“Internet phone-calling service Skype will officially announce a free application for Apple’s iPhone at the CTIA Wireless convention Tuesday. The app will allow iPhone owners to make Internet calls via Apple’s popular handset. Skype calls do not count against regular cellphone minutes, so they can in some cases lower cellphone bills,” Ed Baig blogs for USA Today. “I received an early copy and gave it a try.”
Baig reports, “Skype calls are routed over the Internet. Because of restrictions imposed by Apple, you can only be on a Skype call while you have access to Wi-Fi. If you’re in a cellular coverage area and out of Wi-Fi range, you can only engage in chat sessions with your Skype buddies.”
MacDailyNews Take: Because of restrictions imposed by carriers upon Apple is probably closer to the truth.
Baig continues, “There are other restrictions. You can be on a Skype conference call within the iPhone app but cannot initiate one. And you must be logged to the app to receive an incoming Skype call. That means you cannot be browsing the Web or running another iPhone app and get notified when someone over Skype is trying to ping you. Nor can you currently transfer files or take advantage of SMS.
“Skype on the iPhone is welcome despite these drawbacks, especially if you have to communicate a lot with friends and colleagues overseas and don’t want to pay AT&T’s lofty rates. (AT&T is the only U.S. carrier that sells the iPhone.) As with Skype on your computer, direct calls to other Skype members are free; you can otherwise call landlines and mobile phones in the USA or elsewhere at low rates,” Baig reports. “What’s more, if you have a headset with a microphone, you can also now make Skype calls on an iPod Touch [sic].”
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