BB Geeks

1 Mark January 22, 2012 at 6:36 am

Hi, Such is my need for skype that i am dumping my blackberry in favour of an android phone. Android phones have no issues with software compatibility, no limits on downloading apps from the net, no idiot server issues and freely available support. All the problems inherent in a RIM phone do not exist anywhere else. Rim should have cut a deal with whomever to integrate RIM with the rest of the world. Blackberry is crap.

2 Ritz January 3, 2012 at 4:48 am

I have bought a BB Curve 9360 which has OS 7. Can anyone tell me if skype can be installed on it? I want to make free international calls and i need skype for that. If no, then anyother application that can help me on my wallet?

3 Aman fiji November 8, 2011 at 11:16 pm

This article was in 2008 and sadly, the situation hasn’t changed (Skype for BB that is). On Android and iOS, Skype is an absolute treat.

4 Jonathan September 6, 2011 at 9:15 am

UK user experience…
Having read the forums I too was reisgned to not being able to get Skype on my BB Bold 9000 but I recently changed contract to Hutchinson Telecom’s ’3′ network and have just downloaded their Skype Lite app. It works a treat. It uses my existing profile and contacts; I can chat to another Skype user; I can call to another skype user; and I can call an international landline/mobile phone number. It won’t let me make calls within the UK. Haven’t been able to test calling from abroad to the UK.
Goes some way to assuaging my anger at having to pay £5 a month for Blackberry Services just to get my mail.

5 Patrick Ogidi August 17, 2011 at 7:29 pm

Skype on blackberry was suppose to be released by May. This is august and nothing yet.

Pls, can someone tell me what’s hapening?

6 adebayo July 6, 2011 at 10:14 pm

I use a blackberry bold but I try to download skype on it to be using it to call but I can’t
Pls can you tell me or give me the configuration

7 Cooper March 15, 2011 at 8:21 am

@tihomira Only Verizon customers have access to true Skype on their BlackBerry. All other Skype clients are a waste of time as they still use minutes etc.

8 tihomira March 14, 2011 at 3:48 pm

Can we chat free from skype for blackberry curve?

9 Shawn February 26, 2011 at 2:26 pm

Ditch blackberry and get an android phone. They are obviously abunch of money grubbing bastards. Free yourself, get android.

10 rory September 26, 2010 at 10:51 am

Just purchased a Blackberry. I was told at the Kiosk (in the mall) that Skype would work for international. I travel 6-8 months of the year internationally. That was the deciding factor to make the purchase. Use Skype mostly on my Macbook laptop, and it work GREAT!

I cold not get Skype to work, called my carrier (Verizon) and was told, “IT WILL NOT WORK FOR INTERNATIONAL”!!!! I am very disappointed!!!

So when I leave on my next trip to Morocco for a month, I will have to get calling cards and use a land line phone.

Yes, Skype works for Domestic USA calls, but who cares, that is what the phone is for in the 1st place.

No, Skype does not work for international calls on the Blackberry!

11 Jason Shedrach August 10, 2010 at 10:51 am

A lot have been said about skpe not working with BB,,,i have BB Bold 9000,,,can Skype or Iskoot or any other software work with my phone. Can one make free calls with my internet connection while using BB bold9000. Pls email your comment to me: jayshedrach@yahoo.com Thanks,

12 andrew Randolph March 6, 2010 at 4:36 pm

can anyone update me on how the skype program works for BB 8320. I have a ekit passport lite sim card. please make a suggestion

dragz202@aol.com

andrew

13 Priya February 7, 2010 at 4:25 am

You don’t need skype credits to call with iskoot because I tried it with my skype account with zero skype credit and the call connected. But it dials the US to connect the call and thats an international call for me and hence pointless. The battery does drain if you have iskoot running. You can close the program when you dont use it. So for those countries with access numbers maybe its a nice option. To call people who live far away occassionally through your blackberry paying local call charges sounds okay.

14 Subash December 29, 2009 at 10:12 pm

This is really annoying.Skype who instead of trying to give its customers good service is trying to make money with partnership of IM plus for skype.this is ridiculous and so bad.All mobile skype users are using it free.But there is no skype for blackberry and when we use im plus for skype,we need to purchase it and its £ 21 in uk.Its too costly.When skype itself is free why is these skype service giving product so costly.Is skype and im plus for skype combined for profit or else what is this?

15 rob December 2, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Just wanted to say “Skype calls from your blackberry” one more time. Holy crap this article was seriously spiked for that keyword phrase

16 yoda September 2, 2009 at 11:23 am

i’m sure it’s just going to be more and more delays now with the changing of hands due to skype being sold. me thinks no native skype for bb for a bit longer folks.

17 mike August 16, 2009 at 2:04 am

and one more thing, can’t you use your BB to call a friend in another country on their pc with a free skype-to-skype video call? And do you need a webcam to plug into the BB?
Mike

18 mike August 16, 2009 at 1:59 am

Getting back to Abdulla’s comment, I also had the same question, if I have a BB with skype, why can’t I call any friend with skype on a pc or a BB? Why wont it work, I don’t understand? That’s why I’m paying the $30 monthly unlimited data plan thru Verizon.
Mike

19 Camaran July 25, 2009 at 4:38 pm

Okay- so no skype for my Blackberry for now…Although, I have to admit I FOR SURE take this article with a grain of salt based on the little to no appreciation for skype itself …for those of us who have used it to reach family and friends from random points around the world including in conflict zones & areas post natural disasters, skype has proven itself over and over…

20 Cooper June 1, 2009 at 8:15 am

The Skype for BlackBerry client is in the works and it is now just a waiting game until it gets finalized and released.

21 Abdulla June 1, 2009 at 8:04 am

Greetings , i got my black berry for 1 reason , i thought it will act instead of my PC

Skype in PC is free , i can call any of my friends Skype to Skype ( FREE )

i have black berry with 30 $ a month for unlimited data plan of 100GB , now i thought skype requires internet but not tele minute bill as well . this is bad to the demand,
atleast have wifi function and take away the Skype callsback bill which is waste of money.

22 kc June 1, 2009 at 5:20 am

Has anyone heard anything about the release of skype for the blackberry?

I heard it was supposed to be out in May, but when I go to the download site, bb phones are not part of the options.

Anyone hear of anything?

23 sd May 13, 2009 at 3:56 am

Old though this article is, you seem to be pretty biased from the start. You’ve pretty much said you can’t get Skype to work, so it’s no suprise you don’t like it much.

The whole tone of the article is ‘this thing is rubbish, don’t bother’. A valid view, but probably a waste of bandwidth.

Have to say, I split my time between Europe and Brazil, and Skype has saved me and my family an absolute fortune over the last few years. That includes using IM+ for Skype on my BB. Battery issues aside, it works perfectly.

24 Steve April 29, 2009 at 12:22 pm

Reminder guys. Skype is coming to BlackBerry in May. (likely next week).

http://about.skype.com/2009/03/skype_coming_to_blackberry_sma.html

The “rub” will be whether it will also work over the cellular data channel or not (rather than just over wifi as on the iPhone) I suspect most carriers will be blocking this.

25 FJ April 23, 2009 at 8:25 am

Dude, skype is big I have been using it for years, now I even have phones in different countries that ring wherever I want. It’s the internet connection quality in the route path that makes quality good or bad.
Go figure!

26 B April 20, 2009 at 1:12 pm

First of all if you cant set up skype on your pc you should not be writing articles. I am a linux user and it is VERY simple. I also use it on an xp box(only when I have to test) and it’s even easier. As far as skype on blackberry, I suggest you use sprint airave. I make free calls all day over VOIP with it. $100.00 plug it in and off you go. I realize there are people who are trying to get free phone service, but if you own a bb you should not be one of them.
Also Skype is $50 or so a YEAR! If you want free things learn how to actually use a computer and hack away. If your time is less valuable than a few calls overseas then you shouldn’t own a cell phone anyway!!
Just my thoughts.

27 FL April 17, 2009 at 6:17 am

I ran into this problem recently. I have business contacts outside of the U.S., so I started using Skype To Go thru my World Unlimited Skype plan.

I can call a U.S. number, which gets deducted against my current phone plan’s free minutes, but I get to reach outside the U.S. at Skype rates, which can be free or at significantly lower rates than thru my carrier. This without having to install anything on my iPhone or BB. It’s a regular call.

Don’t knock Skype until you’ve given it a try.

28 robwirelessadvocate April 16, 2009 at 12:12 pm

Being a long-time advocate of cheaper cell phone services, Skype has never interested me on a smartphone, the download process, wait for wifi access, cost of data plans (remember skype relies on Internet access), o/s issues etc and it is not supported by all phones… I found a very simple way to call long distance on cell phones with no pre-paid, recharge type stuff, signup for free, and you get low cheap rates and it works with any phone or carrier. You don’t need skype on a smart phone try out CellLongDistance.com

Rob – Wireless Consumer advocate

29 Grimberg March 3, 2009 at 10:54 pm

I am sure that the reason there is no skype for Blackberries is not because of the 400 processor. What happens now with the BB Bold that comes with a 600+ processor???
I think that the reason why there is no Skype client for BB is because BB has agreements with the cell phone carriers and it’s blocking the VOIP possibilities of the phone.

30 Ore January 24, 2009 at 3:06 am

I make frequent international calls through skype, and have been very satisfied with the quality of the calls.
If I could have that option on my bb, that would enable me to stay in contact with people (family) not just when I’m at home, but while I’m out and on the road. I just get the unlimited data plan to prevent overcharges. If it does end up using my minutes, then I will be pissed.

31 David January 20, 2009 at 12:46 pm

[...] The reality is that each call you make is deducted from your SkypeOut credits. [...]

Not entirely true. I have found that with a US/Canada unlimited plan I can make calls to anyone in the US/Canada via Skype with no extra Skype charges. I am in Canada but many of my contacts are in the US, so this works quite well for me. (Calls to other countries would be different.)

With one of a “My 5 Friends” number being the call-in number of the (iSkoot/IM+/…) service one can call with no minutes subtracted from the phone plan either. (As long as the dial-in numbers don’t change.)

(re #7158: In Canada an 866 number does charge against the phone minutes, and “nationwide” calling is not available here either.)

The only issue I have is trying to call into conference calls as they require numbers to be pressed after being connected — and the numbers do not seem to be transmitted well most of the time.

32 Erick January 20, 2009 at 2:29 am

Rony #7769, yes you are right.

33 Erick January 20, 2009 at 2:26 am

People using iSkoot are idiots. It uses your voice plan. Which means you’re paying the same price you would pay for your mobile call. The main point of using Skype is to use wireless or something. What a useless application. Someone should port Fring to Blackberry, that’s the way to do things.

34 Ed January 17, 2009 at 9:05 am

Agree with Michael in post 9052, but besides that, when you start writing review with the premise, “I don’t really like Skype”, what’s the point of reviewing those various Skype addons for BB? Everyone knows right away what you will have nothing positive to say about any of them.

35 Michael January 16, 2009 at 1:46 pm

That 400MHz requirement is for the desktop version, so it is in reference to x86 architecture, not the Xscale’s ARM architecture, so it’s like comparing apples to oranges. just figured I’d clarify.

36 Skype headed to BlackBerry in 2009 | BB Geeks January 16, 2009 at 8:30 am

[...] or subscribe to us on Twitter!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 [...]

37 Almer January 14, 2009 at 12:52 am

I have just installed the iSkoot in my BlackBerry curve phone and it works wonders. No problem so far.

38 Glenn December 7, 2008 at 8:59 pm

Wish I had read this review before I ordered IM + Skype. Unlike Joe, my previous and current experience with SKYPE have been great! My spouse travels extensively. The kids and I get her a local SIM card for each of her major destinations (in most countries incoming mobile calls are free). We then call her using SKYPE Out credits. The SKYPE credits are cheaper that using my BB directly in 2 ways: The cost/minute is cheaper than T-Mobile and we avoid the hotel operators (and language difficulties)thus saving time and we can reach her even if she is in a restaurant or traveling in a taxi.

I have not any success with IM+SKYPE opn my BB 8320 Curve. I have never been able to get it to log on to the network directly or through WiFi. (All my other net-accessing BB programs work fine). From Joe’s comments I can only conclude that the processor speed contributes to this problem. Oh well … that’s what I get for trying to be on the cutting edge! LOL
Thanks for reading.

39 Rony October 29, 2008 at 6:57 pm

So does it mean that after running the sofware on my BB device and if I login to my skype and make a skype call..My original plan minutes(Tmobile minutes) will be deducted alongwith my skypeout credit too?
So, each call will end up with 1 minute deducted from my phone plan and some skypeout credit..

guys correct me if I am wrong.

Rony

40 Chad October 24, 2008 at 10:52 am

(The second place you will notice a hit is in your SkypOut credits. It sounds like such a sweet deal, sign up for an unlimited Skype account (Just under $30), ditch your phone plan and just keep the data. You will be be making calls left right and center and all your friends will be jealous of your low cellphone bills.)

The way I understood this is that it doesn’t matter if you have an unlimited skype account, and only a data plan on your phone. In this case you won’t be able to make skype out calls. Is this correct?

If they can change this option in the future, to where it only uses data, then they will be on to something assuming call quality is ok.

41 Jack October 10, 2008 at 12:00 pm

While I agree with you on Skype calling, what about those of us that only want it for texting contacts on Skype? Is there an application that will work only for texting?

42 Larry August 27, 2008 at 5:54 am

Good article and pretty much right on. There is another client, nimbuzz, which, while still calling out to connect to skype contacts, it uses an 866 number so it does not use your minutes for most plans. It lacks the stability of IM+ and iskoot but life is a tradeoff. And you can only call your skype contacts, not POTS.

43 Pete July 1, 2008 at 4:07 am

Hi Joe – good work. Do you think the new BB 8820 which has WiFi would be any different?

44 Will June 14, 2008 at 4:37 pm

I sort of think I’d use Skype more if it was on my blackberry. About the processor; I have a Nokia 770 running os2007he with a 252 MHz cpu and it runs Skype very well.

Leave a Reply