Skype introduces Skype for iPhone
Skype, the company that proclaims they are revolutionizing the way people communicate with each other has taken another big step in Voice over IP (VOIP). Voice over internet protocol is just simply a technology that allows the delivery of voice communications over IP networks such as the Internet.
Just last week the company introduced their new iPhone and iTouch application. The application allows users to use his or her iPhone when connected to any WiFi zone and call friends that are on Skype for free. Yes, I said that right, for free. The company offers packages as low as $2.95 a month for $29.95 for unlimited US and Canada anytime calls to cell phones and landlines.
Receive calls when you sign up for an account
You can receive calls to your iPhone or iTouch if you opt to receive an online number for an additional fee. If you purchase a subscription like I did, you can receive a 50% discount for the online phone number.
I have been using the application for a few days and have been happy with the results as well as the quality of connection. I purchased an unlimited US and Mexico plan for $29.95 yr. and have been happy with the ability to import my contacts from my iPhone into the Skype application and call business, personal and cell phones direct. I believe that the importing of contacts process could be easier, but given the fact that it allows me to import and not re-enter contacts in the address book makes me happy. One challenge I reported to Skype was while on a call, I received a meeting reminder message from the iPhone calendar informing me of an event. While the event pop up was displayed on my screen, the person I was speaking with on the Skype call could not hear me. As long as the prompt remained on the screen, it responded as if I had muted the iPhone. In all fairness to Skype, I am operating the new iPhone 3.0 Beta 2 software and it could be a challenge with that as well.
A few of the best points about using the Skype phone app is that the phone app is free, the call can be free if you are talking to a Skype user, and the quality is acceptable. This is more than I can say for my Vonage service, (Home VOIP). Using Vonage was difficult for the first few months until all the bugs were worked out. Could VOIP be the future, my comment is YES! My thought is that it could be in the not that far away future that we use WiFi zones to communicate with others and really make having a conversation affordable again. The question is, regardless of how much it costs, do I really want to talk with Pat???
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- Skyping it on the iPhone and iTouch
