandwidth :S]

codedivine4• 16 years ago

See my comment below linking to the skype blog. They say they are working on fixing some issues on Galaxy S so i guess it will be released for your phone once they fix it.

hexley• 16 years ago

What fragmentation?

cskau• 16 years ago

Said so too for my HTC Desire, even though that one of the two thy display in their site. It checked the App Market and it showed up there instead - now I've got it up and running !

oh boy oh boy oh boy !

yock• 16 years ago

They've now added that to the product description in the marketplace. That's quite a disappointment.

chaosmachine• 16 years ago

Just installed this on a Telus Milestone/Droid here in Canada. Calling works great. Doesn't seem to support SMS, though?

riffic7• 16 years ago

skype is poison software and is antithetical to the hacker ethos of open systems.

use at your own caution

(I'm probably going to get downvoted for this because it always seems to be that any negative comment about skype == downvotes on HN.)

:edit: a hacker I've been following for a some time has a blog and writes about emerging open voice+video standards. I think that Thiago Camargo expresses many points very well. http://xmppjingle.blogspot.com/

weego• 16 years ago

as 99.5% of the world aren't "hackers" and quite like the idea of calling people on the other side of the world for free, perhaps the success of Skype shows your ideals are out of touch with the world around you. Who, then, is more likely to be wrong?

StavrosK9• 16 years ago

Neither.

Ideals aren't about convenience, that's why they're ideals. While I love Skype, I can appreciate the fact that it's stifling innovation and killing interoperability, since you can't use it with SIP...

It's as if we had email, and then a proprietary protocol which everyone used. Countless services would never have been created.

riffic7• 16 years ago

My point isn't about what is popular, it is about what is right.

anyways I don't like making predictions, but I can't see skype lasting 10+ years if they continue to pursue a closed architecture. it just will not happen.

What is most uncomfortable about skype to me is the fact that they are the single provider of their service; for example if you wanted to use another service you wouldn't be allowed to use that other network to contact a skype user. This is an example of a choice I consider to be wrong.

lwhi8• 16 years ago

Skype (in terms of the functionality it offers) is basically a branded form of SIP VoIP.

You can obtain similar functionality using a generic SIP VoIP account purchased through a reseller .. which will be free from the negative restrictions mentioned.

Joeboy• 16 years ago

> perhaps the success of Skype shows your ideals are out of touch with the world around you

I can't imagine what kind of confusion would cause somebody to type that.

points• 16 years ago

"skype is poison software and is antithetical to the hacker ethos of open systems."

What sort of BS is that. For most people, it solves a real world problem very well.

riffic7• 16 years ago

a controversial statement designed to elicit discussion.

I am of the opinion that for a site called Hacker News, most people here seem complacent to emprofit a company that locks you into their walled garden, meanwhile giving the finger to choice enablers that do the same exact thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_ethic

palewery• 16 years ago

"use at your own caution" It may be a closed system, but hackers would have discovered if it was sending all your calls to the government.

riffic7• 16 years ago

My caution is not of eavesdropping, but of lock-in.

I'd like to be able to contact friends/family/business partners using a service of my own chooising.

andraz• 16 years ago

What's the point of Skype on Android if you need to be in WiFi Zone? In that case you can skype with your laptop in the first place.

... what's the name of the alternative that actually works over 3G?

scopendo• 16 years ago

A lot if you're travelling outside of your home country.

stevefranco• 16 years ago

I think an alternative that works on 3G is FriendCaller and Fring.

codedivine4• 16 years ago

It works on 3G in countries other than the US.

ja27• 16 years ago

It works on 3G in the US on the iPhone.

Is there some sort of workaround for root users that can fool it into thinking it's on WiFi?

lwhi8• 16 years ago

Sipdroid works with most generic SIP accounts and also works over 3G.

lutorm4• 16 years ago

Do you find Sipdroid usable? I tried it and my call quality was horrible, even over wifi. The lag was seconds and the sound was totally garbled. Was entirely unusable on my Nexus/T-mo.

labria• 16 years ago

At last. The "Lite" version was virtually useless, and fring recently droppped Skype support, so Android was left skypeless.

37prime• 16 years ago

Finally, Skype-Verizon exclusivity is over. It was really annoying how Verizon dictates the availability.

etherael• 16 years ago

The quality on a nexus one running froyo is significantly better than land line; almost as good as desktop, both wifi and 3g. enormous step up from sipdroid. Australia now has a year long plan for 120 aud that can effectively replace voice service from the carrier entirely. (three.com.au)

robk• 16 years ago

I find the call quality the same as Sipdroid, if not a little worse. Sipdroid is far too complex to get going but works fantastically once you have it setup.

StavrosK9• 16 years ago

This is completely off topic, but do you know if I can install Vanilla Android on devices that come with Sense? I'm getting a Desire HD and I'm curious if I can just remove the entire HTC thing and install the plain Google one if it comes with too much crapware.

Does everything work, or do vendors have too much integration to install the vanilla OS?

zacharycohn• 16 years ago

You'd have to root it. However, HTC Sense isn't too bad - I actually enjoy it. There's a few apps you can't get rid of, which is kind of annoying, but you can just remove them from your desktops and never think about them again.

roel_v• 16 years ago

I like Sense, I've got it on a regular Desire. I don't have any issues with it and I like the looks better than the vanilla Android.

wheaties• 16 years ago

Hey Skype,thanks for letting me know. Actually, you came pre-installed on my Droid. Wish you had given me the chance to decide if I wanted you or not. Seems like I can't even uninstall ya, either. So looks like we've taken part in a shotgun marriage.

PhrosTT• 16 years ago

yep... and city ID, amazon mp3, (if verizon: my verizon mobile, and most laughably - vz navigator which costs $9.99/month and is no doubt worse than google nav)

nuclear_eclipse3• 16 years ago

Ironically, I envy you because Verizon users are the only Android/Skype users in the US that can make Skype calls over 3G. I would love to be able to use Skype anywhere I go, rather than being limited to using it by a WiFi hotspot...

pilif2• 16 years ago

One thing that really annoys me about all the official Skype clients on various phones is their complete ignorance of multiple sign-ins.

This could be an issue with the protocol itself, but it's still annoying.

When I am running Skype on my iPhone or now on Android and at the same time having a conversation on the PC, my phone will notify me for every incoming and outgoing message happening on the PC.

Now, on the PC, a conversation is something happening quickly and in abundance. This basically leads to my phone constantly vibrating.

Jabber, even back then, recognized this. When you log in multiple times, it registers multiple presences and once you send a message from one location, all other clients will not be notified any more until you start a new conversation on that device.

This is a requirement as always-on mobile-clients are appearing.

Now, on the iPhone I can at least quickly start Skype, make a call and close it down using the easily accessible task manager.

On Android, while still possible, it's a really big tour through nearly every screen the OS can throw at me before I finally can close down the application for good.

Also, Android Skype insta-crashes the WhatsApp beta and seems to be constantly sending/receiving data (the background sync icon is constantly on until I uninstall Skype).

Unusable. Sorry.

nuclear_eclipse3• 16 years ago

> On Android, while still possible, it's a really big tour through nearly every screen the OS can throw at me before I finally can close down the application for good.

What are you talking about? The Skype client itself has the option to either go offline or sign out completely, which stops the service altogether.

lutorm4• 16 years ago

Not sure I agree with you there. I had the opposite experience with google talk: I started messaging on my laptop, then left the laptop thinking I could continue the conversation on my phone. But no, it apparently helpfully decided that the messages should only go to my laptop, so I never got them on my phone. A small annoyance of getting too many messages far outweighs not getting them at all, imho.

pilif2• 16 years ago

small annoyance? If I'm running skype on my phone, it's basically constantly vibrating while I'm in a conversation.

StavrosK9• 16 years ago

I'm with pilif on this one, when someone sends a skype message, all my devices ring (two laptops, one desktop and three mobiles). This happens for every message. It's so infuriating I log off Skype on every machine apart from the one I'm currently on.

You can continue a Jabber conversation by just sending a message from the device you moved to. As far as I know, all subsequent messages will go to that one. It's also great for preventing snooping when you leave one device on at work and chat on another at home.

mitkok• 16 years ago

"Not found - The request item could not be found." after clicking the link to download. Great

https403• 16 years ago

There should be a QR-COde for easy download!!!

steamer25• 16 years ago

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=6&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.s...

Skype for Android is available

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