Refine search for Mobile Phones

Skype on iPhone Review

Author Niall Magennis
Published 15th Apr 2009
Manufacturer Skype
Price Free to download, call charges vary
Latest Price Click here
Design Score 8 for Design
Features Score 4 for Features
Performance Score 6 for Performance
Value Score 8 for Value
Overall Score 6 for Overall
Skype on iPhone
Bookmark and Share discuss this article  3 comments    Email  Email trustedreviews newslettersTrustedReviews Newsletters

So far, so good, but the bad news is that voice calls are currently limited to Wi-Fi as Edge and 3G are not supported by this version. This may be a limitation of the current iPhone OS as reports from the US say that VoIP services have been shown working over 3G on iPhone's running V3.0 software. This means it may be possible in the future to make Skype calls over 3G as long as O2 doesn't veto the idea.


Competitors like Truphone get around the current limitation by providing you with a low cost gateway number that you can call when you're on the move to then get access to low international rates, but Skype has chosen not to go down this route, so it's basically Wi-Fi or nothing in terms of making voice calls at present.

The other major issue is that Skype cannot be run in the background ready to pop-up when you receive an incoming call. To be fair this is not a problem of Skype, but rather one of the limitations of the current iPhone OS. At present the iPhone doesn't support multitasking, so processes like this simply can't be run in the background. However, the good news is that there will be support for background monitoring in new V3.0 iPhone OS, so hopefully Skype will be able to update the client to support this when the new OS appears later this year.


Despite these drawbacks, the actual call quality over Wi-Fi was generally very good with Skype making impressive use of the iPhone's built-in mic and speaker. A lot of the time it sounded no different than a standard mobile call. However, this does greatly depend on the utilisation of the Wi-Fi network you are using and its associated broadband connection. When there's a lot of congestion on the network calls can become a bit garbled, but then this is also a failing of the desktop version of Skype.

Calls to other Skype users are naturally free, but Skype also offers low call rates to standard numbers in foreign countries. These have remained consistently competitive with other services despite Skype's popularity. However, currently when you want to add credit to your Skype account you have to leave the application and start up the Safari web browser to log in to the main Skype website, which is a little bit inelegant.

Page: < 1 2 3 4 >

 

Newsletters

Register to receive the latest Reviews and News Headlines directly to your Inbox every day, and enter our regular competitions. More Info.

Your Name


Email Address


Latest 3 of 3 Comments

Have your say: Leave a comment below about this article.

comment AndyR said on 20th April 2009

Used this the other day to call Oz for 15 minutes using my iPhone. Worked flawlessly so seriously impressed with that!

comment Phani Areti said on 24th April 2009

i am using it almost every day on my iphone since it has been released. i must say i was a bit disoppointed that o2 is not supporting skype call but if you have wifi access all the... more

comment Frank said on 16th May 2009

For historical record:Skype calls are available on i-Phone since long time!in fact - long
time before Apple had put its i-phone on the market.
Apple has stolen/taken/... more

See all 3 comments on this article.

add comment Add your comment

You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.