Skype shucked the beta tag on Monday to reveal version 3.0 of its VoIP application for Windows Mobile phones. Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile (download CAB) is nearly identical to the beta build that preceded it, but mobile Skype users graduating to it from version 2.5 will notice some major feature additions--notably the capability to transfer files and to send SMS messages.
Initiate transfers and texts from the buddy list.
(Credit: CNET/Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt)File transferring and SMS are carryover features from desktop Skype and are initiated via relatively small buttons on the mobile interface that you can access from the contact list. Click the dark, round icon to send an SMS using Skype Credit, and select the gray drop-down arrow to select "send file." You can also initiate either from the Menu options.
While transfers and SMS worked well both ways with domestic contacts, we hope Skype adds a caption or note field.
Other features new to Skype 3.0 from Skype 2.5 for Windows Mobile include a wizard to help add new contacts, a tool to help place a call, and a new interface for the status, history, and chat tabs. If you're feeling feisty, you can also block certain users from your search results.
Overall, we found Skype 3.0 for Windows Mobile to work smoothly and retain the feel of the desktop original. It's just a shame the interface buttons and tabs appeared so small on our test device, a Palm Treo Pro--just as they did when we tested the beta version on a much larger-screened Samsung Omnia. That won't deter avid Skype users, who should find in this release gratifying features that allow for two-way file transfers and messaging with both desktop and mobile users.
Read the full release notes for more details about the update.
Hot on the heels of releasing Skype for iPhone, the VoIP communications company has come to the table with news of a free, "lite" version of Skype for BlackBerry. Already downloadable for Android, Java, Symbian, and Windows Mobile, BlackBerry has remained Skype's missing link.
Just don't expect to share photos of your cat quite yet. While Skype's core capabilities will debut in Skype Lite for BlackBerry, not everything Skype can do will be available right out of the gate. You'll be able to call other Skype users for free, and can initiate calls to landlines and mobile phones using Skype Out credit. You'll also be able to receive inbound calls to your online Skype number. Instant messenger and SMS features will also stay intact, but features like voicemail and file transferring, which are also available on other platforms, will be delayed on BlackBerry for the time being. Also, unlike the iPhone version just released, you won't need Wi-Fi to connect to Skype. Skype Lite will work over your BlackBerry's data plan, so long as you have a calling plan.
Skype's announcement is just part of the company's three-pronged mobile strategy, Skype's chief operating officer, Scott Durchslag, said in a press conference on Tuesday at CTIA. Skype's first goal is to create a native application for all major smartphone operating systems. After BlackBerry, Palm's unreleased Web OS platform would be the last major hurdle. After conquering native applications, Skype will work to get its VoIP client preloaded on mobile phones and other Internet devices. To this end, Skype has already cut a deal with Nokia to be featured on the Nokia N97 when it ships. Lastly, Skype will court carriers to integrate Skype-to-Skype calling for phones that don't have Wi-Fi.
Skype plans to release a beta version of Skype for BlackBerry in May, starting with BlackBerry Bold any Curve phones, and gradually adding support for more BlackBerry smartphones. Skype Lite for BlackBerry will be available in ten countries to start with, including the U.S. and U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil, and parts of northern and eastern Europe.
Related stories:
Skype for iPhone: It's official
Skype gets SMS, file transfer for Windows Mobile
Send a file to a buddy in Skype 3.0 beta.
(Credit: CNET)Skype's latest mobile beta for Windows Mobile phones graduated to version 3.0 on Tuesday. Skype 3.0 beta for Windows Mobile integrates two big features from the desktop version--file transferring and SMS. Both are welcome additions that bring the mobile VoIP application much closer in line with the newly updated desktop version, Skype 4.0 for Windows.
The SMS feature has been seamlessly added as a shortcut icon on the contact list page (it's the black circle encasing a tiny cell phone), but you can also initiate a text message by selecting "Send SMS" from the Menu options--the cost will come out of your Skype Credit. The file transfer feature is a bit more buried. To use it, select "Contact Options" from the Menu choices, and then "Send File." This will incur a data charge, so it's best to have a data plan in place before going wild with transfers.
As soon as you ship your image, song, or document out to your buddy, a new tab opens in Skype for Windows Mobile 3.0 beta that keeps track of the transfer and lets you know when your contact has accepted the download. File transfers work both ways, of course, so you'll be able to accept files sent through Skype while you're on the go--crazy photos and important business documents included. File transfer worked without a hitch over our 3G network, as did SMS. Wi-Fi will make them even faster.
Update your status message and buy Skype credit in Skype 3.0 beta.
(Credit: CNET)After SMS and file transferring, the next biggest change is a technical one that most people shouldn't notice--the fact that you won't have to decide between downloading the version for Windows Smartphones or for Pocket PCs. A single one-size-fits-all download makes installation blissfully brainless. In addition, the beta has undergone a few understated, but useful changes to its layout, like being able to update your status, add hyperlinks to chat messages you may have missed, and the option to buy more Skype Credit.
Skype 3.0 beta for Windows Mobile 5.x and 6.x phones is available to try for free. Download it to your PC here or get the CAB file over the air. We're expecting to see the full release available in the next few months, but some of Skype's timeline may depend on the kind of user feedback they get. For our two cents, the additional features have been integrated well, and we hope to see more mobile-specific features in the future, like the capability to snap a picture from within Skype and transfer or SMS it to a pal.
Skype Lite landing on Android phone, others too
Skype Lite on Java
(Credit: Skype)Skype announced on Thursday the forthcoming release of Skype Lite for Google Android and other Java-enabled phones. Skype Lite marks the communication company's first native VoIP client for Java.
Skype is submitting the app to Google's Android Market on Thursday morning, though it could take Google a few days to offer it for download.
In addition, Skype Lite will also be available ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
(Credit:
Fring)
Windows Mobile may be an ugly stepchild of mobile platforms, but among more ambitious publishers, it hasn't been forgotten.
Months after adding file transferring abilities to its Symbian version, Fring, a free VoIP communication company, is conferring this and other features to an updated versions of Fring for Windows Mobile.
In addition to sending images, audio, and video files to friends on Skype, SIP, Yahoo, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, AIM, and ICQ, the latest version of Fring for Windows Mobile also packs on support for add-ons, an indicator message as contacts type out an IM response, and long-overdue privacy settings.
The interface is also freshened, and owners of recent HTC phones like the Touch Diamond will get to speak to pals on VoIP from their earpieces, particularly useful when driving.
Windows Mobile users are going to like the sudden attention, but those who have switched to BlackBerry are going to wonder where the love is.
(Credit:
Skype)
Skype for Windows Mobile 2.5 beta, released on Tuesday, essentially brings changes made to Skype's desktop VoIP client (download|review) to Windows Smartphones and Windows Pocket PCs.
The application's display is compact, intuitive, and full-featured.
The mobile version places tabs for your various actions at the bottom of the app. By switching among them, you'll be able to change your online status and see missed calls and instant messages, initiate IMs, or place a call to your contact's Skype account, mobile number, or land line if you've purchased Skype Out. There's also a dialing pad to directly dial a call using an international format.
Like Skype's desktop beta, this Windows Mobile version highlights instant messages. It supports emoticons, but file transferring is what we'd really like to see, and what competitor Fring (downloads) already offers on Symbian phones.
The call quality is going to vary based on your phone model, your headphones, and how fast and stable your data connection is. Test calls were excellent on the Samsung Omnia. The app's biggest drawback--on the touch-screen Omnia at least--is that the tiny icons and links are difficult to accurately press.
As a whole, however, Skype's Windows Mobile beta is good enough to recommend to Windows Mobile users with overseas connections who may have been on the fence about opening a Skype account.
Shiny and glossy just like the iPhone itself is Fring, a relative newcomer to the VoIP-plus-IM communicator scene. Crowning itself the first true mobile VoIP solution for Apple's dream phone, Fring works with Skype, SIP, MSN Messenger (Windows Live Messenger), ICQ, Google Talk, Twitter, and Yahoo, though some of those services are clearly chat-only. CNET Executive Editor Tom Merritt shows you how to get started with Fring on your jailbroken iPhone in this Quick Tip video. If you like the program, you can still recommend Fring to friends who have to make do with merely Symbian, UIQ, and Windows Mobile phones (review).
Here's a twist on the all-in-one cell phone chat client--make it call your contacts too.
Fring is a free VoIP and chat client. The downloadable app harnesses your cell phone's Internet connection into phone calls and chats with buddies on Skype, Twitter, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, and ICQ. Your carrier will slap you with no accruing SMS fee, but you'd better have Wi-Fi reception or an unlimited data plan if you want to chat freely and stay in the black.
Fring groups all contacts, including those in your phone's address book, into a single list, highlighting icons at the top to indicate the service your buddy patronizes. You can click a buddy's name to call them, and choose the method of telephony--Fringo, GMS, Skype Out, or SIP. You can also select your service of choice from the call menu. To reach out and ping someone, you select the "chat" option from the menu and begin typing into the narrow field.... Read More
Talkster has been getting some buzz from fellow CTIA-goers. The new international dialing service is offering free global calls in exchange to listening to a few ads. The VoIP-based, phone-centered service feels like the perfect Skype (download) and Pincity mashup. It's free like Skype, and also relies on a VoIP backbone, but like Pincity, Talkster makes use of local numbers to initiate mobile and landline calls.
It sure sounds irresistible, and I've read a few glowing reviews, but in actuality it's a bit tricky. Talkster members enter their number and the number they're calling, and Talkster assigns a new, local number for callers on each end of the line. Say what?
If I want to call my sister in England, I enter both our phone numbers and receive a third number in my 415 area code. That's my permanent number for the phone number I just entered. My sister will get a number for me too. If I want to catch her at home, work, and on her cell phone for free, I'll need to enter each phone number and get three separate Talkster lines.
It wouldn't be so confusing if that were all, but of course it's not. Initiating a call isn't merely the result of dialing one of my Talkster-issued local numbers. There's an order to the calling system. Let's say I initiate the call to my darling sib using a Talkster phone number. I dial the appointed number in my area code and she picks up. But we can't talk yet. She first has to hang up while I stay on the line. My sister then quickly locates her local number, and while Talkster servers do some speedy math to connect our loose ends together, we both listen to an ad. Or that's the plan as soon as Talkster's ad deals are in place.... Read More
While GrandCentral may have been stealing headlines lately, there's another suffix-sharing phone call management service called RingCentral that can make small businesses look and function like larger ones with some pretty neat telephonic tomfoolery. The service has been around since early 2004, and today is introducing a slew of VoIP plans called DigitalLine that give users the option to use VoIP instead of, or on top of their existing landlines.
So what can you do with RingCentral? Small business owners will love it, since you can set up a ridiculously extensive set of rules to handle incoming calls, or reroute them on the fly with a virtual phone call manager called SoftPhone. The idea is to take a single or multiline setup and spread it out intelligently, while putting all the options online for you to manage and tweak while away from your office.
Make and control calls on your desktop, be they analog or VoIP.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Like GrandCentral, you can set up calls to be routed to different phones or line extensions, there are also handy business-centric settings to tweak the response people get when they call at off-business hours. For fans of GrandCentral's multiphone ring system, RingCentral has also gone the extra step of letting you add three-digit passwords to an incoming phone call to keep unintended pickups from happening. This feature actually stemmed out of users wanting to keep their children from answering a business phone call when they had forgotten to turn off the home forwarding options off, or couldn't get to their own phone in time.
The new VoIP implementation is fairly straightforward. All incoming calls can be set to be received via VoIP, letting you receive and manage phone calls while away from your landline. You can also get various minute packages to use VoIP to make outgoing calls, including an all-you-can-eat plan of outgoing VoIP for around $25/month. In contrast to consumer VoIP services like Vonage, Skype, or Comcast's DigitalVoice, RingCentral isn't aiming at cheap outgoing long distance providers, as much as the multi-line business crowd who's looking for a way to handle several lines without the hardware or staffing.
For a shot of the call log interface, click the read more link below.
... Read More
