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 […]
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Skype 2.1 for iPhone: iOS 4 fast app switching and background VoIP

Jul 21st 2010 by

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]

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