

Skype's Android shackles are broken, 3G calling hacked into reality - mcantelon
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/07/skypes-android-shackles-are-broken-3g-calling-hacked-into-real/

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Zak
What I don't understand is why Skype would block 3G calling in the first
place. What's the incentive for them? I understand why carriers wouldn't like
it, but what power do they have over the Skype app?

~~~
there
maybe they're just doing it to get in the good graces of those carriers, so
that they'll bundle (or at least promote the availability of) skype on their
next android phones like verizon did.

~~~
pyre
I was under the impression that this might also still be tied to the
concession to Verizon. Maybe Verizon made them promise not to make a version
of Skype in the US that supports 3G?

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Mongoose
This will be more of a fallback in the event that Google Voice ever drops the
ball for me. GVoice's seamless integration into the default calling process on
Android devices makes it a much more attractive option than Skype.

~~~
technomancy
GV still requires a voice plan unless you have a Gizmo account, but (0)
signups for Gizmo are currently closed and (1) even if you have an account,
the call quality is not so hot. Skype offers great call quality on data-only
plans, which are significantly cheaper, at least on T-Mobile.

I'm hoping Google gets their act together integrating Gizmo with Google Voice,
but until they do this is a great stopgap measure. In the long term I'd be
much more comfortable relying on open protocols/apps (SIP and Sipdroid) than
Skype though; they have been abusive in the past and even pulled their app for
a time.

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mcantelon
Google Voice + Sipgate, I believe, gives you free calls in and out.

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jrockway
With a Gizmo account in the middle. And of course, Sipdroid doesn't support
the codec that Gizmo uses, so you need some other provider in the middle to do
the transcoding.

I kind of almost made a call once this way.

~~~
mcantelon
I can call in and out using Sipgate, Google Voice, and SipDroid (Android SIP
client).

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iamwil
[http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeudoxus/78843-apks-
unlocke...](http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeudoxus/78843-apks-unlocked-
apps.html)

<http://www.xeudoxus.com/android/Skype.apk> Is the link to the unlocked skype
app.

