Skype's arrival on iPhone

If you’re the “proud owner” of an iPhone or a Blackberry, said Stan Schroeder in Mashable, “rejoice.” A Skype application for the iPhone will finally be available in the Apple App Store starting now, and a similar option will be available for Blackberry users in May. “Everyone has been waiting” for this day—which will make it easier to get cheap VoIP phone service over Wi-Fi.

This is a big day for iPhone users, said Olga Kharif in BusinessWeek. But it’s a bigger one for eBay, which owns Skype. The Internet calling service has been trying for years to “land its popular software where its customers are yakking most: on their mobile phones.” Now that it’s finally happening, eBay’s slumping stock could be headed for a rebound.

“Skype is obviously very happy to be on the iPhone,” said Rory Cellan-Jones in BBC News. “But unless Apple takes a radically different approach to integrating the free calls service into its phone, it's unlikley to make a huge impact.” Thanks to Apple's restrictions, your Skype buddies will only be able to reach you if you happen to be on a Wi-Fi network—so I’m skeptical.

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