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Business Bytes
March 30, 2009

Skype on iPhone

 

This has been the subject of much buzz ever since the Consumer Electronics Show last year, when it first got out that Apple was developing a Skype client for the iPhone.

Starting tomorrow, the free Skype application will be available for download on iTunes. Since it's impossible to beat the rush, I would advise waiting out the rush. If you can survive another week or two, wait until then and save yourself the headache of battling for bandwidth on iTunes to get your copy.

Here's just a little bit of the good, the bad and the ugly with Skype on iPhone:

- You can call other Skype users for free. Calling non-Skype users is relatively inexpensive. Good!

- Skype will be able to access phone numbers from the iPhone's address book seamlessly. Good! Great, in fact.!

- Skype only works if there's a WiFi connection within range. Bad!

- Skype's wildly popular video phone calls for the desktop will not be immediatly available on the iPhone. What a shame! Can you imagine the possibilites, otherwise. Ugly!

Enjoy the lead time while you can iPhone. Skype has cut the same deal with Blackberry. Skype on Blackberry launches in May.


Renee Oricchio

Renee Oricchio is a technology writer and former supervising news producer for CNN Financial News. She has been covering the computer industry since 1987.