iPhone to get Skype App

A tipster — a very reliable one — tells me that Skype is almost ready to launch that iPhone version, perhaps as soon as next week. CTIA Wireless, a large mobile industry trade event, kicks off in Las Vegas next Wednesday, so perhaps the announcement will be made there. I am working on getting more details, as well as screenshots of the service.

The biggest clue about Skype’s pending iPhone launch came when iSkoot decided to move on from its Skype-centric strategy. The company had been offering a client that allowed cell phone users to use Skype services. Skype already offers a Windows Mobile version of its client.

As I’ve said before, Skype will have to turn to mobile to keep its growth intact. In recent months, many services, among them Truphone and Nimbuzz, started supporting Skype in their communication clients. However, a standalone Skype client would get a lot of traction among the Skype faithful. In the meantime, I think Skype is slowly flexing its muscles and swatting away little VoIP players with some of its recent moves.

An interesting move by Skype. One that makes sense. One that is good for the end customer too. You pay Skype’s rate for an international call rather than AT&T’s rate. The question I have is how long will AT&T let that persist before they find some way to get their ‘tax’ in on the deal?

The bigger qualm is Skype itself. While the rest of the VoIP industry is coalesced around Open Standards, Skype continues to play Microsoft with it protocols. For the system as a whole it is just not good practice and does not foster interoperability.

Linky.