Skype for iPhone: It's official
Months after teasing us at CES with an announcement of Skype's native VoIP client for the iPhone, the free Skype for iPhone will finally be available to download from the iTunes App Store sometime on Tuesday. We got a chance to sit down with the application's …
Context & Ripple Effects
Skype entered 2009 pursuing both business and mobile expansion: it had announced corporate PBX interoperability via SIP and, in February, a deal to put its Internet-calling software on Nokia phones. Nearly one-third of its registered subscribers were using the service for business, even as reported user-growth momentum had begun to slow.
The iPhone release adds a second major handset route through the iTunes App Store. It matters because Skype is moving its calling service from desktop software toward device-specific distribution controlled by mobile platforms.
First-order effects
- iPhone owners gain a free native Skype calling client through the iTunes App Store, giving Skype a direct distribution channel on Apple’s handset.
- Skype must support an iPhone-specific product alongside its Nokia arrangement, making mobile software delivery a core part of its user-acquisition effort.
Second-order effects
- Skype’s corporate PBX interoperability becomes more relevant to business subscribers whose communications move between desk systems and mobile devices, strengthening the case for Skype as a cross-device service.
- Apple’s App Store becomes the immediate gatekeeper for Skype’s access to iPhone users, concentrating distribution leverage with the platform rather than the communications provider.
Third-order effects
- If major handset platforms become the primary route for Internet-calling software, service providers’ reach will depend increasingly on platform approval and device-specific development rather than desktop distribution alone.
- The pattern points toward mobile devices becoming an ambient communications layer, with business and consumer calling services competing to follow users across endpoints.
The trend: Internet-calling providers are shifting from desktop-centric software toward platform-governed mobile distribution to keep their services available wherever users carry a handset.