Skype comes to iPhone

While this is a great bit of news, there is one catchu2014Apple will only allow Skype calls on local Wi-Fi networks and not over data networks of carrier partners like AT&T

While this is a great bit of news, there is one catch Apple will only allow Skype calls on local Wi-Fi networks and not over data networks of carrier partners like AT&T

And now, it is here, though not on a standard phone, but on the iPhone. Skype has launched its service on the iPhone, and this means that you can use your iPhone to speak free of cost with other Skype users. This feature, which is also available on the iPod Touch, will be available in a couple of months on RIM's BlackBerry too.

What's the catch?

Of course, if everybody were to make free calls, then it will not exactly be good for the carriers, right? To handle this, Apple will pose some limitations on the usage of Skype on the iPhone.

What this means is that the free Skype service can only be used when the device is connected to local Wi-Fi networks and this means that you cannot use Skype on the iPhone in tandem with Apple's data network carrier partners like AT&T. Of course, one can be sure that hackers will enthusiastically try to break through this limitation, but officially you can't do this.

Some good news

But this may not mean that this restriction is for keeps. While phone line carriers have traditionally viewed anything that disrupts their monopoly with distrust, of late they have realised that there is very little that can be done about competitors to their voice systems, which include IM, e-mail, and other forms of communication.

In fact, they have actually begun to mellow to the changes in the air. As an article in the New York Times pointed out, Skype drew a lot of customers to Hutchison 3 customers who may not have made calls on cell phones without Skype thanks to the traditionally higher costs associated with making phone calls on a mobile. So, it has advantages for the carriers too.

Maybe, in the future, you could use Skype on any mobile and pay the carrier a flat fee and make unlimited local or international voice calls. Who knows? Technology changes so fast that only a fool will say that something cannot be done!

QUICK TAKE
>>iPhone users can use Skype to make free calls
>>The service will come to RIM's BlackBerry soon
>>While the service is useful, it has some limitations

About Skype
Skype was created by Niklas Zennstru00f6m, Janus Friis, Ahti Heinla and Priit Kasesalu ning Jaan Tallinn. It allows people to make phone calls that are free of cost or cheaper than what it usually costs. It was initially launched in August 2003 and thanks to its tremendous popularity, was acquired by eBay for $2.6 billion in September 2005.

There is an interesting story behind the name 'Skype'. The developers initially wanted to call it 'Skyper' because one of the original project names was 'Sky peer-to-peer' but the domain name skyper.com was not available because it had already been taken in February 2000 itself. Therefore, the 'r' was dropped and the service became 'Skype'.

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