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...

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/24/skype-finally-bringing-vi…

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Our buddies at Engadget had an interesting rumor to pass along this morning. It appears that Skype will be making a major announcement...

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Changedtolearn

You can already video chat over 3G on the iPhone through Fring or Tango... So what's the big deal?

December 25 2010 at 9:47 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to Changedtolearn's comment

oshawapilot

Last I checked there was no fring desktop client.

Cross compatibility is the big deal here. Skype is on virtually everything now, FaceTime, Fring, etc etc etc is not.

December 26 2010 at 1:51 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Luke

I've been using Fring for video calls on my iPhone for a long time. Fring and Skype hate each other and had a very public falling out.

December 25 2010 at 1:39 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Stylo Geek 1210 200802blog-carnivals-a-link-building-secret-weapon

This is great feature, more publicity for iPhone 4

December 25 2010 at 2:07 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Aaron Browne

how's this for ya? The text version of the help page. merry christmas ;)

How do I make video calls with Skype for iPhone?
The following questions and answers will help you get started with using Skype video calls on your iPhone.

To make video calls with your contacts, you will need an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, 3rd generation iPod touch, 4th generation iPod touch or an iPad. Your contacts will only be able to see you if your device has a camera. Make sure your device is running iOS 4.0 or above and that you are using Skype for iPhone 3.0 or above.
The contacts you are calling must be using one of the following Skype clients:
Skype for Windows version 4.2 and above
Skype for Mac OS X version 2.8 and above
Skype for iPhone 3.0 and above
You can make Skype video calls by using a WiFi or 3G connection*. The quality of the video will depend upon the available network conditions.
*Additional data charges may apply. Check with your operator for details.
If you have an iPhone or iPod touch with two cameras - front and rear - you will be able to switch between them during a Skype video call. If you have an iPhone 3GS it will always use the rear camera.
If you turn your device into landscape mode, the camera picture will automatically rotate.
In both portrait and landscape mode double tapping anywhere on your screen will zoom the picture to take up the full extent of the screen. Double tapping again will take the picture back to its normal size.
While on a Skype video call the sound will always be played through the loudspeaker, unless a headset is plugged into the device.
During a video call tap your screen to display the camera and microphone controls. Tap and hold down the microphone button to put the call on hold. To resume the call, simply tap the hold symbol on the screen.
Yes, at any time during a Skype video call you can choose to turn off the video. Tap the Camera button and select the No Camera option. To turn the video back on tap the Camera button again and then tap the camera you want to switch on.
When your iPhone is processing a lot of video its CPU (Central Processing Unit) has to work very hard and makes the iPhone become warm to the touch. You will experience the same thing if you stream videos through applications like Netflix or YouTube.
Yes, you will be able to receive screen shares from people using Skype for Windows or Mac OSX. You cannot share what is on the screen of your iPhone with other people and you cannot receive a screen share from another iPhone user.
No, you will be switched to audio only, as Skype for iPhone does not support group video calling.
The quality of the video you send and receive from your iPhone will depend upon the quality and bandwidth available on the WiFi or 3G network you are connected to. For best results, make sure you have nothing else running that might use up your bandwidth.