Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Skype service could be coming to iPhone

Associated Press

Published January 12, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size  

More Tech & Telecom

More stories »

Free calls over Skype, the Internet communications service, could be coming soon to the iPhone.

Skype, a subsidiary of eBay Inc., said last week that a version of its Internet calling and instant-messaging software is available for Google Inc.'s Android cell phone platform as a free download. And it indicated an iPhone Skype program isn't far behind.

Scott Durschlag, Skype's chief operating officer, said Skype's iPhone application is still under development.

Skype would not be the first i- Phone program that makes use of Internet calling technology to so people wouldn't have to use their cellular minutes.

But when Apple started letting outside companies make programs for the iPhone, it barred voice-over-Internet applications from connecting to the cellular network, leaving them functional only when the user is in a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Apple representatives did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

New Skype software for Windows computers will be available in early February.

It overhauls the user interface and makes full-screen video-calling features more prominent. According to the company, the new version also marks an advance in audio quality.