Finally Skype is on the iPhone and it works!

Looks like us Aussies were able to download it before our fellow Americans since many of my U.S. Twitter friends complained that they could not even see it in their AppStore instance.

Skype iPhone AppStore Download
Skype for iPhone took a little longer to download than the average app but it eventually completed its journey onto my iPhone. This app is taking a spot on my first page of apps given it’ll be one of my most used.

Voice Calls with Skype iPhone – Not allowed over 3G
Not sure if it’s a limitation with my carrier (Telstra) or a general iPhone Skype restriction but I could not make or receive calls via my 3G connection. Either way, this puts a damper on the whole app release and I especially feel for those customers who have all-you-can-eat data plans who can’t take advantage of potentially cheaper calls via Skype.

Other than that, voice calls over WiFi connections was fine. I even had a random Twitter guy (@ispears) call me from London to help me test this. We spoke for approximately 4 minutes and throughout that time didn’t experience any dropouts or noticeable distortion.

I liked how Skype had a speakerphone option so I could keep an eye on my waning battery life while enjoying the bliss of a Skype voice call.

Chatting Over Skype iPhone
As expected, talking to your friends via the chat option is simple and visually pleasing. You can have real time conversations with your Skype buddies and while doing so you the app allows you the options of either calling them and viewing their profile.

Other features of the Skype for iPhone include:

- take a photo for your avatar within the app
- conference call ability
- Buy Skype credits, Online Number and Voicemail buttons (takes you to website)

Being able to use Skype on iPhone’s award winning interface has just increased the iPhone’s functionality even more – even though it’s taken around 2 years, it’s a welcome addition to the AppStore.