I guess it’s only fair that Skype charge me for using AT&T’s bandwidth, when AT&T charges microcell owners for using their own ISP’s bandwidth
But I can’t believe there’s still no Push. (Push WILL be necessary with iPhone OS 4, because that’s a part of how OS 4 multitasking works! Leaving the entire Skype app in RAM, burning battery and waiting for the app to be randomly flushed when necessary, would be ridiculous. That would be 1900s-style brute-force multitasking, unsuitable for mobile use. Not to mention, Push will work on all the devices—like my 3G—that cannot handle the new multitasking features.)
I say add Push, and keep making money selling premium services (like Skype-to-phone) the way they always have. Skype on 3G isn’t going to kill Skype-to-phone revenue because only a fraction of people you want to call are going to have 3G Skype anyway.
Meanwhile, I’ll use it until August, by which time hopefully I will have switched to iChat
Thank you! Finally someone with a voice of reason. Sure nobody WANTS to pay any fees but people here need to stop acting like they are so "entitled", that's exactly what's wrong with this world, they have the mentality of, "If it's not free it's not good enough".
To MR, stop trippin' and PAY for something for once, you're not ENTITLED!
No, we’re not entitled, and obviously if they’re going to go out of business (which I doubt, but who knows?) then many of us would rather fund them so they remain afloat. But we can still object to paying for a service that doesn’t cost Skype more than WiFi calls. And we can still want Skype to keep making money the way they have before: their premium services. (I’ve paid them for Skype-to-phone, and have no objection to that.)
We can also want them to keep their client software up-to-date and not months out of date. (Mac version, lack of Push on iPhone, etc.) The less well they handle things like that, the less willing I am to pay for non-premium services!
I’d actually find it more palatable if they charged ALL users, and not just 3G users. But I still have a problem with even a small fee: I don’t use Skype often at all, but I DO want to have it available to keep in touch with people who live far away and get in touch once in a blue moon. I’d use Skype over 3G between 0 and 5 times a month. They’re better off getting me to pay for Skype-to-phone than driving me away because I don’t want to pay for yet-another-communication-method I may not even use in a given month.
Two possible solutions, if premium services have not been enough to keep Skype profitable: allow a certain number of free calls a month, then charge ALL users (not just 3G) to go over that limit. And/or show ads, with a one-time or annual cost to hide them.
