Over the last few days, there was an update for Skype on the iPhone which bumped it up to version 2.0.0 without much fanfare despite a major new feature being made available. 3G voice calling on the iPhone is now available for Skype for “non-jailbreaked” (if that’s the correct word) users.
I’ve given this a go a couple of times over the weekend and I must say that call setup times have been acceptable and the audio quality has been fantastic. It made me lament having to resort to traditional mobile phone calls. Having said that, you need to leave the application open in order to receive calls as there is not yet any third party application multitasking until iPhone OS 4.0 ships.
I must quantify my testing in that I have not tried Skype whilst in motion (i.e. in a moving vehicle) and your results may vary depending upon which mobile carrier you use, your location and whatever else your iPhone (or iPad or iPod Touch) may be doing.
Apparently, calls over 3G will be free for the short term with Skype planning to introduce some sort of monthly subscription model for those that want to continue using it. At least this helps build up regular revenue for Skype as it attempts to offset the huge amount of free Skype-to-Skype calls that take place everyday. Calls over Wi-Fi will continue to be free which is great news.
Why not give it a shot?
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