14 DAY TRIAL // Skype, the VoIP service provider, announced recently that it has released a new update for its application that enables users to receive calls while they're using other applications or when the phone is locked. After upgrading their iPhone application in May, to allow users to make calls over 3G data connections, Skype enhances its services by adding the multitasking feature for iPhone users.
Updating to the latest version of Skype will enable users to receive calls while other applications are running, and keep the talking on the phone while switching to another task. Basically, you check a movie listing, read an email or write a SMS, while talking on the phone. The new Skype update has also improved the application's graphics to support iPhone 4’s Retina Display.
For those afraid that the company will introduce some sort of fee like a premium service, Skype also stated clearly that they're no longer have plans to charge a supplement to make calls over 3G. It seems that more people using the application for free is more important for Skype, then less people using it for a small fee.
In a post on Skype's official blog, where it announces the new update, Peter Parks, Skype’s blogger-in-chief, says: “At Skype, we believe that better call quality and better availability (which is achieved with an app capable of multitasking and/or making calls over 3G) lead to increased call frequency and longer calls. We also believe that the mobile world is in a period of significant change, for example, with some operators starting to move to tiered pricing models.”
Bear in mind that multitasking feature requires iOS 4 and an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or a third-generation iPod touch (32GB and 64GB models from late 2009). Check out the new features of the application here.