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Skype released its long-awaited app for Android. It's free and available for download now at Skype's website or the Android Marketplace for devices running Android OS 2.1 and above. But US users will have to wait for Skype calls over 3G.
Outside the US, the new Skype app for Android works over both Wi-Fi and 3G, features free Skype-to-Skype calls and group IMs, and paid US or international calls to any mobile or landline number using Skype credits or a subscription plan.
Skype for Android works using the same Skype account as your desktop and autoloads your contact list. You can also search for and add new contacts within the application. For users on networks in the US, 3G calling is disabled, as was initially the case with Skype for iPhone. (Verizon's separate mobile Skype application allows for 3G calls only on certain phones on its network, including some Android phones). Video calling, which is supported on Skype's desktop apps, is not available for mobile.
The only way to receive calls on Skype for Android is to purchase a SkypeIn online telephone number. Skype offers phone numbers in 25 countries; users can answer calls from any mobile or landline number in Skype. These numbers cost $18 for 3 months or $60 for a year. Users who buy a monthly subscription for calling time to non-Skype phones get a 50% discount, which could be attractive to those who prefer to use Skype as a primary telephony solution.
Skype instant messages can be sent and received in the new Android app. One workaround for users with free Skype accounts could be to receive a Skype IM from another Skype user, then phone that user back. It's difficult to imagine how this could work if both users were phoning and messaging using Skype for Android, though.
Unfortunately, some users have already had difficulty getting that far with the new app. Currently, Skype for Android doesn't work on Samsung's Galaxy S, although Skype has promised a fix in the near future. The service isn’t available in China or Japan. The app also doesn't work on Android phones with screen resolutions below 480x320 pixels, including the HTC Wildfire.
According to Skype, the app has been tested only on HTC and Motorola phones running Android 2.1 and above.
Some Android users on Verizon have already been able to access to a mobile Skype application through Verizon's media store. However, Verizon's Skype app worked only over the 3G network, and calls to mobile and landline phones in the US counted towards a user's wireless minutes. In the new Android app, all Skype calls to non-Skype numbers use Skype credit.
Skype has an application for iPhone with similar functionality over Wi-Fi and 3G; Blackberry users are currently limited to Verizon's mobile Skype application.
Skype for Android Now Available [Skype Press Release]
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