Apple opens up VoIP via 3G on iPhone, and maybe even iPad

Filed under: Utilities, Apple, VoIP, iPhone, Mobile

With all the hype around Apple's release of the iPad, other big Apple announcements have slipped by without the attention they deserve. For example, Apple's updated iPhone SDK allows VoIP calls over 3G. That's a pretty big deal for Skype users, who can now use VoIP like a regular phone, without being tethered to areas with wifi coverage. It doesn't work for me on the latest version of Skype, but I'd be willing to be an update is already in the pipeline.

AT&T made the changes that would allow iPhone VoIP on its 3G network back in October, so the holdup has presumably been on Apple's end since then. Now that Apple has lifted its restrictions, though, does this mean the iPad with 3G service will be able to pull off VoIP calls? I sure hope so. It would be nice to have just an iPad, instead of carting around an iPhone, too.

If you're impatient for a Skype update, you can test out 3G VoIP with iCall, an alternative app whose developers have been using the news of the new SDK to draw attention to it as the first app to actually enable cellular VoIP call via iPhone. iCall is free, although somewhat crashy and unreliable, and it can fill the void until Skype swoops back in.

[via Gizmodo]

Share

Apple opens up VoIP via 3G on iPhone, and maybe even iPad originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments