Internet telephony service provider Skype announced the release of its Skype 1.1 mobile application for Apple\'s iPhone and iPod touch, and while the updated solution includes new features like voicemail and SMS, its failure to exploit the push notification capabilities included in the iPhone OS 3.0 software update has quickly earned the scorn of consumers. The push notification service offers iPhone software developers a channel to alert users of new information, even when their application isn\'t running--such a feature would seem to be a natural enhancement for a person-to-person communication service like Skype, and users have so far been merciless in their criticism. Selections from the comments section of the Skype blog include:
- \'Skype iPhone is kinda useless with no push notifications so 1.1 is still kinda useless. Why even include IM capability without it, what are people supposed to do--send me an email that we should Skype chat‾\'
- \'Caught the news about the new release, my first thought‾ \'Yay, push notifications for Skype!\' How could you guys not have anticipated that people would want and expect this feature more than anything else‾ Other apps have been rolling out push-enabled versions over the past week--why are you guys behind the game‾
- \'Skype iPhone is kinda useless with no push notifications so 1.1 is still kinda useless. Why even include IM capability without it, what are people supposed to do--send me an email that we should Skype chat‾\'
- \'Completely worthless on iPhone without push"&brkbar; I am about to completely drop Skype as a messaging platform, unless they get their act together with iPhone support. First it took them a year to even come out with a basic iPhone app. Now, how long do we have to wait for Push notifications‾‾\'
For more on the updated Skype for iPhone app:
- read this Skype Blogs entry