Skype 2.1 for iPhone: iOS 4 fast app switching and background VoIP
Skype (Free) now supports fast app switching and (supposedly) background VoIP, but I still hate it forever. You see, despite Skype’s reputation for connecting people over long distances, it’s done a pretty horrific job at connecting me with family members in the same household. There have been numerous times when Skype has told me I have no friends online, even when I was sitting beside a friend and they were very clearly logged in. I’ve had these kinds of problems for years (this post is just a little biased…) and this newest version of the app feels like no exception.
I made sure I had a freshly booted iPhone 3GS with 150+ MB of free RAM before loading Skype 2.1 up for the first time. I tried to message a friend, but got confused when the keyboard started jutting into the chat space. I then asked my friend to call me so that I could test background VoIP. When that didn’t work, I tested the app by initiating a call from within Skype and then pressing the Home button to try it out in the background. Another crash.
So, sure, Skype can now handle fast app switching, but I think the rest of the app is “rubbish” (to use a Patrick/British-ism) and badly in need of some overhauling. I realize the network could simply be overloaded, but my calls were going just fine until I tried to use any of the new iOS 4 VoIP features. I think this is just Skype being Skype, and in my experience that hasn’t been a very good thing.
[news via MacStories]
Multitasking is disabled on jailbroken phones!
Source?
My experience was Skype’s updated iPhone app has been great so far. I have received both chats and calls using push-notifications, with the ability to respond or answer the call right from the notification into the “backgrounded” app. Everything worked like a charm, and Skype on the iPhone is now (finally) useful!
This is a great feature but unfortunately they did not add video call support for the Iphone 4′s I just hope that they add it in the future.
I love Skype! I subscribed to Skype Out and it works perfectly with 3G. When you live abroad, it's a lot of savings. I didn't have a single crash and I am looking forward to using multitasking but my iPhone 3G doesn't handle it… Waiting for iPhone 4.
I have an iPhone 3G. How do I get skype to work in the background?
Rapid app switching (and 3rd party apps running in the background) are not supported on the iPhone 3G – only on the 3GS and iPhone 4.
The only way to run skype in the background is to jailbreak your device.