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Skype For BlackBerry Will Not Be True VOIP… Surprised?

by Ronen Halevy on Apr 2nd, 2009 at 12:10 pm EST
14 Comments »
 

skype_logoA little while back we learned that RIM actually created an official Skype client and never released it due to them caring more about carriers than customers. On Monday Skype officially announced that they will have a BlackBerry client in May which really got my hopes up. They had just released a iPhone app that made calls over VOIP using Wi-Fi only which is now already a top download on iTunes. I was hoping the same would be true for BlackBerry but I guess I should know by now to lower my expectations. :(

According to BlackBerry guru Hayden over at PinStack the BlackBerry Skype application will not actually be a true VOIP client. When you call a contact it will dial an access number using your cellphone minutes and connect with Skype servers. This essentially makes it only useful for getting cheaper international rates. Its also the same thing that many commercial applications like IM+ for Skype ($19.99) already let you do…

In short this just looks like it will be a free client for Skype using a dial around service… Just like how the iPhone app cannot use 3G to make calls the BlackBerry app will not be able to use either 3G or Wi-Fi to make calls.

So I am deadly curious to ask… Will a true VOIP solution ever come to the BlackBerry?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 and is filed under News.
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14 Comments to “Skype For BlackBerry Will Not Be True VOIP… Surprised?”

  1. Posted by: Nikolaus Walch
    April 2, 2009 at 12:23 pm EST

    Oh man this sucks! Does RIM want to loose out to the iPhone on purpose?

  2. Posted by: Farukh
    April 2, 2009 at 12:33 pm EST

    Man, I feel your pain. I have been waiting since 8707 days for a voip client. Figured Bold or recent models will have it seeing they have wifi but doesn’t look like it will every happen.
    I carry a nokia E71 around along with my Bold just to use VOIP and be connected to my number in US, UK etc. They way things are going we will probably see VOIP by 2050. Don’t quote me on that.

  3. Posted by: Will Glover
    April 2, 2009 at 3:16 pm EST

    I had heard that the reason there is no VOIP app for blackberries is that it is not possible to simultaneously record and play outside of a regular phone call.

  4. Posted by: ash
    April 2, 2009 at 4:33 pm EST

    iSkoot was already doing what skype is trying to do now.

    My N95 which I had 2-3 years before the Bold already have many VoIP clients like Fring calling over wifi.
    flash support, 5MP camera, awesome browsing, etc…

    Shame on you RIM

  5. Posted by: nb
    April 2, 2009 at 5:35 pm EST

    For many people true VOIP on a phone would be pointless, as the data is usually charged outside your package. That’s expensive and beats the reason for even thinking about Skype. Next best option is to use iSkoot which takes minutes from your voice package. You may not pay extra or it will be cheaper and call quality will be reliable.

    • Posted by: Adam
      April 28, 2009 at 6:47 pm EST

      Dude… WRONG. I have unlimited data anywhere on this PLANET with my 8830 World Edition. Verizon charges me $1.39 to make a call for 1 minute, yet I can use the far more resource-intensive data plan to my heart’s content for FREE with my Vodafone SIM (Provided by VZW). I’ve been tearing my hair out with this shit.

  6. Posted by: preferred user
    April 2, 2009 at 8:59 pm EST

    So if I add the Skype number to my favs (free on Verizon after the Altel merger) does that mean free calls?

  7. Posted by: Nash on the 8900
    April 3, 2009 at 7:23 am EST

    I gotta say, I’m throughly disappointd. I thought skype wld finally prove to b the first VOIP service on the berry. And I don’t't get why it’s so hard to get this. I keep finding myself writing up reasons for switchin back to my e71 frm my 8900, it’s jus so disappointing ugh.

  8. Posted by: Dean
    April 3, 2009 at 12:31 pm EST

    No surprise here: I had my Nokia N80 for two years, and all that time, the talk was all about how Skype for the Symbian platform was going to be out “real soon now”… never bloody happened.

    Now, I’m using a 9000, and thinking that maybe, just MAYBE, they’ll do a native Skype client for BlackBerry. Even if it didn’t run over BIS, at least I could use it over Wi-Fi, which suits me just fine 99% of the time.

    So what happens? Same putrid effort.

    Forget Skype on Symbian and BlackBerry, it’s never going to happen. They’ve had more than enough time, and I don’t buy the “technical problem” excuse. Fring runs just fine on my old Nokia (doesn’t matter that it runs through a proxy server, it still WORKS).

    Something smells, and it’s not technical.

  9. Posted by: Glenn
    April 3, 2009 at 7:32 pm EST

    I really wish people would stop trying to compare the Apple App Store and Rim’s Blackberry World. You would think people would be more supportive of RIM, but all I see is posts griping about how Skype for Blackberry won’t have true VOIP, etc.

    Did you ever stop to consider that not all Blackberries have Wifi, and they didn’t want to release a product where some would have to call an access number while others could use Wifi?

  10. Posted by: Dave
    May 31, 2009 at 8:11 am EST

    Thought this blackberry skype client was supposed to be here in May. It’s june, and still haven’t seen it.