After a long wait, the Android faithful now have access to Skype’s mobile telephony network via their mobile phones. The release, detailed on the company"s blog, features the company’s staple of free Skype-to-Skype phone calls and inexpensive Skype-to-phone rates, over WiFi or 3G. It will import your full contact list from your existing account if you have already been using Skype from a PC or other mobile device. The app is compatible with Android 2.1 and above.
Back in May, there was a rumor going around that a carrier-free Android Skype app was imminent. Five months may not be exactly imminent, but at least they’re coming through on their promise. One feature, however, is notably missing: video chat. The PR from May heavily suggested that video would be a major part of their mobile expansion, and its absence from this release is definitely suspicious. Keep in mind that Skype has run into trouble recently with Fring regarding video chat use over AT&T 3G networks, and they have since backed out of Fring compatibility over excessive video chat problems. Fear of another run on bandwidth from the Android consumer base could be a possible reason for the hesitance. The blog post makes no mention of current or future video chat capability, but Android users all over certainly have their fingers crossed.