This mobile version of Skype looks and acts like the iPhone dialer--it might even cause some users to do a double-take. Quick chat sessions, powerful integration with the desktop version of the Voice over IP (VoIP) application, and better-than-expected call hosting make Skype for iPhone a must-download, even if it is missing some features.
VoIP services such as Skype offer the promise of free phone calls -- provided you're calling other Skype users. Otherwise, you pay a few pennies per minute for international calls, voice mail services and calls with anyone who is "out of service" -- that is, those with a regular landline or cell phone not using Skype.
You can create an account on your iPhone, although once you are registered, the client itself only allows you to make calls, view and dial contacts, and send text messages or chats.
The beauty of using Skype is that you can view call and text message history, review charges and listen to voice mail messages on your Mac, even if you receive them on the iPhone.
During a day of testing on a home broadband line, most Skype-to-Skype calls were clear, but a few times there was an annoying delay or a digital chirp. In a lengthy call to a Skype user in Australia, the call quality slowly eroded over time. At a public library, Skype quality was fine during one part of the day, and then -- when everyone around me was tapping away on laptops -- Skype for iPhone was almost unusable.
There's a couple other minor glitches: you can only participate in a conference call if another desktop-bound Skype user initiates it; you can't start a conference call from your iPhone. And because the iPhone OS does not yet allow for background processing, you're only logged into Skype when the app is running -- meaning, if you want to receive a Skype call, the app needs to be open.
This limitation will disappear when 3.0 becomes available this summer!
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