iPad Paves Way For Skype Over 3G On The iPhone
"The new version, 3.2, removes the restrictions on calling over 3G, which is great news," wrote Skype's Peter Parkes in a posting to the official Skype blog Wednesday.
There are a number of other apps and services already claiming to support iPhone 3G VoIP calling, and Parkes acknowledges that in the post without naming any. (Notable apps include iCall, and outside immediate iPhone applications, there are also channel-friendly vendors like Agito Networks that now enable enterprise-class voice-over-3G.)
"You may have seen other apps offering calls over 3G, but we're holding ours back for a little bit longer," Parkes wrote. "Why? So that we can give you the very best audio quality we can. When our 3G-capable Skype for iPhone app is released, it'll let you make calls in wideband audio, giving you greater clarity and fidelity -- because that's what you expect from Skype."
Comments responding to Parkes' post ranged from supportive to skeptical.
One poster, "garnet_stone" needles the iPad as not being "powerful enough for video and perhaps never will be" and asks Skype for more details on its plans.
"You guys have clearly stated in the past you had a 3g enabled version ready to go and blamed Apple and AT&T, now that the restrictions are gone you say you are not ready," wrote another commenter, "taoprophet420." "If you had a version ready why not release it now and update it soon after? Do you guys have a lack of software developers or do you just put most of your focus on the windows platform. You guys neglect the Mac platform."