Question:
Leah writes in – Am writing a short piece for Telegraph Expat on the new skype iphone/ipod app and wondered if you’d be interested in commenting on it, as an expat user? Would be good to know whether it’s been useful for you and your expat friends, and what you think of it!
Answer:
Sure I’ll tell you my thoughts on it. I think Skype for the iPhone is great! An iPhone/iPod is small enough to take anywhere, so now It’s easier than ever for me to Skype or call abroad. I use it daily when I’m on the go. My only complaint is that I haven’t been able to listen to any Skype voicemail on my iPhone.
Skype message about iPhone 3G mobile subscription
On a side note – Skype will be requiring a subscription in the future to use it on the cell phone network (3G) on the iPhone. I don’t like the idea of this since I already have a regular skype subscription with a phone number, but I use it frequently so depending on the price I might subscribe. It should still be free to skype to skype calling when you’re connected to a wifi hotspot.
Tags: iphone, ipod, skype
Entries (RSS)
Hello, I sent an email
Got the email, thanks. I’ll send you a reply soon.
Im disappointed to say the least about the subscription just to use it on 3g i feel like they were pressured by apple to do this and i cant really see a advantage because i would imagine they will lose more then they gain out of it. But im sure someone will find a way around it
I have some good news! The day after I posted this, Skype announced that they changed their minde and will not charge for a mobile 3G calling plan and released an updated Skype iPhone app.
http://blogs.skype.com/en/2010/07/iphone_multitasking_3g.html
“In light of that, we no longer have plans to charge a supplement to make calls over 3G. We’re delighted to make it easier for you to talk for even longer and do even more together using Skype.”
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20011245-233.html
“While Skype is vague about its reasons for pulling its premium 3G calling price plan, we suspect the present user backlash and fear of future outrage to be the cause. Since some carriers have been discussing capping their all-you-can-eat data plans and charging more for greater data usage, additional Skype costs on top of increased carrier bills could win Skype more enemies than friends.”
Thank god for that. I was very disappointed when i heard about that specially with the already overwhelming price of phone coverage in Japan if i had to pay for skype on top of that i would have said never mind.
they made a smart choose in my book.
I am glad Skype changed their mind about the extra subscription charge when talking over 3G network. I was actually prepare for it when it happens. Since my iPhone is jailbroken, I could use 3rd party app ’3G unrestrictor’, to make calls over 3G network. I wouldn’t need an extra subscription.
I think Skype is great; however, there are different companies out there that offers the same services as Skype. I WAS a paying subscription member for the past 5 years until a few months ago. I use Skype on a daily basis, but I don’t round up 500 minutes on average per month. Thus, I was paying too much.
I ditched Skype and went with Gizmo. They have been around for awhile. Google had take over, so free sign up has been disabled for the time being. I created an account awhile back and totally forgotten about it. So with this service, you pay for the minutes you use and not on a monthly basis. The cost is $10 for about 1000 minutes. Calling back to the USA is like .1 a minutes. That is dirt cheap.
The best thing about Gizmo is that incoming calls are free. I don’t incur any minutes of mine. Now I can make calls on my pc at home or I can make calls on my iPhone using an app call Siphon tied to Gizmo. In addition, I also have Google Voice setup and integrated with my Gizmo. I can send sms text out plus receive them via email and I also receive voice mail text via email as well when I am away from the PC.
Hello, I live in Okinawa, and am afraid to use SKYPE over the 3G network because I don’t know if I am getting charged for air time to call the States or even Japan to Japan, so I asked Softbank and they told me not to do that because they weren’t sure themselves, so they warned me against using it on the 3G network, but to do it on wi-fi instead. Is this true? Do they charge you air time when I skype thru my 3G network? I have the double white plan so 20 yen a min is a lot. with skype, i think it’s less than 5 cents a minute to call locally in Japan. Also, I noticed when I skype, the connection is horrible on 3G network. Do you guys notice this too?
I find that very disappointing Softbank reps do not know the answer. We did bought the phone from Softbank.
If I have to guess, I’d say we are incurring data usage and not mobile minutes.
Don’t expect to have great connection while on 3G network. We are only getting about 1.5MB of download speed if we are lucky. I experience bad connection from time to time along with echoes.
I’m fine on the 3G network. Every now and again it gives a digital type sound for a few seconds. As for data usage fees, instead of asking about Skype and 3G you can ask about data usage limit and fees. Here’s a link to Softbanks data usage page in English.