iPhone 2.0 only: Free application Fring puts popular chat applications on your iPhone, including Skype—and the ability to make Skype voice over IP calls when your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Fring puts all your chat buddies from AIM, MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo, ICQ, Twitter, and Skype on your iPhone, and lets you know who's online when. Chat your buddies whether you're connected via data or Wi-Fi, and make Skype calls (or Skype Out calls) when you're on a local network. Fring is a free download for iPhones running the 2.0 software.

Windows only (for now): When Skype rolled out its first beta 4.0 release back in June, its enhanced video chat and managed conversation features came at a cost: a screen-filling app which wasn't necessarily helpful on ultra-portable devices and in which it was easy to lose notifications of chat messages. The newer beta, out this week, addresses those concerns by adding an optional 'compact view' that's more akin to classic Skype, and incorporating pop-up notifications on the taskbar (which you can switch off, fortunately). Those changes aside, the 4.0 release is still a little buggy (my install required a reboot and didn't accurately reflect available people to chat to). The current beta is still Windows only, but a Mac version is in the works.

Windows/Mac OS X: Free Skype plug-in Yugma Team Collaboration adds a screen sharing feature to Skype. The plug-in is an offshoot of previously mentioned Yugma, a standalone web conferencing and screen-sharing tool that you can use independently if you're not already a Skype user. The benefit to the Skype plug-in is that you have easy integration with your already populated Skype contact list, so starting up a meeting with Yugma through Skype (once it's set up) is a breeze. In addition to screen sharing, Yugma also offers remote control and annotation, among other features that could make it a worthwhile meeting tool. The biggest drawback is Skype's plug-in system, which is cumbersome, confusing, and makes getting started sharing with Yugma more of a pain than it should be.

Most of the initial hype around the new 4.0 beta version of Skype centres around the improved video quality and the amount of space the revised client takes up on screen. However, the most interesting new feature in the long term may be the fact that multiple conversations -- video, voice or text -- can all be managed from the central screen. Alternating between numerous discussions is a major nuisance in earlier releases, so this might be some compensation for the crowding that'll be inevitable on ultra-portables like the Eee with the new triple-width client. Skype 4.0 is currently a Windows-only beta, but Skype hopes to get the gold version out the door later in the year and follow with Mac and Linux versions. (Personally, I'm too scarred by the bugs in 3.8 to test 4.0 just yet, but I'd love to hear any reader experiences in the comments.)

Windows only: Skype has released an early beta of their 4.0 release for Windows users, and the best word for it is "bigger." (Odds-on this is the "fundamental change" Skype hinted at earlier this week.) The client itself is now a full-screen affair, putting your contact list at left and offering all the user options in a big central box. Video calls are both literally bigger, with full-screen streams and picture-in-picture chat, and a larger part of the client's focus. Hardware setup has also been streamlined to detect compatible hardware, or recommend it if troubleshooting fails. It's still an early beta—my XP box just couldn't run it without crashing—but worth checking out if you regularly use Skype video chat. Skype 4.0 beta is a free download for Windows systems only (for now).

Something is afoot at Skype, it seems (and not necessarily the endlessly rumoured selloff by eBay). The company is scheduling media and blogger briefings on a "fundamental change" for later in the week, pitched this way: "Now it's time for our most exciting change since inception, designed to inspire even more conversations." No idea what that means (social networking is the obvious target), though rumours will surely emerge before any official announcement. We'll keep you posted.

With the version count sitting at 3.8 for Windows, Internet telephony giant Skype isn't shy about rolling out the updates. That's great when they work, but my recent experiences trying to upgrade to 3.8 have been painful: no sound at all for a week, then -- just as technical support were starting to take me seriously -- basic sound returned, but with 10 seconds silence every minute or so. Not good enough.

The best solution in this case would seem to be rolling back to an earlier working package, but Skype doesn't make that easy: its installation routine comprehensively ditches the previous version, and only the latest release is ever available at its site. Thank goodness for Filehippo, which maintains a comprehensive archive of Skype releases. I wouldn't want to guarantee they'll all work with the current infrastructure, but if an upgrade starts playing nasty and stuff was working fine before, this is the first place to check in (after taking a deep breath, of course).

Popular VoIP application Skype has introduced a new unlimited international calling plan for a measly $9.95/month [AU - that seems to translate to $12.95 in Aussie dollars, if I read the Skype site correctly]]. That means unlimited calls to any land-line phone in 34 supported countries, including the majority of Europe, Canada, China, and Japan. Additionally, Skype's $3/month unlimited calling plan for the US and Canada is still in play, along with a $5/month Unlimited Mexico plan. The Unlimited World plan does not cover cell phones in all areas, so you may want to verify that your international calling location of choice is covered. As always, Skype-to-Skype calls remain free.

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If you liked the idea of making VoIP calls on your iPod touch or iPhone, but all you've got in your go-bag is a Sony PSP, DIY web site Instructables steps through how to run the popular VoIP application Skype on your PSP. This PSP hack feature isn't new by any means, but the Instructable is detailed and easy to follow along with. We don't have a PSP to test this at Lifehacker HQ, so if you've setup Skype calling on your PSP, share your experience in the comments.

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Windows only: Freeware plug-in Call Graph integrates with the popular VoIP application Skype to record your Skype as MP3s and organize those recordings with a simple interface. Once installed, you can set Call Graph to automatically record all of your Skype calls, or you can choose to start and stop recording manually during a call. After you record a call, you can rename and add relevant information to the call data—which comes in handy when you use Call Graph to search your index of recorded calls. There are many Skype recording tools out there, but most come with a price or limitations. The freeware, Windows-only Call Graph has no limitations, and while its current interface is spare, it's simple to use and does the job.

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