Multitasking Makes VoIP Better

Skype is allowing smartphone users to have a viable option to their providers minute bound plans

VoIP systems on a computer used to be something different than VoIP service on your iPhone. Using a program like Skype on your computer was easy because it could always be on while you do whatever else it was you were working on due to multitasking. The problem with using it on smartphones like the iPhone was that multitasking wasn’t supported. Which meant you could make phone calls through Skype, but in order to receive them you would have to leave that application running by itself and have the screen unlocked. It was rather troublesome, making it seem silly to use something other than your normal telephone systems to accept phone calls.

Fortunately, the times they are a changing, Skype has made an update to its application bringing it up to speed with the iPhone’s multitasking capabilities. What that means is that now your Skype application can be running at all times, even if you’re phone is locked or if you’re running other applications. So now you can have Skype running while you play games on your iPhone, and should someone try to call you through Skype, it will interrupt you and you can choose to accept or reject the call or message, just like a regular phone call.

The great thing about this of course is that a person is no longer forced to use the minutes given by a provider. Instead a person using an iPhone just needs to make sure they don’t go over the amount of data they are allotted per month. However since iPhone users are forced to use voice minutes from AT&T, the minimum amount someone will pay per month for minutes is $40 for 450 minutes. If someone routinely uses more than 450 minutes a month though, using Skype may be a fantastic option. For a yearly subscription, Skype generally costs about $5 a month, so now 450 voice minutes along with unlimited VoIP minutes will only cost you $45 a month as opposed to the $70 you would have to spend on unlimited voice minutes a month.

So if you’re especially chatty, this new service can potentially save you a bundle of money. At the very least, it’s a cool option to have if you ever want to call international or if you use up your minutes that your provider gives you.

Andrew Sale is an expert writer on phone systems based in San Diego, California.  He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs such as VoIP service at Resource Nation.