Skype for iPhone – Now with Video »

  • There seems to be no way to auto (or manually) update your contact list (in the form of a push notification). I was forced to sign out, and reconnect before I was able to see my brother online. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems you must wait for Skype to refresh itself. Interesting.

  • Calls come-in as expected. It would seem Skype waits for your permission to initiate a video call. If you call someone, you may initiate a video call directly from your buddy list. However, if someone calls you, you must give Skype permission to initiate a video call, after accepting the invitation.

  • Video quality on my parent’s low-bandwidth, WiFi connection1 is more of a proof-of-concept. I wouldn’t call it revolutionary by any standards. Both incoming and outgoing video appeared surprisingly blurry. The dim lights in my parent’s house didn’t help.

  • Overall, I would say it’s about time. My thoughts on video calling (over 3G) will have to wait until I get back from my vacation.

3G Video

  • Incoming video (from Mac to iPhone) was pixelated, but by no means disappointing.

  • The same can be said about outgoing (iPhone to Mac) video. The experience on 3G was as-good, if not, better than my experience with WiFi at my parent’s house.

  1. You may not like it, but my parents are the reality we’d rather ignore.

♠ December 30th, 2010