AT&T Supports VoIP on the iPhone

It’s been a long, battle with a lot of finger pointing, but AT&T has officially stated that VoIP over their 3G network will be supported, opening the door to Google Voice, Skype and other apps on the iPhone and other 3G phones. While VoIP applications such as Skype were previously available, they relied exclusively on WiFi connectivity. In a statement issued today, AT&T says they have taken the steps necessary to allow Apple to enable VoIP apps for the iPhone to run on their wireless network.

“iPhone is an innovative device that dramatically changed the game in wireless when it was introduced just two years ago,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility & Consumer Markets. “Today’s decision was made after evaluating our customers’ expectations and use of the device compared to dozens of others we offer.”

The finger-pointing reached a head when the Google Voice app for the iPhone was apparently held up indefinitely for review. AT&T has previously stated that approval of the app was solely in the hands of Apple. Apple appears to have been threatened by the Google app replacing much of their own device’s built-in phone functionality, particularly the visual voice mail.

Customers have been clamoring for this for a long time, and at least for, the ball is very clearly in Apple’s court.

Source: Mashable

50 Ways to use Skype at School

Skype is a terrific, free program for voice chat (and text or video chat, for that matter). I’ve used Skype to stay in touch with my son as he travels overseas in the Navy (Skype-to-Skype calls are free!) and to stay connected with my granddaughter on the other side of the country.

TeachingDegree.org has come up with 50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom. Their list has helpful advice for teachers, parents and students. If you are an educator, be sure to check it out.

Skype for iPhone Now on App Store

As rumored last week, Skype for iPhone is now available on the iTunes App Store. The free Skype application works with both the iPhone and the iPod Touch, allowing you to make free or low-cost Skype calls using VoIP and your WiFi connection. That’s right, it won’t work work over 3G or EDGE networks, likely due to business arrangements more than for technical reasons (read: AT&T still wants your dialing dollars).

Skype did a great job of building an app that takes full advantage of the iPhone design–it looks like it just belongs on the iPhone. 

    

Skype for iPhone gives you most, but not all of the core capabilities of it’s desktop sibling:

• Free Skype-to-Skype calls from any Wi-Fi zone to other Skype users worldwide
• Call landline or mobile phones at low rates from any Wi-Fi zone
• Send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups via 3G, Wi-Fi, GPRS or EDGE (whichever is available)
• Receive calls to a personal online number on Skype
• See when Skype contacts are online/available to IM or talk

 

  

“Skype software for the iPhone has been the number one request among our users. We are delighted to deliver on this request and put Skype into the pockets of millions of people around the world who are carrying iPhone and iPod touch devices,” said Scott Durchslag, Skype’s Chief Operating Officer. “Skype for iPhone will open up new ways for more than 400 million Skype users to stay connected and take their Skype conversations with them. Skype for iPhone is an experience that offers the same simplicity, ease-of-use and quality our users have come to expect from Skype, combined with an elegance of design and richness so loved by Apple’s many customers worldwide.”

Noticably missing from this Skype app is the ability to run in the background with push notifications — a feature promised in the iPhone OS 3.0 this summer. Until then, this initial version should stave off the competition from Nimbuzz and Truphone.

Useful Links

• Skype Available on Apple App Store – official press release

Skype for iPhone Arrives Next Week

I love a good rumor, especially when it’s about two great products. In this case, the rumor involves the popular VoIP messenger Skype (which has been downloaded over 400 million times) and the iPhone. GigaOM has it on good authority that an official Skype app for the iPhone will be showing up at the iTunes Application Store as early as next week during the CTIA Wireless industry event in Las Vegas.

Readers at Engadget point out that there are already several VoIP solutions for the iPhone (Nimbuzz and Truphone, to name two), but most of these are clumsy to use, at best. Skype products generally have a very polished feel about them, and we will be watching this news closely as the story develops.

Skype 3.0 For Windows Mobile Adds File Transfer and SMS

Skype has released a new beta version for Windows Mobile that adds file transfer and SMS capability. The Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows Phones was announced on the Skype blog, where they outlined the details of the new features. 

The SMS capability can save you money, but generally only if you need to send SMS messages internationally (or you are travelling internationally). You would use Skype credits, and their rates, while generally much lower than standard mobile carrier rates, do not include data usage. The bottom line is that it can save you money, but you better calculate all the hidden costs and use it wisely. 

The more practical feature is file transfers, which will work across any platform that Skype runs on. File transfers are secure, so you can safely send that Powerpoint presentation from your WiFi connection at Starbucks. 

Useful Links

• Skype 3.0 Beta for Windows Mobile – official Skype blog
• Download Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile
• Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile Adds SMS and File Sharing – jkOnTheRun.com

Nimbuzz Adds 3G VoIP to iPhone

Nimbuzz today released an update to their VoIP application for the iPhone. The new version adds the ability to make VoIP calls to landlines and mobiels via Skype-Out and Nimbuzz’s major SIP partners, including Gizmo5 and SIPgate. Nimbuzz also works on an iPod Touch via wifi, essentially turning it into a VoIP phone. 

iPhone users can also make VoIP connections without wifi over the 3G network using Nimbuzz Dial-up VoIP. This makes international calls much cheaper, by allowing you to dial a local number, then connecting internationally to over 50 countries. 

Also in this version — Nimbuzz now allows you to post Twitter updates, making it a well-rounded, all-purpose communicator.

Nokia Adds Skype to Smartphones

At the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, Nokia announced that their new N97 smartphones will come preloaded with Skype, the popular voice over IP (VoIP) software — a radical shift for Nokia and a major business coup for Skype. 

Telecom companies have resisted explicit support for VoIP programs such as Skype because of the potential for lost revenue. Of course, most mobile carriers do not charge for long distance calls within the continental U.S., but international calls are often very costly. For example, AT&T charges about $1.99/minute for most calls to Europe. This is where Skype can help. 

Skype allows you to make free calls to other Skype users, using VoIP over the internet. This implies that you have internet access from your mobile phone, but for most smart phones this is a given. You can also make Skype calls to any landline or mobile phone, but for this, there is a per minute charge via Skype credits. The cost per minute varies depending on your location and where you’re calling to, but usually it’s a few pennies per minute–a substantial savings over most international telecom rates. 

It will be interesting to see how well the Nokia/Skype agreement is accepted by the telecom carriers in the coming months.

Nokia’s press release

Truphone Adds AIM to its iPhone App

The Truphone mobile VoIP service announced support for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) chat into its iPhone app. This comes just a couple weeks after adding instant messaging support for Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger.

The Truphone iPhone app is free from the Apple App Store. The key benefit of Truphone is its ability to let you make free VoIP calls to any other Truphone or Google Talk user, and cheap international calls to any landline or mobile phone. The addition of instant messaging and Twitter are “nice to have” features that make Truphone a Swiss Army knife of communications. 

Truphone’s support for Skype calls announced last month at Macworld  has not been added yet, as they continue to work out quality of service issues. 

My take? Truphone is interesting, but if you’re in the U.S., your AT&T plan already gives you free long distance in the continental U.S..  Truphone won’t impress you unless you’re a geek or you really make a lot of international calls. 

Truphone is also available for many other platforms, including G1, Blackberry and some Nokia phones. 

www.truphone.com