Filed under: Internet Tools, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Tell us your Skype app stories
As the midnight line rolled across the globe last night, international iTunes users picked up the Skype app with glee and enthusiasm. While users in Germany are fuming at reports that T-Mobile plans to block use of Skype via its WiFi hotspots, everyone else seems quite happy so far. We're already hearing about Bluetooth speakerphones or plug-in mics that should work well with the service.More updates: users of jailbroken phones may want to check Cydia for an update to the mobile substrate component that stops Skype from crashing. Canadian users are, for the moment, out of luck due to a patent concern.
If you've got Skype fired up on your iPhone, let us know how it's going for you and what the advantages/drawbacks of VoIP on your iPhone or iPod touch are so far. Leave a comment below, or send us a Skype IM at 'TUAW_on_Skype' with your thoughts.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Tom said 5:33AM on 3-31-2009
Works great for me so far - just one question: It seems there are no notification sounds at all, is that right?
Reply
Goochi Vasquez said 5:17AM on 3-31-2009
I can't login over 3G - if I'm correct it should work for chatting.
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Matthijs said 5:18AM on 3-31-2009
Looks like it is working fine. On a side note, T-Mobile in The Netherlands says it will allow Skype on 3G connections: http://translate.google.com/translate?prev=hp&hl=nl&js=n&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nu.nl%2Finternet%2F1940776%2Fskype-komt-naar-iphone-en-ipod-touch.html&sl=nl&tl=en&swap=1
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iGO said 1:02PM on 3-31-2009
Worked Great for me !!! Perfectly clear
BUT,
Does anyone know the "rules" of using Skype?
I called a land-line in New Jersey and it worked fgreat but then I tried calling an AT&T cell number and it was asking me for payment.
If we know the "rules" for 100% FREE calls, that would be great.
Brian Reading said 3:07PM on 3-31-2009
@iGO:
Skype doesn't allow free calls to landline or cell phones, only to other Skype users. If you want to try out that service, they offer a free 10 minute test call that you can find details about here (assuming you're in the U.S.): http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/tryforfree/?cm_sp=sv|tbyb-_-site|sidebar-_-tbyb_lnk|en_us
Otherwise, you'll need to be paying either a monthly/yearly subscription fee or use Pay As You Go minutes.
tuaw said 5:20AM on 3-31-2009
The app keeps crashing every time I click 'Skype Name' :(
/peme
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ahasverosh said 7:36AM on 3-31-2009
then try to uninstall clippy temporarily. then it worked for me.
after that i reinstalled clippy again
Sean Sloane said 7:43AM on 3-31-2009
Mine crashes constantly as well. It crashed once updating my status and then again when calling the test line.
bkenney said 10:08AM on 3-31-2009
If you have a jailbroken phone, update mobile substrate in cydia. This fixed _all_ of my crashing problems on my 2G iPhone.
Monkey Marauder said 10:46AM on 3-31-2009
Yah same here. This sucks eh?
drcreek said 5:21AM on 3-31-2009
Doesn't work so well with pwnd phones otherwise all i could have asked for.
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James Kachan said 5:23AM on 3-31-2009
i dont see it in the Canadian App store. : ( any one know whats up with that? rogers fault?
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Kershaw said 7:47AM on 3-31-2009
Unbelievable - Not available in Canada:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/03/30/skype-iphone.html
DanielM said 9:09AM on 3-31-2009
Why is it always somebody's fault?
Right now it is only available is a few countries. Probably the same list as Skype posts on its website for other mobile phones.
If you really want it, get a US Apple Gift Certificate.
I have one and got Skype this morning and it works fine on Rogers
Kershaw said 8:47AM on 3-31-2009
I searched for skype.ipa on google, downloaded it and just dragged it to itunes and it synced... Made a call home to my parents and it worked perfectly, they thought I was calling from a real phone it was so clear - and no delay.
Laz said 9:03AM on 3-31-2009
I'm in Canada too. Just set up another account on the US itunes store with an old address of mine in the states, but if you don't add a credit card, it has no way of proving where you are, so just use any ol' US address. I was able to download the application to my iphone and run it no problem. I bought some skype credit for outgoing calls, but its not showing up yet on my iphone. Either there's a lag in processing the payment and it'll show up soon, or it has outsmarted me and realized I'm using an american app in a canadian account. We'll see...
Patrick said 9:41AM on 3-31-2009
Kershaw and Laz are you guys running Jailbroken phones?
Shunnabunich said 12:07PM on 3-31-2009
Here's my experience from a few minutes ago in the hopes that it will help.
I live in an area of Nova Scotia which has no coverage from Rogers, which means I can only make *normal* calls when I'm in Truro for work. I'm using a PowerBook G4 with OS X 10.5.6. I have an iPhone 3G running OS 2.2, jailbroken, with the MobileInstallation patch (although I BUY the apps I want when they're available ;).
I searched for "skype.ipa" on Google as Kershaw suggested, and got a few working results back. Pretty much all the downloads I could find were called "skype-v1.0.1.ipa.zip". Perplexingly, every one of them unzipped as a folder, instead of, y'know, an IPA. The folder contained an "iTunesArtwork" file, as well as a "Payload" folder, in which sat the actual Skype application.
Meanwhile, I'd opened up Cydia on my iPhone as part of my morning routine, and lo and behold, there was one update waiting for me: Mobile Substrate 0.9.2804-1. According to the details page, 2803-1 was needed to fix the crashing Skype issue, so apparently some extra work has already been done since then.
After trying a few different sources in the hopes of finding an intact IPA bundle, and failing, I fired up iTunes and just dragged the Skype.app onto its Dock icon. To my surprise, it actually imported it, and despite it having no icon (the iTunesArtwork file was separate) it synced onto the phone without a complaint.
On the iPhone itself, Skype had its icon (of course) and started up just fine, allowing me to log in and successfully place a call to Skype Test without crashing.
TL;DR VERSION
• Update Mobile Substrate via Cydia
• Google & download "Skype-v1.0.1.ipa.zip"
• Unzip
• Drag "Skype.app" from Payload folder into iTunes
• Sync iPhone
Optional steps:
• ????
• PROFIT!
jess said 1:05PM on 3-31-2009
if you set up an Australian iTunes account (you don't need to register a credit card in Australia) you can download Skype. You just need to log out of your Canadian store accout, log into the other account & authorize your computer, download skype & sync. don't log out of the account until you're finished syncing. :)
Matt said 6:49PM on 3-31-2009
This is really a reply to Shunnabunich, but I have no way to reply directly to him.
Don't unzip the file you download. Instead just remove ".zip" so the file ends with ."ipa". You will then be asked if you are sure you want to do this. Obviously, you do want to, so select "use .ipa". Now all you do is drag that file into the applications window in iTunes. It will process it and add it to your library. If you do it your way then there will be no artwork for the app in the applications windows even though the artwork will show up on your iPhone.
All downloaded applications come the way you describe. Just do what I mentioned above.