We were one of the firsts to announce the availability of the Skype Mobile Beta almost 2 years ago, and it has continued to be one of our most popular posts, even to this day. Today, however, the Skype team finally announced the availability of a native Symbian application, specially designed for touchscreen smartphones like the Nokia N97 and the X6. A version for non-Nokia Symbian phones is also coming soon, apparently.
This new application is definitely going to tax your phone quite a bit. The install size is 6MB, though fortunately I was able to install it on my memory card with no problems. It’s also quite resource-hungry, which is a shame on phones like, well, pretty much all of Nokia’s touchscreen smartphones. You won’t be able to run Skype all the time as the RAM situation will likely cause it to close down periodically.
However, if you’re a Skype user, this is definitely the release for you! As you’ll see in the video below, you can easily chat with your contacts, including the ability to send them a file over Skype. The client works over both 3G and WiFi, including phone calls, so you don’t need to worry about it using your cell minutes any longer -- simply find yourself a data connection, be it 3G or WiFi, and you’re good to go.
You can also add to your Skype-Out credit or make other account changes straight from the client, and there is a handy tabbed interface for switching between functions. A cool feature, too, is the ability to show your phone’s contacts in your Skype list, so that you could theoretically make all your phone calls over Skype. Here’s a video showing off the various features:
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Nokia promised a native Skype integration on its N97 over a year ago, and we finally have it. Is this something you’ll use on your phone?
You can download the new client by pointing your phone’s browser to http://www.skype.com/m
Does the video work in landscape or fullscreen mode?
It is not clear to me the advantage when compared to Nimbuzz or Fring (I have both). With these two, I can do Skype calls _and_ use my AIM and MSN account. I've tried Skype video with Fring, but it was sttutering and the sound was pretty bad. I had to turn it off and use voice only. Will this Skype program improve on that? I don't think so…
Well, they promised a skype integration a year ago on the n97 and then release a client that doesn´t work on that device? As i told you over skype (haha, what irony) yesterday, it keeps crashing before even really starting. I´m not the only one facing that issue on N97 with 21.x firmware. I hope they fix it soon, as i totally like dedicated apps. I don´t need an AIO chat app if just using skype.
thanks native Skype works great on my Nokia E72
You should mention the download address at http://www.skype.com/m in your article.
1 advantage compared to Nimbuzz which is great and I am also using is that I can setup and participate in Skype group chats.
Regs Alex
Tried it. Bloatware. Crapware. Absolutely no point in installing. Use nimbuzz or fring.
You're right – currently, with its support for video calling, Fring offers a better package than this, but personally, I can't stand Fring's user interface – it's just horrendous, and I refuse to install it on my phones.
Nimbuzz is great, too, but I rather like having *just* a Skype client, as I keep my Skype contacts pretty limited.
Oh crap, you're right, I totally forgot to add the link, lol. Thanks for the keen eye, I've added it now.
I wouldn't call it bloatware or crapware, really. I mean, it does what it says it will do. It's just perhaps not the *best* solution for doing so.
Group chat is a plus. I use it perhaps once a month, and it happened once that I missed a meeting because I didn't have my laptop around (but I had my mobile). That can be the feature that makes me try this. Thanks for the tip.