In creating FaceTime Apple brought a differentiated feature to the iPhone 4: video calling. However it only works over WiFi. Fring stepped up to offer it over 3G but the company is relatively obscure outside tech circles. But now that Skype has added video and 3G support for the iPhone, it’s truly poised to become a mainstream phenomenon.
Here’s what the updated app does according to Skype:
- Make video calls to people on their computers as well as other iPhones (details below)
- Make free audio calls to anyone else on Skype
- Make great value calls to landlines and mobiles around the world
Skype also repeated a stat about its usage: “approximately 25 million people [are] signed into Skype at any given time.” That’s a lot of people but a much smaller number than the broader group of “registered Skype users,” numbering in excess of 400 million globally.
I haven’t yet tried it and don’t know how good it is but I suspect it will be extremely popular.
Once the iPhone comes to Verizon it will be interesting to see how Skype is handled. Currently Skype calling on Verizon’s other smartphones (e.g., RIM, Android) counts against voice minutes, which makes no sense from a user point of view though it does from the perspective of a carrier worried about users circumventing or sidestepping the limits of its voice plans.