Skype announced Dec. 10 that it is releasing a limited beta
version of Skype for Symbian, a version of its voice-over IP software
for smartphones running the Symbian OS. Which is to say, Nokia phones.
The software enables free Skype-to-Skype calls, inexpensive
calls between Skype and a landline, instant messaging, group conversations, the
sending and receiving of files, and the ability to receive calls on an online
number.
Skype for Symbian works over Wi-Fi and 3G data connections
— though if you use the latter, Skype hopes you have an unlimited
data plan.
The beta version supports more than 10 devices, and the
production release will include even more, Skype
said on its Website. For now the list includes: Symbian S60 3rd
Edition Feature Pack 1 and Pack 2 devices, as well as the Nokia E71, E63, E66,
N82, E51, multiple models of the N95 and N81, the E90, N96, N85, 5320, 6210
Navigator and Classic, the N78 and the N79.
The software can be installed over the air, via the Nokia PC
Suite, or can be sent to the phone over a Bluetooth connection. Users just need
to have 6MB of free space. Should you hit any snafus, Skype would love to hear
about it.
“Did you like it? Did we miss anything? Did you have
trouble using it? Did you have any technical issues? Let us know about it on
our forums,” according to Skype. “Please remember that it is a beta
release, which means that the quality is not up to our usual high
standards.”
Nokia
recently announced that it will be revamping the Symbian user interface.
“I see great opportunity for
Nokia to capture new growth in our industry, by creating what we expect to be
the world’s biggest platform for services on the mobile,” Nokia CEO
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said at the company’s annual Capital Markets Day on
Dec. 2.
However, not everyone is convinced
that a Symbian update can save the faltering phone maker, which during the
third quarter of 2009 reported revenue losses of approximately $838 million.
“The
underlying weakness for Nokia is Symbian, its handset OS, which is outdated and
increasingly difficult for developers to work with and for consumers to
use,” Ken Hyers, an analyst with Technology Business Research, recently
told eWEEK.
Hyers went on to say that
Google’s open-source mobile OS, Android, might be the better route for
Nokia.
According to Skype, its users spent
3.1 billion minutes on Skype-to-landline calls, during the third quarter of
2009, and 27.7 billion minutes on Skype-to-Skype calls, a third of which were
video calls.
On Dec. 1, VOIP company Fring
announced that owners of iPhones and some Nokia handsets can, with its
software, now place video calls over Skype when
using a Wi-Fi connection.
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