Skype’s new iPhone client is restricted to use over a Wi-Fi connection by Apple’s terms of service. Strange then that those with access to the iPhone OS 3.0 beta say the Skype on iPhone app works over 3G too.
Skype, along with other Voice over IP (VoIP) apps, is intentionally hamstrung by Apple in order to appease nervous mobile carriers who fear the impact a flat-rate unlimited data connection that can double up for making free/cheap calls will have on their profits.
Raised eyebrows all round, then, at the news that the new iPhone OS 3.0 does not restrict Skype to using the Wi-Fi connection. As you can see from the video clip below, it is possible to make Skype calls without a Wi-Fi connection, using just Skype, the iPhone OS 3.0 and a 3G connection.
This all raises more questions than it answers – is this a bug in the iPhone OS 3.0 or are beta testers intended to be able to circumvent the 3G restriction? Or could Apple just be about to put its foot down and demand that the mobile carriers play ball?
Out Now | £free | Skype
