14 DAY TRIAL // Skype is at its 1.1 release on iPhone and iPod touch, delivering new features like the ability to send SMS messages using Skype credit and voicemail support. The developers also managed to improve dialing help, while adding support for several new languages. Skype is a free download from the iTunes App Store.
According to the release notes for Skype 1.1, key new features include:
- Send text (SMS) messages using Skype credit. - Voicemail support. - Support for the following languages: English, German, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Italian, French, Polish and Japanese. - Improved dialing help when calling phones.
“Skype software for the iPhone has been the number one request among our users. We are delighted to deliver on this request and put Skype into the pockets of millions of people around the world who are carrying iPhone and iPod touch devices,” Scott Durchslag, Skype’s chief operating officer, said following the initial release of Skype for iPhone and iPod touch.
“Skype for iPhone will open up new ways for more than 400 million Skype users to stay connected and take their Skype conversations with them. Skype for iPhone is an experience that offers the same simplicity, ease-of-use and quality our users have come to expect from Skype, combined with an elegance of design and richness so loved by Apple’s many customers worldwide,” he added.
The main features of the Skype app include free Skype-to-Skype calls from any Wi-Fi zone to other Skype users worldwide; the ability to call landline or mobile phones at Skype’s great low rates from any Wi-Fi zone; the ability to send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups via 3G, Wi-Fi, GPRS or EDGE (whichever is available); the ability to receive calls to a personal online number on Skype and the ability to see when Skype contacts are online/available to IM or talk.
To make free Skype-to-Skype calls or low-cost Skype calls to mobiles and landlines, Skype for iPhone requires a Wi-Fi connection. The service is charged only when using Skype to call landlines or mobiles.