Posted on September 10, 2009, at 12:11 pm .
Skype needs to get its public relations team aligned with their developers because there are some serious inconsistencies in what the we’re hearing from mainstream media and what is actually being delivered.
For example, on March 20th, 2009, The New York Times reported that Skype “will make its free software available immediately for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch and, beginning in May, for various BlackBerry phones, made by Research in Motion.”
Yesterday, the Financial Post reported that Skype “is reportedly developing an app for the BlackBerry.”
If one had to guess, the delays are likely caused by changes in ownership at Skype. When these organizational changes happen, projects are sometimes put on hold and reevaluated. As you may remember, Skype was bought by a group of investors including the Canadian Pension Plan’s investing wing for almost $2 billion USD.
Skype, where is the BlackBerry app?
Posted on May 19, 2009, at 9:23 am .
Today is May 19th and the BlackBerry community is still eagerly awaiting their Skype applicaiton. The lite version of the Skype client will be available as a free Beta download for the Bold and Curve models.
The lite version of Skype delivers core Skype capabilities to BlackBerry, including:
* Make Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world
* Send/receive instant messages to/from individuals or groups
* Make Skype calls at low rates to people on landline or mobile phones
* Receive calls to your online number on Skype
* See when your Skype contacts are online/available to chat
Anyone else wondering when it will actually appear?
Posted on March 30, 2009, at 9:17 am .
It seems Skype is going to make a very aggressive push onto mobile in the coming months. The company will announce tomorrow that it plans to make its free software available immediately for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch and, beginning in May, for various BlackBerry models.
“The carriers are in the business of selling voice minutes. For a long time they saw products like Skype coming along and they were concerned,” said Ben Wood, director of Research at the London-based CCS Insight, a market research firm. “But it turned out a little bit different than they expected.”
Mr. Wood said many carriers had modified their views about so-called voice-over-Internet-protocol, or VoIP, services. In some cases, Skype has proved to be appealing to consumers and a competitive advantage for a carrier over its rivals.
So it seems we’ll be getting cheap VoIP calls after all, unless the carriers put the kibosh on this. Do you see AT&T allowing Skype to reside on their devices?
[Via] (Thanks Nick)
Posted on July 21, 2008, at 7:43 am .
3 Mobile and Vodafone in the UK are getting geared up for the BlackBerry Bold launch in the very near future, starting with Vodafone “in the next two weeks”. 3 Mobile will be preloading their BlackBerry Bolds with a Skype client to make use of the integrated WiFi for cheap VoIP calling. We’re still clinging to the hope that Canada will be the first to get the Blackberry 9000 this Friday, but everyone else will be getting it shortly thereafter. On an international scope, it’s looking like the Bold is going to have a very well-coordinated launch.
(via pocket-lint)
Posted on September 21, 2007, at 8:04 am .
Gizmo has been doing a desktop client for SIP VoIP calls, but now they’re moving into mobile territory with a beta version of their Skype-esque software. Keep in mind that this is still in beta and by the sounds of the forums there’s still a lot of ironing out to be done, but who can argue with cheaper long-distance calling? Besides the calls, they’ve also got a meta chat client which lets you IM buddies on Gizmo, MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and Jabber.
Posted on September 14, 2007, at 10:59 am .
We haven’t talked much about the whole open access frequency thing since the implications on BlackBerrys and RIM in particular haven’t been made completely clear yet. Regulations on the bidding process are still being finalized, but what’s been established so far can be found here. Suppose Block C, which will have to remain publicly available by the winning bidder, gets bought up. RIM already manages to offer some services, like BlackBerry Maps and BlackBerry Messenger of their own accord. This week’s contest asks you, BBCool readers: what would you like to see RIM do with its share of open spectrum? It’s not much, and there’s bound to be plenty of limitations on what can be used over the frequency, but let’s say there’s just a little bit of network that BlackBerrys would be able to use regardless of carrier. That opens up some very interesting possibilities not only for RIM, but for third-party developers too. Google and Skype are both pushing hard for the open access; Google and RIM are already pretty tight… what can we hope to see from The Big G? The one to leave the most compelling application for Block C on BlackBerrys will get 3 free themes from Bplay.
The extra-long contest we mentioned earlier is going to be postponed until next week. Sit tight!
Check behind the jump for last week’s winner!
Posted on September 14, 2007, at 8:44 am .
If you’ve been following wireless news, you’ll have heard about FCC’s push to designate a chunk of the wireless spectrum as open access, meaning there would be some airspace that isn’t tied down to a particular carrier. Progress has been pretty steady on opening some of the 700mhz range up for bid in January, but Verizon has finally piped up and called the whole thing “arbitrary and capricious, unsupported by substantial evidence and otherwise contrary to law.“, whatever that really means. Skype and Google have been all for the change, but Verizon’s litigation will likely slow this whole thing down.
Posted on August 22, 2007, at 7:31 am .
You might not have heard of Devicescape, since they work largely behind the scenes, but apparently they play an integral role in getting Wi-Fi into BlackBerrys. The folks at Ars Technica got a chance to talk with CEO Dave Fraser, who, in the midst of talking about Skype and their own mobile Wi-Fi connectivity solution dubbed Devicescape Connect, had this to say about the future of VoIP in handhelds.
“[There's] nothing we can announce yet, but within a few months new types of devices will be hitting the market like dual-mode handsets, VoIP phones, game systems, media players, GPS systems, digital cameras… we have designs in all of these areas.”
So VoIP phones are going to be as widespread as Wi-Fi dual-mode handsets? At very least, you’ll be able to subscribe to Devicescape’s service to get access to an alternative to UMA handoff. The interview postulates an enterprise situation where their Wi-Fi solution would be especially helpful; if SIP doesn’t end up coming to the BlackBerry 8820, Devicescape Connect could be the second-best way for enterprise to use Wi-Fi for voice.
Posted on August 16, 2007, at 7:09 am .
Magmic’s very own Jeff Bacon comes in for another round of Bacon on BlackBerry to answer a few troublesome issues folks have been having. As ever, themes and ringtones are on the chopping block, along with Skype compatability, getting your calendar on the home screen and how to change your background. Sound like anything you need help with? Sit back and bask in the Yoda-esque wisdom of Bacon…
…right behind the jump.
Posted on June 28, 2007, at 12:29 pm .
EQO’s been packing BlackBerry support since October, but they’ve recently announced expanded service for newer models, including the Curve. Although EQO used to piggyback on Skype, they’ll have grown into a fully-independent client as of July 31st. They’re only covering North America and Europe for now, so the internationality these guys are harping on is just a wee bit limited. In any case, more options for cheap over-the-pond calling is nothing to sneeze at.
