Skype on iPhone: Cost-effective calling from your iPhone a reality
Skype on iPhone: Cost-effective calling from your iPhone a reality
This is probably one of the most exciting application to be announced for the iPhone since its launch. SHAPE Services, a German company, known for making mobile IM clients, has just announced IM+ for Skype for the iPhone, a web site optimized for the iPhone which means it will allow...
Comments
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Thanks for the props and keep up the great work!
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It's a Great
But, It's not useful to Hacked iPhone users!It's simillar to SooonR
I really want real VoIP vis Wi-Fi soluion
like Skype on PC -
Both parties receive an incoming call, which may or may not be free (depends on country/PSTN operator etc.) In Europe they're mostly free. Then, SkypeOut credits are used for the rest of the call.
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I'm with Ian, what's the point, is still calls you back on your iphone gobbling up your minutes? Did I miss something?
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Has anyone seen anything that would make it free yet. I got the cheapest "Go-Phone" account that I could for my iPhone so I could keep my T-mobile with my family plan (family doesn't know I have an iPhone yet). If I can screw AT&T out of minutes, I would dearly love it. I tried the "call back" thing on Skype beta version, and it seems to work just fine, but it cost minutes just the same.
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This is a piece of crap!
From their FAQ:
"Q. My data plan does not include voice service. Can I use IM+ for Skype?""A. Yes, you can forward your calls to another phone (mobile / landline phone). Just enter the phone number in the ‘Setup’ menu and save the settings. All your calls will be forwarded to the number you specified."
Since I wont get the call on MY iPhone I CANNOT use it!!!! Well, I can use it but not use it for real! Amazing!!
When will we see a true IP-based solution for our iPhones? Truphone.com seems to be most promising but they are not there yet...
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I don't understand it. If you use this service and get a call back to your iphone and be charged for the incoming minutes, then why don't you use your own carrier service to make the call straight from your iphone? This Skype app service might be cheaper when you make long distance calls that your local minute is cheaper vs long distance + roaming. But if you make calls within your network such as within the US, then there is no benefit at all.
Am I right? -
Well this works for people who have unlimited incoming calls. 'nuff said
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For tmobile users,get my faves and just get a grandcentral account, free incoming
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For tmobile users,get my faves and just get a grandcentral account, free incoming
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What's so hard to understand?
It calls both you and the other party.
Both people get free minutes when receiving a call.
It uses your Skypeout to make the call. So if you have Skype unlimited, then you pay nothing.... -
I thought this would definitely make sense for international calls, but it's not as "cost-effective" as I hoped.
Skype charges Skypeout credits for the called number and the call-back plus a connection fee. My balance just reduced by 11 (Euro) cents for a 30 second test call within the US.
And as mentioned above, on top of that you may be charged for the incoming call by your provider. Due to that call-back, it's unfortunately not usable to avoid roaming charges.
I don't think I'll be paying $25 for the license.
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ok don't kill me if this question may be obvious.. i'd still like to hear from a FEW ppl who know what they're talking about =]
ok so im going to school in poland during the yr, and i want to go home to CA for the summer...
if i get the iPhone could i just pay the fee for unltd. skype and just call California ((free: no extra ASS load of charges))?? (would a phone card work? or would it use up minutes?? --im not sure exactly how it'd work)
how would the SMS msg'ing be in this situation? and last but not least
is it possible to get unltd. internet access for a (hopefully) low fee or ...???
ANY INFO would be GREAT!
gahhhhhhhhhk thanx guys!
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ok don't kill me if this question may be obvious.. i'd still like to hear from a FEW ppl who know what they're talking about =]
ok so im going to school in poland during the yr, and i want to go home to CA for the summer...
if i get the iPhone could i just pay the fee for unltd. skype and just call California ((free: no extra ASS load of charges))?? (would a phone card work? or would it use up minutes?? --im not sure exactly how it'd work)
how would the SMS msg'ing be in this situation? and last but not least
is it possible to get unltd. internet access for a (hopefully) low fee or ...???
ANY INFO would be GREAT!
gahhhhhhhhhk thanx guys!
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to diappointed: if you use this thing from a foreign country with you AT&T SIM card, you will get roaming charges. You will receive a call on your US number, and since you are picking the call in Poland you will be getting roaming charges, which will make the call pretty expensive.
The best option for you would be to get a SIM card in Poland, and hack the iPhone to use it. A pay-as-you-go card would be enough. I am not sure about Poland in particular, but as far as I know there is no charge for receiving calls in Europe. Then using IM+ to call to CA would be absolutely free (as long as you sign for the Skype unlimited US calls plan).
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I want the real deal - Skype - on the iPhone. I don't want to pay yet another fee.
When that comes out, we will truly be happy.
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I am wondering if the number you put in the "your phone number" area could be your SkypeIn number? Then it would call back your Skype account (which is on the iPhone, right?), and you'll only be charged Skype rates/SkypePro (free).
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just got iphone in canada. how do i get wifi? only have edge???
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You know there is no iPhone service in Canada yet, right? You just have Rogers and a hell of a bill if you use data! Goodluck.
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WTF
THIS NOT FREE!!!
and the article is BS.
it says that:"With IM+ for Skype you can now chat with Skype friends, call any PC, mobile or landline phone from wherever you are; making it very cost effective as all that you will be using is iPhone's data services which is unlimited."
If I made the call with this app, then it still used my skype credit. So using this thing it will cost me 5 times more to call to landline or mobile phone than just making regular call. calling a PC costs also much more than just a regular call to that person.
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I cant understand that system in the US, the network operator charging the caller and the receiver of a call, why should i be charged for someone trying to talk shite to me when i didnt want/ask them to call me. This wouldnt work for ye so, but here in Europe, only the caller is charged, therefore it would work over here. But I'd still prefer a native skype app for the iphone, you never know with the SDK and iphone 2.0 software there might be one
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Honestly, some people are either really stupid or just don't read things through properly.
I'm on T-Mobile and am constantly making international calls. The calls have to be made from my mobile because I'm always out. T-Mobile charge me £1.30 PER MINUTE to call to zone 5 countries:
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/coverage/calling-costs/zone-5/
With Skype, I only pay for skye credit - it costs me something like £0.019 per min, about £1.20~ AN HOUR. I'm already paying a fixed price monthly contract so thats irrelevant. Hence the savings to be made especially for long distance calling are HUGE.
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I got this--payed like $20 for it. I also payed skype like $20 for unlimited US/canada for 1 year.
When I called on my iphone 3g using skype, I am pretty darned sure that At&t still counts these minutes with skype as incoming minutes!! So I just wasted a lot of money, right? I thought this skype was supposed to be through data and it was supposed to be free, without anything to do with at&t!! Isn't that the whole point? Any suggestions?? Thanks -
Yeah I don't get it. I'm actually paying twice -- three times if you count the IM+ fee -- to use this instead of just using my plan's minutes. I can see it saving money calling internationally but is a waste of money, time and effort to use it in the US, and especially with another AT&T customer...
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I think this thread is making a lot of people lose a lot of money. It costs like $30 to get the ability to use skype on your phone, and then you have to pay skype directly for the minutes.
Then, all this does is you can use skype direcly from internet on your iphone, but it does NOT use data, it somehow calls you and the person you called, so you pick up the call (that you had sent from skype,) and then you begin talking to whoever you called from skype.
So, AT&T still counts the minutes as incoming call minutes. For this supposedly cheap iphone 3g calling plan. That just cost you lots--$30 to get it on the mobile, and then whatever skype costs you for calling plus however many minutes you use with skype on your iphone 3g are still counted as incoming minutes by at&t.
Man, this thread / others duped me into thinking that skype would be through data and At&t would not even known the difference. And since data is unlimited, I thought I would buy it once and then have unlimited outgoing calls.
Maybe I'm just stupid, and that's how I was duped, but man, this skype deal for iphone 3g is any good, it's a waste of lots of money. Am I missing something? I don't think so, right?
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I got Iphone in Canada and they gave me freaking 400mb of data for $60 monthly fee. I was kinda wondering approximately for how much IM+ mobile calling drains up the data usuage?? If it takes 100mb for 10minutes of talk time, i can only use it for 40 minutes. After that I get charged 50cents per 1mb which costs more than additional minutes of 35Cents per minutes.
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uh...
iphone 3G...
contact list doesn't load......
can't make or receive calls from computer...
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I'm pretty sure you don't get charged in Australia for the 'call back' function?? I tried it a few weeks ago.. can anyone definitely confirm??
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OK PEOPLE. HERE's THE DEAL:
In the United States, if someone calls you, it uses your minutes - that's why we get over 700 minutes a month. In Europe, where iphone plans give you starting at 4 hours a month (240 minutes), NO MINUTES ARE USED for INCOMING calls. So, if you happen to live in Europe, the most economical way to make a lot of international calls is to pay the $30 lifetime license fee, subscribe to Skype world for $12.95 a month, and use a carrier in Europe (NOT AT&T!). That way, you pay as little as 2 cents a minute for international calls, (plus the licensing fee, your carrier costs, and the skype subscription). This is very helpful for people like me, who will be in Europe for an extended period of time, who want to use an iphone, and who call the US frequently.
I hope this explains the situation, and yes, a full on Skype version for the iphone would be preferable, but alas, not yet available.
(though look into FRING for something closer)
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i have att unlimited data plan $35 only no voice nothing , and paid skype $29 for unlimited us and canada calls , how would i be paying incoming calls ?!! nothing just the $35 att data plan i call free and i recharge my international calls ...
i wonder why i pay incoming even my plan is only data ?
