skype - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

[New App] Skype Wifi Grants Easy Access To 1 Million WiFi Hotspots, Payable With Skype Credit

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Applications, News

Don't let the title fool you: this app isn't a WiFi-exclusive version of Skype. That would be silly. Instead, it's an easy access app for Skype's network of partnered WiFi access points, which the company claims is more than a million strong in various airports, cafes, and train stations. There's nothing stopping you from using them normally (or using the standard Skype VOIP app), but Skype WiFi will quickly connect and authenticate your Android-powered device.

What may be even more useful is the fact that you can pay for access with your Skype credit. While this is obviously less desirable than a free access point, it means that as long as you've got some Skype credit available, you won't have to dig into your wallet for a credit card or go through a PayPal prompt.

Jan

Skype Updated With Portrait Calling On Tablets, Portuguese, Norwegian, And UK English Languages

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

Well, it's a start. While the Skype app for Android still has a bizarre and uncomfortable habit of forcing landscape mode, today's update at least allows users to use the portrait orientation if they're making a call. That's nice. Especially since the positioning of front-facing cameras on devices like the Nexus 7 make landscape video chats extremely awkward. Now if only we could get this for the rest of the interface, that would be great.

^{This isn't just for phones anymore!}

Additionally, today's update brings a few bug fixes and support for Portuguese, Norwegian and English of the UK variety. Not a bad update.

Nov

Skype App Updated With New Tablet-Optimized UI, Sign-In With Microsoft Account

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Applications, News

It seems like the Android world is getting a ton of extra tablet love in the past few months. Today, Skype joined the party by finally introducing an optimized UI for those of you with a little more screen to love. While the new look is nice, it bizarrely forces your slate into landscape mode. Even on the Nexus 7, you have no choice but to use the wider layout. This probably isn't a bad thing, since it looks great in this mode, and might seem cramped otherwise. Still, this is the only app outside of games we've seen do this, so it's a little jarring.

Aug

Skype Updated To Version 2.9.0.315 With Bluetooth Improvements, Bug Fixes

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, News

Skype, providers of one of the most popular IM and video calling clients available, deployed an update for the service's Android app today, bringing it up to version 2.9.0.315 and packing a few minor, yet very much needed fixes and enhancements.

Among the changes in 2.9.0.315 are more reliable connection with Bluetooth headsets, support for a wider range of headsets, and several key bug fixes. Here's the full change log:

What's in this version:

Bluetooth improvements
• More reliable connection with headsets
• More headsets supported
Bug fixes
• No more random signing out
• Fixed green video on HTC devices
• Restored video quality on Nvidia-powered devices

While this is a relatively small update, it brings improvements that should give users a more pleasant experience with the app overall, and will definitely help functionality for those using HTC or NVIDIA-powered devices.

Feb

Skype For Android Updated To 2.7.0.907, With Updated Call Interface, Epic 4G Touch Compatibility In Tow

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Applications, Epic 4G Touch, News

Skype, a hugely practical video (and internet) calling solution, got an update today, bringing the app to version 2.7.0.907 and bringing a few key improvements to the table. The most noticeable improvement in this release is an updated (and enhanced) call interface, adding functionality and panache to the screen every user sees when placing or receiving a call.

Besides an updated call screen, the latest release also adds much-needed video call compatibility with Samsung's Epic 4G Touch (Sprint's version of the Galaxy SII), as well as enhanced call quality. If you haven't already, hit the Market link below and grab the update while it's hot!

Dec

Skype Updated, Brings Auto-Sign In, Improved Look And Feel, And The Ability To Send Pictures, Videos, And Other Files

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Applications, News

A pretty major update for Skype just made its way into the Android Market, bringing a few new features and improvements along with it. Among said features is the ability to send pictures, videos, and other files to during conversation - a pretty cool option, no doubt. The Skype team has also improved the look and feel with new graphics, as well as improved the sign in/sign out process (which includes auto-sign in).

The video quality has also been improved on Tegra 2 devices and voicemail has been improved. Yay for making things better!

Grab the update below.

Skype

Sep

Skype For Android Updated To v2.5 With Whitelist For 13 More Devices, Landscape Support, More. Oh Yeah, And Ads

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Atrix 4G (Olympus), Bionic, Droid 3, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Iconia Tab A500, News, Optimus 2X (Star, p990), Optimus 3D (p920) / Thrill 4G (p925), Optimus Black (p970), Photon 4G, XOOM

Skype for Android, an app that gets almost as much love as it does hate, was updated to version 2.5 a few minutes ago. Because the last update unofficially opened up Skype to all 2.2+ devices, this time around Skype simply listed 13 more devices as whitelisted and approved for video chat capabilities:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (T-Mobile)
HTC SHOOTER (KDDI)
Sony Ericsson Xperia Live with Walkman
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
Acer Iconia Tablet (A500)
LG Optimus Black LANDSCAPE ONLY
LG Optimus 3D LANDSCAPE ONLY
LG Optimus 2x LANDSCAPE ONLY
Motorola Photon
Motorola Droid3 LANDSCAPE ONLY
Motorola Bionic LANDSCAPE ONLY
Motorola Xoom
Motorola Atrix

Notice how the list contains 13 devices, even though the changelog says 14.

Aug

Skype For Android Updated To v2.1 With Official Video Support For 17 More Devices (Including EVO 3D/4G, Thunderbolt, SGS1/2), And Unofficial Support For Any 2.2+ Device

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Charge (i510), Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Desire HD (Ace), EVO 3D (Shooter), EVO 4G (Supersonic), Flyer, Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab, Incredible S (Vivo), News, Revolution, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid), Thunderbolt (Mecha), Xperia Mini / Mini Pro (Smultron / Mango), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

Last Updated: September 16th, 2011

Skysoft... errr, I mean Skype updated its previously measly Android device support from 5 devices to more than 20 today with the introduction of version 2.1 of its Android app. There are no new features outside of expanded device support, which was badly needed in order for the app to climb out of the sea of 1-star reviews (although stability and quality improvements would have made today's release even sweeter).

Update: Other devices with 2.2+ should work, but you need to enable Video support in the settings, according to the in-app changelog.

The new devices are (glad to see many flagships here):

Samsung Galaxy S II
Samsung Galaxy S
Samsung Droid Charge - Verizon
Samsung Galaxy Tab
HTC Desire (2.2)
HTC Thunderbolt - Verizon
HTC Sensation
HTC Evo 4G
HTC Evo 3D
HTC Incredible S
HTC Desire HD
HTC Flyer
LG Revolution - Verizon (2.2)
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro
Acer A5

As usual, download the app from the Market by using the links below.

Jul

[Updated: Now With Nexus S 4G] Skype For Android V2 Brings Support For Video Calling On Select Devices, New UI, And SMS

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, News

Skype, one of the most popular audio/video calling applications on the desktop and now property of Microsoft, has been long criticized for lacking any video support on Android and being generally unstable and prone to crashing. In an effort to rectify the situation and raise that 3.6-star Market average, the company released a major version update minutes ago from 1.0.0.983 to 2.0.0.45.

The update finally brings video calling, albeit to only a small subset of devices:

Google Nexus S
HTC Desire S
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro

Update 7/1/11: The Nexus S 4G and the European Nexus S were added to the list of supported devices after a small 2.0.0.47 update today.

Jun

Fring For Android Updated, Finally Supports Nexus S (2.3.4), Thunderbolt, DROID Charge, Galaxy S II, G2X

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, Charge (i510), Flyer, G2x (p999), Galaxy S II, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Tips & Tutorials

So, you bought that fancy new Nexus S/DROID Charge/Galaxy S II/G2X/Flyer with a front-facing camera, and you were excited to make video calls. Then you noticed there isn't any native video chat client for Android (yet - Talk will have this integrated soon). Then you heard about fring, which is pretty cool. Then you tried to install it, only to discover it didn't work. Then you probably had a sad.

Well, frown no more - fring has been updated to support all sorts of front-facing camera-having devices (like the ones in the title, plus the HTC Flyer). The update has also included general bugfixes and improvements to audio quality, so head on over to the Market and check it out!