Is Skype video calling for the Apple iPhone 4 and iPad
coming?
Engadget
is reporting that early on Dec. 24, there was a help document on the Skype site
detailing how to place video calls using Skype for iPhone.
"You’ll just have to trust us, it was there! We swear!," wrote the tech site in
an update, noting that the document had since been removed.
TiPb also
got a look at the document, which reportedly said that video calls, via WiFi or
a 3G connection, will be possible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, third and
fourth generation iPod touch and the iPad. However, these iPad devices have to run
iOS 4.0 or above and users need Skype for iPhone 3.0 or above, the document
stated, according to the blog.
Was iPhone support the only document that was removed? "We don't know whether
there's a corresponding document out there for Android, Symbian, or other
operating systems, but we're certainly hoping so," wrote Engadget, "because if
these guys come to the table at once with versions for all the major phone
platforms, we've got a feeling they'll be dominating the mobile-to-mobile and
mobile-to-PC video calling market in no time."
Furthering the likelihood that Skype is about to offer the capability is the
company’s slated participation in a panel at Januarys Consumer Electronics Show
(CES) titled Video Calling Gets Ready for Primetime.
According to an October report from the Pew Research Centers
Internet & American Project, mobile video calling is poised to take off in
2012.
"Video calling has become increasingly available as camcorders have spread
through the online environment, cameras have been built into smartphones, and
as video-chat services like Skype, Google Talk and Apple iChat have become a
feature of the online and smartphone environment," Pew stated, adding that
teleconferencing is also becoming a staple in businesses.
In July, Skype released an updated VOIP (voice over IP) application for iPhone
4 and iPhone 3GS handsets running iOS 4, enabling the phones to exchange calls
and instant messages with other Skype users. It additionally offered the ability
to place covers over AT&Ts 3G network, in addition to WiFi.
Skype competitor Fring also offered a new app in July, though this one allowed
iPhone 4 owners to place two-way video calls over WiFi or 3G, and even to
friends with phones running the Android or Symbian operating systems. Skype
responded by threatening Fring with legal action.
"Skype's anti-competitive ambush comes in the wake of Fring's mobile video
calling on iPhone 4 launch," Fring said in a July 12 statement, making the
dispute public. Fring CEO Avi Shechter said in a statement he was
"disappointed" that Skype, which once "championed the cause of
openness, is now
attempting to muzzle the competition."
Gauging by those missing documents, Apple may preparing to finally also join
the competition.
Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
