This move puts Skype in direct competition with other big players in the wireless voice services such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless. The software for the iPhone from Skype can be downloaded for no charge from the Internet and enables iPhone users to call other Skype users on computers or supported cell phones free if they have a wireless connection at hand. They can also call the landlines for a fee which is usually very cheap, about 2.1 cents per minute. 

 

Skype said it also plans to launch the service for RIM’s BlakBerry, the device which practically made the mobile e-mail popular. This will most likely happen sometime in May, the company said. Skype already launched software for smart phones using the Windows Mobile operating system, as well as for smartphones running on Google’s Android platform. 

 

Skype executives have high hopes and expectations from the application for Apple’s iPhone. Skype Chief Operating Officer Scott Durchslag expects the new service to appeal to new customers and to the existing ones as well. 

 

“The No. 1 request we get from customers is to make Skype available on iPhone. There's a pent-up demand," Durchslag said according to Reuters.

 

Skype is already the largest provider of cross-border voice communications, according to Telegeography, The Wall Street Journal reported. Skype currently has about 405 million users worldwide. Its technology called VoIP is revolutionary in the way that it treats calls like email messages or Web pages and sends them over the Internet. 

 

This new strategy of adapting the software for mobile phones will surely put Skype in a very favorable position giving it the chance to boost its number of clients. One of the interesting features of the Skype for iPhone software is that it allows subscribers use to the phone’s phone numbers in the address book so that they don’t need a duplicate list. 

 

The Skype software for the iPhone will be downloadable for free from Apple's iTunes App Store and calls between two Skype users will also be free of charge. The software will also work on Apple's latest iPod Touch device, which has Wi-Fi links but no cellular connection.

 

EBay investors are hoping the move will generate enough revenue to boost Skype’s value and make it more tempting for potential buyers such as Microsoft and Google, companies that already showed their interest in EBay’s unit.