When we discussed Skype for your BlackBerry last year, the results weren’t too pretty. There were just so many bugs with the applications needed to access Skype. The best part of the service, the cheap calls, were even moot, as the applications routed the calls through your phone anyway. That could change in 2009. Via BerryReview we learn about Skype’s big plans for 2009.
The biggest item I took from the article is that RIM has actually developed a working Skype client, dubbed “very efficient,” but it faces problems with carriers. They still want their Berry users to make voice calls, and have kept the application from seeing the light of day. However, a new Java-based client, designed for Android, could be a solution for BlackBerry users. There are, of course, problems with that as well.
In theory, the Java-based client could be installed on a BlackBerry, but as there are no specific power management features built in it would drain the battery quite quickly. Skype is continuing to work on a separate BlackBerry client for release later this year.
I’m willing to bet that even if Skype releases a BlackBerry client this year which does not drain the battery, many carriers will have it blocked. Which is a shame. Yes, they want to continue their voice revenue, but I would think only a fraction of the total BB users would actually use Skype to replace voice plans. And even then, it might not make a difference. I’m on the smallest voice plan already, so it’s not like they’d be losing any money.
