By Last month we learned that Verizon Wireless was officially partnering with Skype to bring an unprecedented feature set to mobile phone users in America. Exactly what that would entail? We weren’t told – we were just told some sort of integration would make it all worthwhile and it wasn’t hard to guess the options. Now Skype and Verizon have published an animated infomercial that, while it doesn’t provide full details, gives us a better idea:
Verizon now lists which phones are compatible with their Skype mobile service – I’ve put three Android units all on top and all which work with Skype Mobile:
- Motorola Droid
- Motorola Devour
- HTC Droid Eris
- BlackBerry Curve 8530
- BlackBerry Storm 9530
- BlackBerry Storm 2 9550
- BlackBerry Tour 9630
It looks like instead of trying to get a per/application fee from customers, Skype may have gone the exclusivity route as they’ve pulled their app from several mobile OS app stores. Verizon may have pinned them down for an exclusive deal with a substantial contract – something of which I’m not sure we’ll ever know the details. But most importantly – does that woman’s voice in the above video make anyone else want to poke their eyes out?
[Via VZW]
We’ll reveal more details sometime this month, so stay tuned. And I’m sorry you didn’t like the narrator’s voice – you may prefer the soothing tones of our Skype voiceover artist.
Stupid…now i have to go to vzw to have Skype on my phone?
The “..and skype mobile is always on cause these phones run more than one app at a time..”
Is a very subtle dig at the I(dare not say it’s name)…NOT.
Not that there’s a problem with that, all is fair in love and capitalism.
The rest of the world is still Skypeless.
Not a problem for me anymore as my company has now dropped Skype due to poor mobile support.
Big question now is when? I want it now!!
It looks like this is what’s happened:
1) Skype has pulled from general availability the Skype Lite apps for Blackberry and Android. These used to be available to anyone.
2) Newer versions of the same apps will be repackaged for Verizon customers only.
3) Verizon will make sure that calls via Skype are not billed as minutes, but they will still go over the voice network and it’s not VoIP.
So really all that VZW customers gain is the unlimited-ness; meanwhile all customers of all other phone companies get shafted.
“THESE phones run more than one app at a time”
Hilarious! :D
Charles in Vancouver… WRONG! Skype will be MEANT to work over the WiFi connection, but will also work over the 3G connection. The idea is for it to be available to you WHEREVER you have access to a data connection, be it 3G or WiFi.
Well, it is NOT what they are leading us to believe it is!
via the “fine print”:
“Activation fee/line:$35 ($25 for ……
I am sorry, but I am not going to have an unlimited data plan on my phone, and then have to pay additional $ to make substandard VoIP calls!
That doesn’t make sense! And if this is the case, why the “exclusivity”? So other folks on other smart phones can’t even Skype Chat to each other? I understand the VoIP limitation but chat? Seems dumb to me!
Not sure what this gets anyone…other than another bill!
Just sayin’
smooter
FRAAAAK!
AND like an idiot…I got all excited and uninstalled the Skype Beta…
Nice!
Urrrrggggghhh!
smooter
Has anyone considered that VZW is doing this as a way to counter the ads from AT&T claiming that you need to phones to talk and surf the web on Verizon at the same time? Think about it. If VZW allows 3G VoIP, then AT&T won’t be able to make that claim any more.
*two* phones, not to phones. Sorry.
So… is this a free service?
According the webpage: “Activation fee/line:$35 ($25 for secondary Family Shareplan lines w/2-yr Agmts).
IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Subject to Customer Agreement, Calling Plan & credit approval.
Up to $175 early termination fee ($350 for advanced devices) & other charges.”
If that’s the case, I say go with FRING. You can make Skype calls already…
So basically what has happened is Skype is now a ‘for cost’ app? That’s just re-goddam-diculous. Verizon can go pack sand if that’s the case. I’m not paying $60 to have this running on both the family phones (not even $35 for one).
The ‘fine print’ are Verizon’s standard phone activation and ETF fees. They are not Skype specific. Just standard disclaimers.
For instance see any other V pages:
http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Averizonwireless.com+%22Activation+fee%2Fline%22
pmarch “Stupid…now i have to go to vzw to have Skype on my phone?”-
— Now you actually might get a carrier with a better signal. Wow, That’s rough. Better take the day off & think about this one. Their giving you a free ride on this one…assuming you have a smartphone which why where here is an Android…. or stay with the $5 a month cheaper gravy train’s telecom’s out there.
We’ll have to wait to see, but I think it’s too early to say that Verizon is going to charge extra for this. The video says the software is free, and that a data plan is required. The legalese at the bottom looks to me like standard verbiage, and I’m thinking that is for people that decide to buy a VZW phone to take advantage of the Skype deal. I’m betting they are doing this because they believe that the increase in customers they get will far outweigh the cost for the data (which they already have incurred) and any lost minutes (which are handed out in large chunks anyway).
Again, this is all speculation, but I think it is too early to be bashing them for charging us until they actually do.
JDNorCal: Can anyone provide evidence the calls will actually go over data?
According to:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/021710-skype-on-verizon-so-who.html
“At first glance, it might appear that Skype, an inexpensive VoIP phone service that operates over data networks, would eliminate the need for a Verizon voice plan. It won’t work that way, however, as Skype calls will be routed over Verizon’s voice network.”
http://www.pcworld.com/article/189459/skype_on_verizon_smartphones_the_good_the_bad.html
“Verizon will use its voice network to handle Skype calls, meaning you won’t have to worry whether your 3G connection is up to the task. This also takes undue strain off Verizon’s data network, putting calls back on voice where they belong.”
I’m just going by what the articles say.
Voice revenues have been going down while data revenues have been going up for years now. This is Verizon trying to capitalize on new data revenue and nothing else.
If you paying for data already wouldn’t it be nice to drop your plan minutes and save a couple of bucks a month?
I would pay a one time fee if it would work over wifi. I dont get service at my house, and this would allow me to cancel my home telephone and save at least thirty bucks a month. A monthly pay though, no way.
Its pretty clear ladies, the activation fee is for new cell phone lines, nothing to do with Skype, but they still have to specify it in the fine print.
The data service already exists on your smartphone, since you can’t have a smartphone plan without it. The partnership is basically Verizon approving Skype to use the 3G on their network by allowing the full featured Skype app on their phones. Before this, you could only use the Skype lite app, which used the phone system to connect the call, not VoIP.
So bottom line, all this does is, now you can have the full Skype app and use VoIP on Verizon phones that you couldn’t before. The pricing is still the same as Skype I assume, which is free skype-to-skype and there are monthly plans for skype-to-phone, and cheap rates for international skype-to-phone. Instead of you paying that separately to Skype, this thing might also let you combine the billing all into Verizon.
Again, nothing seems different other than just the app.
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