iPhone version likely to allow video calls

Skype will release the first iPad-native version of its VoIP app this summer, or according to the company's Asia-Pacific VP, Dan Neary. While the current iPhone app works on the iPad, it is not designed for the platform, which entails using more screen space and/or expanding features. Coming at roughly the same time should be a new iPhone app, at a minimum supporting v4.0 firmware features such as multitasking.

Neary hints that the app may also introduce video chat. "We believe that video is part of the Skype experience," says the VP, "and we believe that video is moving aggressively into the mobile environment, so stay tuned on an announcement on that." The option would likely be limited to the next-generation iPhone, which is known to have a front-facing video camera.

Neary remarks that he hopes the next iPad will have a similar camera. "I think the iPad is an incredibly exciting product but it is clearly not the same communications device in its current form that the iPhone is," he says. "So we're looking forward to further advancements in the iPad and where that can go in the future." The design of the tablet is known to incorporate space for a webcam.

by MacNN Staff