Verizon BB/DROID Users to GET VOIP thru Skype?

[Jared DiPane]

Sure, there are many rumors, speculations, blogs about this topic, and not sure if this has been covered fully like this before, but I found this through my friend @asacco who writes for CIO, and thought I'd share it with you all.

Verizon BlackBerry, DROID Users to Get Skype VoIP App...Is There a Catch? - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

I'd be interested to hear all your thoughts on this.

Pros...Cons...Happy...Don't Care?

 

[that1bb]

I hope it will work over wifi. I think it should.

 

[anon(7436)]

Who cares? It'll work over 3G! March 2010 btw.

 

[Jared DiPane]

personally never was a big fanboy of wifi devices. honestly, i compared my friends iphone on wifi to my 3g and i beat him

plenty fast and doesnt suck the battery

 

[mjones73]

I already run Skype for my home phone, can't wait to see how it behaves over 3G.

 

[agarrett527]

It's certainly a partnership that could help Verizon out initially. I'm sure it will work it's way to other carriers but it definitely adds something else for the user who uses this service to think about Verizon.

 

[p08757]

I can't wait to try this out.

Now only if we could get our darn 2.1

 

[clr007]

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but aren't there already other VOIP applications out for Android? If so, then what's the big deal-- aside from Verizon "officially" supporting/condoning it?

I haven't played around with VOIP extensively on my Droid yet, but have been meaning to for a while as my home service is with a VOIP provider and I've got the necessary credentials to sign in to their SIP servers from my own device. (Actually, if that works, I may be tempted to toss my voice plan and just see if I can go with unlimited data on Verizon for my Droid...)

 

[corydunbar]

I don't believe verizon will allow a internet only plan, unless you are using a broadband card.

 

[clr007]

I don't believe verizon will allow a internet only plan, unless you are using a broadband card.

That's disappointing, but understandable. I suppose they want to ensure that a substantial enough profit is made from each customer, thus the need to charge for a relatively unnecessary (at least in my case) voice service.

Of course, if I was really concerned about how much I was spending with Verizon for service, I probably would have foregone text messaging and just opted to use Google Voice for it. (I will consider doing that if the Google Voice app ever supports instant notifications via push.)

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[mjones73]

Perhaps I'm missing something here, but aren't there already other VOIP applications out for Android? If so, then what's the big deal-- aside from Verizon "officially" supporting/condoning it?

I use Skype for my home phone so it would be nice to tie everything to one number without going the Google Voice route.

The current Skype client still dials a local number to get out so it costs you minutes. The only alternative I've tried, which was Fring, had a bad delay on voice chats.

 

[anon(5298)]

Do you think we will be able to use Skype with our own cell number or will we have to have a separate Skype # for people to call?

I get no service at work so having the ability to make Skype calls via wifi from my OWN cell number would be rather large for me...

 

[mjones73]

Doubt it but we shall see...

Unless they plan to do something different, keep in mind if you want to make or receive calls from non Skype users you need to pay extra to be able to SkypeOut and SkypeIn.

SkypeOut is what you need to call other phone numbers, it's $2.95 a month (or 8.40 quarterly, 30.05 yearly) for 10,000 mins of unlimited long distance to the US and Canada under their fair usage policy.

SkypeIn is what you need if you want a phone number people can call, once you have a subscription to SkypeOut, they give you 50% off a number to SkpyeIn. Like any VOIP service, you can select a number anywhere in the country which may come in handy for you. It works out to be about $9 for three months or $30 for the year with the discount.

I personally use it for my home phone because it works well for me and it's hard to beat having a line for about $60 a year.

If you're not paying for those services, you can only call other Skype users and they are ID'd by username, not a phone number.