Skype for iPhone now with video calls

http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/12/iphone_video_calls.html

by ssclafani • 16 years ago

36 26 16 years ago

blogs.skype.com

jperras• 16 years ago

Other than the ability to make video calls to a computer/laptop, I'm not sure how this is an improvement from Apple's "FaceTime".

I suppose that if you own an older iPhone/iPod or an iPad and want to receive video calls but not have the ability to broadcast your own video, then this is a much appreciated update.

aresant• 16 years ago

Two big changes:

- you can video chat with people without an apple FaceTime compatible product.

- you can use it over 3G unlike FaceTime which is limited to wifi

cubicle672• 16 years ago

- you can do voice only calls, which means your iPod Touch is now a phone

portman• 16 years ago

"Other than the ability to make video calls to a computer/laptop"

The number of device that you can make video calls to increased from ~10M (iPhone4 and iPod Touch 4) to ~1000M (internet-connected PCs, notebooks, and netbooks).

So if the Skype videocalling network has 100x the devices as the FaceTime videocalling network, then its value is something like 10,000 times greater [1].

It's a bit like stating "I'm not sure how $10 million is an improvement over $1000."

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalfes_law

dave1619• 16 years ago

Does skype on iPhone allow you to receive calls in the background?

pilif• 16 years ago

If you are running iOS 4, then yes.

It quite quickly drains your battery though when running. And it'll ring and vibrate whenever you get an IM message, even when you are at your computer chatting and thus aware of the IM conversation going on.

For these two reasons, I personally don't run skype in the background

gojomo• 16 years ago

Indeed, Skype is the only app for which I've used the iOS4 background kill function.

christophe9712• 16 years ago

Strange, after a certain amount of time (20 minutes ? more ?), I just don't receive skype calls anymore on the iphone, even when the app is in the foreground.

If I make a skype call, I can now receive calls/IM for some time, even in the background.

Is that a normal behavior ?

colombian• 16 years ago

And Android is still left with a hardly usable app that can only be used on the Verizon network :(

tensor• 16 years ago

I don't understand. I downloaded skype on a nexus s using a canadian carrier without issue. It seemed to work fine. Is it somehow different for other android phones?

david2777• 16 years ago

Yeah, Skype Mobile is for Verizon. This one works great for me. http://www.appbrain.com/app/skype/com.skype.raider

cmelbye• 16 years ago

You expect Android apps to run properly on every device?

garply• 16 years ago

I grabbed a hacked version of Skype that works over wifi and mobile data connection regardless of carrier from an Android forum (I need it because I'm on China Mobile and it's not available in my app store at all). If you want the apk, please let me know and I can email it to you.

ZoFreX• 16 years ago

I'd like to point out that it cannot "only be used on the Verizon network". It works just fine on any network in the UK, however, they limit which handsets you can download the installer on. There's nothing stopping you getting the APK from someone else and installing it, but I wouldn't bother. The app really is terrible.

Artificially limiting their market aside, here's some of the highlights:

There are no options. Seriously. None. Good luck configuring anything about the behaviour of the app.

It's huge. I don't have it installed right now but I believe it takes up more than 20MB, which is seriously bloated for a glorified IM application.

You can't view just your online contacts, or order by status. I have a LOT of contacts, and at any given time maybe 10 to 20 are online. Finding them is a complete pain.

If you open an IM with someone, it populates the window with your last chats, just like the other clients. However, it loads a very large amount of your history with them, which takes a long time to populate the window, and it does this every time you switch to that IM "window", making the IM completely unusable.

gabea• 16 years ago

I just tried this out and it is awesome.

Skype for iPhone now with video calls

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