Though Skype has not made an official announcement about it yet, the Popular Voice over IP program and service will soon arrive officially for Apple iPad. Videos of the app has leaked online and the app is expected to be approved soon and released for the general public.
Speaking to The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), Skype VP of Consumer and Product Design, Rick Osterloh said, “ iPhone version of Skype burst out of the gate quickly, with a big launch and a userbase that doubled in just a month’s time. The iPad version should have a similar success.”
(Image credit : Techi.com)
A TUAW report says, “the iPad version of Skype has the same functionality as the iPhone version – chatting, audio and video calling and all other standard actions that you can expect from Skype. The current app has been in testing for a few months now and Osterloh is excited to unleash it on the public.”
However, one feature that’s missing in the Skype for iPad is file sharing, and that’s due to the lack of an adequate file system on the iPad.
On being asked by Mike Schramm of TUAW whether Skype had ever butted heads with Apple over duplicating functionality on the iPhone in terms of FaceTime or simple audio calling, Osterloh answered, “No, they (Apple) have been super supportive.” It may be remembered here that Skype was invited onstage with Apple during the reveal of iOS 4.0.
In reply to a question by Schramm whether Skype might be included in the OS itself, Osteroh answered that there weren’t any plans for that yet, but “in general, we’re always interested in deeper integration.”
On the Skype for iPad 2, a techi.com report says, “The app will benefit from the iPad 2’s large screen size and camera.” The report opines that with the addition of a camera on the second-generation iPad, it was only a matter of time before skype came to the device.
Themobileindian report said, “Following the Skype for iPad release, several Google Android 3.x Honeycomb based tablet owners too would be looking forward to endure — video calling, audio calls and chat via dedicated Skype App for the Android tablets. However that might just take a while. That’s because after Microsoft’s clean acquisition of Skype, the company would be more focused on deeper integration of the service in Windows Phone platform and upcoming Windows 8 based tablets. Real question is whether the telecom operators agree to offer the video calling feature without premium data plans pricing or at the affordable and inexpensive than existing rates.”
According to Osterloh, the skype for ipad 2 is a solid release for the company, and yet another step out onto mobile devices for one of the premiere communication networks online.