Skype for iPhone Now Supports Video Calls

Skype now does video-calling on iOS devices. The new update to Skype’s iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app, version 3.0, allows users to make video calls between their iDevices, as well as with desktop computers — in other words, with any other Skype user. The calls can be placed over both Wi-Fi and 3G.

To make and receive video calls, you’ll need to have an iPhone 3GS or better, and you must be running iOS4. If you have both front- and back-facing cameras, you can use either. The 3GS can only, obviously, use the rear cam, since it doesn’t have a front-facing camera.

And if you have an iPad or a last-gen iPod Touch? You’re not left out, even though your device doesn’t have a camera. You can still receive video calls, but of course you can’t send any video.

Skype has a big advantage over FaceTime, Apple’s own video-calling app, as pretty much everyone already uses Skype. FaceTime requires a camera-equipped iPhone or iPod Touch, or a Mac running beta software. And it only works over Wi-Fi.

This is big news, especially for people wanting to replace computers with iPads. If a camera-equipped iPad goes on sale this year, as expected, then people like my parents could ditch their hard-to-administer PC for an iPad.

There is still one limitation to Skype’s iPad version of the software. This update, despite adding video, still requires you to pixel-double the app to get a full-screen view. Hopefully Skype’s next update will bring us video in the iPad’s full, native resolution.