Tuesday, November 24, 2009

fring introduce Skype video calling on Symbian platform

It must be a wondeful time to be a owner of a Symbian S60v3 and S60v5 (Symbian^1) powered device. A day after we finally see the release of the Symbian Spotify client, fring has released a new version with Skype video calling functionality! The new feature is currently only available on selected Nokia models for the time being (N97, N97 Mini, 5800XM, X6, N95, N95 8GB, N82) though support for more models will be added.

I tested the function on the N97 Mini and it really works well and seems to be stable enough, at least over a WiFi network. The video quality seems reasonable enough with a frame rate that is usable enough, though it does seem laggy. The screenshot above is taken whilst video calling to my cheap as chips Creative Live! Optia which has a VGA resolution and lacks a macro mode.

Now lets hope a video calling compatible client for the E55 is being planned. In the meantime if you have a compatible device, head to m.fring.com and download the latest client.

2 comments:

Sylvain said...

Hi Jon!
I don't know much about mobiles and their different platforms and technologies, but put simply with this new version i can use skype on my mobile and call via skype for free when in wifi hotspots ?

Thanks for your excellent blog :)
Cheers

P.S: Hope the weather is getting better in the UK :(

Jon Choo said...

Hi Sylvain,

Not only with this new version. Mobile Skype or VoIP has always existed on many mobile platforms. This is just the first version to support video calling on Skype. If you have a Symbian phone and do not require video calling, try out Nimbuzz. The audio quality is miles ahead of fring.

Thanks for the lovely comment.

Are you still coming over?