Product Review: Skype for the iPhone

The dialpad on Skype for the iPhone

When you first launch Skype for the iPhone, you notice it’s aptly stated splash screen, giving a familiar sight to a new interface. It gives you the impression that it is the relative of it’s much older cousin on your Mac or PC. The application’s coloration, style and navigation tell you that it’s just as intuitive as the desktop version only more portable.

The interface is complete intuitive with 5 icons, representing different sections within the application, at the bottom of the screen. It blends the familiar iPhone interface with the functionality of Skype for a truly unique experience unlike any other VOIP application for this platform.

The application places you on the Contacts screen. This is where you can navigate through your list of contacts for calling or if you tap on a Skype contact, you’ll get a listing of their screen name, their current status message or get the option to chat right through the application.  Quickly sort from your online and offline contacts with a touch of the Online tab at the top or look up a contact with the built-in search function. In the following screen – Chats – you can track your past and current chats through the interface.

A call in progress

The Call screen offers the ability to use your iPhone over a wi-fi connection or for those with a second generation iPod Touch, you can use this with your SkypeOut account in conjunction with a microphone-enabled headset. It is important to note that currently, calls cannot be placed over 3G or other cell phone networks. On the dialpad, there is a button displaying your address book icon, so you can easily place a call to anyone in your iPhone’s contact list. You can reference placed, missed and received calls through the History button.

You can also modify your profile details, check your account credit, and check the status of your voicemail and SkypeOut number. With a touch of the camera icon in the upper left of the screen, it’s even easy to change your profile icon with a new photo from the iPhone’s built-in camera or you can choose from any image already in the phone’s photo
gallery.

My take – I would rate this product a 5 out of 5 stars. I can definitely see Skype for the iPhone becoming the next big thing in VOIP and I would encourage anyone, especially those users with a second generation iPod Touch to install this application.  Cell phone carriers should take note of the call clarity.  It really makes up for the lack of a phone in the Touch, although first generation users beware – the voice feature does not work on that model.  It has yet to be seen if Bluetooth will be activated on the first gen touch to make that a viable work around (I have a sneaking suspicion it won’t). Bluetooth technology, as some of you may know, will be an added feature in the iPhone 3.0 software update coming later this year.