SkypeForIphone
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Skype adds video messaging to Skype for Mac, iPhone and iPad
Skype is usually about communicating in real time, but today the Microsoft subsidiary added a new feature that works even in those cases when your recipient isn't going to be able to see you right now -- video messaging. Skype Video Messaging has been in beta for a while; today the free feature is becoming available to all users. All video messages are sent and received free of charge, regardless of how often you wish to share video snippets with friends and family. Messages can be up to three minutes long. Although there are no editing tools built into the current incarnation of Skype video messaging, you can always go back and re-record your message until it's perfect. Updates to Skype for Mac, iPhone and iPad are expected to be out later today to enable video messaging for all users. In the meantime, enjoy the video below showing how the feature will work.
Rumor: Skype bringing video calling to iPhone
Our buddies at Engadget had an interesting rumor to pass along this morning. It appears that Skype will be making a major announcement about video calling from iPhone (and other devices) during CES. The first hint Engadget picked up on was that Skype will be participating in a CES panel discussion titled "Video Calling Gets Ready for Primetime." Of course, panel discussions usually include participants from a number of companies, so that's not enough to base a rumor on. The kicker was an email received by the team that contained a link to a help document on Skype's site. The title? "How do I make video calls with Skype for iPhone?" While a search of the Skype site didn't reveal that document to your humble TUAW correspondent, we trust our sister site enough to believe that they had access to it. There's no word on whether Skype will be providing the video calling capabilities to all major smartphone operating systems, but we'd bet that they would flip the switch on this capability for at least the iPhone and Android platforms on day one. The ability for the iPhone to make video calls over Skype to any other mobile phone or computer would at least put the damper on Sprint's Android phone ads touting "video calls from anywhere." Now if Skype can just keep prolonged service outages from happening...
Distinctions without differences: Apple's inconsistent app store rejection policies
I admit, I was one of those to pile on ol' Ma Bell as the culprit for keeping the Google Voice app (don't I wish that was a real iTunes link) off the App Store. Restrictions on Skype and the SlingPlayer app on the iPhone had conditioned me to believe that the "game changing" iPhone had, well, a completely different set of rules applied to it by AT&T. While many in the tech community continued to jump atop the dog pile, in which AT&T was at the very bottom, Apple ran the ball back the other way without anybody noticing. Apple's response to the FCC's questions covers several areas -- including the fact that it acted alone without AT&T's consultation -- in rejecting not yet allowing the Google Voice app. Almost as striking as Apple's admitted culpability, however, is its rationale for it, which smacks of odd logic and damages the spirit of the App Store. In short, Apple states that it rejected "continues to study" Google Voice because, in its current form, the app "replaces the iPhone's core mobile telephone functionality and Apple user interface for telephone calls, text messages and voicemail." While the iPhone is more than the sum of its parts, the phone portion of it is arguably the least compelling when compared to other features. Out of the box, the iPhone comes with several apps pre-installed. And, based on their placement at the foot of the home screen (as well as Steve Jobs' Macworld proclamation), Apple views the iPhone as "an iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator (Safari and Mail)." But the advent of the App Store and the third party apps that arrived with it further reinvented a device that had already reinvented the entire tech market. If the iPhone wasn't already viewed as a computer-first, phone-a-distant-second device, it certainly took this form after the App Store. Taken at face value, Apple's rationale for rejecting Google Voice also means that YouMail [iTunes link], TextFree [iTunes link], and Skype [iTunes link] should be rejected as well. As Mike noted yesterday, YouMail could serve as a replacement for Visual Voicemail, TextFree could supplant the iPhone's SMS client, and Skype could do both, albeit in a different and slightly limited capacity.
Skype for iPhone goes live in Japan
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/Skype_For_iPhone_Is_LIVE'; When they said "Tuesday," they meant it. Not long ago, the clock struck midnight in the Land of the Rising Sun, and sure enough, the bona fide Skype application (v1.0.0.63) for Apple's iPhone has gone live. It's absolutely free to download, and early reports from Japan have been pretty stellar in regard to sound quality. We're fully expecting it to roll out elsewhere as Tuesday (March 31st) arrives in various time zones, so make sure you (and at least one Skype buddy) stay up late to try 'er out. [Warning: iTunes read link may not work for all time zones yet.][Via Engadget Japanese]
Skype for iPhone coming soon?
We're still filing this away in the rumor folder for now, but we'll be honest -- this is totally believable. GigaOM has it on authority that a bona fide Skype for iPhone client will be launched as early as next week, and with CTIA kicking off on April 1st, we'd say the timing is just about ideal. Of course, we've already seen a variety of alternatives for bringing Skype and other VoIP apps to Apple's darling, but by and large, they've been supremely unimpressive. There's no word on pricing (we're crossing our fingers for free) or any other tasty tidbits, but you can bet we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.
