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Skype For iPhone Now Makes Video Calls
tekgoblin writes "Today Skype has released an update that allows iPhone users to make video calls from their device. There had been rumors that this update was in the works and now they have been made fact. So, was the Skype outage the other day part of this internal update? Possibly. But Skype has proven to be one of the most important communication tools in the world and now has gotten even better."
> So, was the Skype outage the other day part of this internal update? If you read the story that's two below this one, you'll have realised that this wasn't the case. Shame the editors of Slashdot can't be bothered to read their own site these days - whilst the video calling is news, the submission could have been edited. ---P
" But Skype has proven to be one of the most important communication tools in the world"
seriously? one of the most important? no, it's not.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
...to see live pixelated video of my friends' nostrils courtesy of AT&T.
In the Nokia N900 you had skype (and googletalk) video calling since 6 months ago,but the front camera wasnt very good. How good is iphone one?
Is it just me, or does anyone else have zero interest in video chatting by holding a phone out two feet in front of my face?
Please read what you are posting up. You posted up something that explains the Skype outage, and then posted up something else asking if this caused the Skype outage.
The world is how you make it
I downloaded it this morning on my iPhone 4. Although it works, I am experiencing that sound and video are out of sync, low framerates, and pixelated video. Lousy job Skype. I tried it on both wifi and 3g connections with the other party being on a desktop connected via a broadband land line. I would have rather waited another 2 weeks for a more polished version that would be of the same quality as desktop-to-desktop video Skype.
[rant] Rumour has it that Skype might also get their fingers out their backside and make a more up to date version of Skype for Linux, one that is at least nicer looking with KDE4 for example, or one that actually obeys PulseAudio, one that does video calls properly with up to date video for Linux system, or one that stops deleting old conversations even though you've told it not to. But maybe we'll have to wait another two years for such an "update", while everyone else in the known universe gets their stuff constantly updated.
Skype for Linux sucks!
Take Nobody's Word For It.
There are other apps on the store that do video calling. If they were going to get pulled, they would have before now.
The bigger question is, how long until video calling comes to Skype on Android? There are many more Android devices out there with forward facing cameras, so video Skype for Android would be a big bump for Skype. They dragged their heels heavily bringing Skype to the Samsung Galaxy S, which is the best Android device and highest selling one to date, which to me indicates that they don't know which side their bread is buttered on.
I hate printers.
FaceTime is also built-in into all the new iPhones and iPod touches, will be in the next iPad and there's also a beta version for Mac OS X, not to mention rumors of FaceTime for Windows. Is the userbase of FaceTime already bigger than Skype?
No?
In what world is this even remotely possible?
From this source we can see that:
Skype added 39 million registered users in the fourth quarter to end the year with a total of 560 million.
36 percent of Skype-to-Skype calls as of the end of the fourth quarter included video
At peak times, 23 million users are logged into Skype (as of March 2010).
Only 47 million iPhones and eight or so million iPads were sold in 2010.
So you could make a claim that iStuff was growing faster than Skype, you would have no basis for claiming that it was already a larger userbase.
Remember, these are SKYPE USERS compared to iSTUFF OWNERS. Those owners may or may not even be aware FaceTime is on their device.
Before they get video chats to Skype on Android, it would be nice if they made it work on 3G (rather than WiFi) at all in U.S. As it is it's artificially limited due to their exclusive agreement with Verizon.
Go talk to normal people.
You'll find that many of them use Skype now. Certainly any friend I have (that's every single one) who has family or friends overseas uses Skype.
You don't think reducing the cost of international communication to zero is important? I would say that mainstreaming VOIP is very important indeed.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You know, I just remembered an even better example. My Grandfather was in a hospital about three hours away from his home recovering from a brain injury a few months ago. My parents were there visiting him, and were telling him that his great-granddaughter had started walking. He became sad that he had missed such a milestone, being 1500 miles away and in a coma at the time. My Mom just pulled out her iPhone, called me up, and within minutes he was able to watch her walking and talk to her in real-time. You can't believe how much that meant to him! In no way would a webcam or dedicated video camera have been a useful substitute for a phone with video capability.
Maxim: People cannot follow directions.
Increases in truth directly with the length of time spent explaining them