Skype On The iPhone

Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on March 30, 2009

Last week, I got a few minutes to try out Skype’s new application for the iPhone, which my colleague Olga Kharif has written about today. I tried it out sitting in a Starbucks in Rockefeller Center, and made a short call to someone over the AT&T Wi-Fi network, and I have to say the sound quality was great.

The bad news? You’re limited to making Skype calls via Wi-Fi only, and not over the 3G network. The good news? It will work with the iPod touch provided you have the iPhone headphones with the microphone in them.

Personally, I like the idea of Skype more than I use Skype. I have the $3-per-month unlimited plan, but I find I rarely use it mainly because any call I’m likely to make is usually domestic, and thus fairly cheap or included in my phone’s plan. When I make Skype calls, it’s for the odd international call for which I’d rather not pay through the nose.

One company that probably won’t like this announcement? Netgear. I have one of its Wi-Fi handsets for Skype at home and tend to prefer using it when I make Skype calls rather than being tethered to my Mac, that is unless I think its going to be a video call. And? All my overseas friends have Skype accounts, so the handset is great, and I’ve traveled with it and used it in hotel rooms.

Now that’s one less extra bit of gear I’m likely to travel with. I take either the iPhone or iPod touch with me anyway. Additionally, I tend not to bother charging the Netgear handset unless I know I’m going to be using it, but I always keep both the iPhone or iPod touch charged. Not that Skype handsets are all that big a business for Netgear or anyone else. I don’t know anyone else that has one personally. I also noticed that Cisco’s Linksys division appears to have stopped selling VOIP-handsets that had originally appeared under the iPhone brand name (remember that little kerfuffle?)

Other things I like about the app are that it integrates with the iPhone’s existing address book, and handles instant messaging and other functions nicely. These are compatible with the 3G data network too, incidentally.

The iPhone is only the the latest platform to get a Skype client. Last month the eBay unit did a deal with Nokia, and an application is already on Android phones. And a Skype client for the Blackberry is forthcoming later this year. The more I have it handy, the more likely I am to use it.

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