@cyclingplatypus: It appears that the video is no longer available. What does the video show?

Perceptus

Isn't just for iPhone users:

+ Watch video

cyclingplatypus

If you have jailbroken your phone you can use Backgrounder available through Cydia to get alerts for you instant messages. If some one calls your Skype number it will ring in Fring sometimes. I have had it go to voice mail on me a few times when testing it. There was a new update today for Backgrounder and it may have helped out in that area thought.

flyingeagle78

Can't seem to make Skype-out calls...I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that I am in Canada?

bgarner

does it(skype) work for iPod Touch with microphone enabled headphones or microphone attachments?

greenwald3132

Never forget that you're sharing your IM network credentials (username & password) in clear text form with Fring. You're just adding a third party to your trust chain. (Where you can't control Fring's security measures) If that's an issue for you, you've been warned. If not, enjoy the freedom to chat in your popular IM network via your iPhone. At the end of the day, that's pretty much the same scheme Meebo, eBuddy, Palringo and et. al. works.

bdd

Heres my review on Fring:

"I tried out Fring with Skype and Gizmo SIP; there is a noticable 5 second lag between people talking, also there is echoing. I am right near my wireless router, and skype on the computer works fine. Also note that Truphone does not have lag (or as bad as 5seconds) when I tried it out on this same setup.

To get skypeout calls to work, you have to enter 001 before the 9/10 digit number (001-800-342-3543), otherwise itll bring you to terminated call right away. Thats a minor annoyance but easily fixable on their end - by making it automatically dial 001 for you for any calls made on Skype (in the US)

Also, after adding Skype addon in fring (which takes awhile to log in), it dials out fine. After exiting the program, and go back in, skype calls DO NOT work anymore. You have to remove the skype addon, and add it again.

Another big bug is the "no .'s after the @," luckily I had an account with the old fring.

I would love for skype to work with minimal lag - Ive tried out truphone and that works semi-well - but expensive per/min

I was ecstatic when I heard fring was on the appstore. I have tried the old 1.1.4 jailbroken version and it was unusable as VOIP goes - long voice delays, never calling right, etc.

I hoped this version would AT LEAST fix the voice lag, thats the whole point of VOIP, but it is EXACTLY the same as it was in the old version (except adding skype and menus). I know this app is free, but the point I want to make is that I would have easily paid $10 if it worked correctly and lagfree.

Now that the NDA is up, I would suggest Fring to collaborate with Truphone and iCall (if possible) to see how they did it or are doing it. Truphone works well, but is expensive since it uses their own service. And iCall, well, is not even out yet and no one knows their pricing."

To sum it up:
It doesnt work well right now, WAYYY too much lag. Hopefully it works soon

ranova

@bdd:

... very good comment. But I think people just don't care for security. The name of the software sounds cool, others are using it... who's the developer? Well, ... dont care.. software is cool so I'll send them my password ... :-p

Marco

@Marco

Unfortunately your observation is 100% correct. Many of the security breaches and wide-spread ID thefts are because of the ignorance of end-user.

But as a prominent tech blog, Lifehacker should include at least a little bit of (even a one-liner) warning in its previews. I'm sure Gina is aware of these kind of security weaknesses associated with these proxy type applications.

bdd

@Perceptus:

I'm not a betting man, but I'm thinking it probably shows a Skype call being made via Fring on a phone that is not an iPhone.

jupiterthunder

I am rarely in a situation where I 1) don't have a computer 2) have Wifi but no cellular coverage.

Further I know of almost no iPhone owner who actually ends up using their mins each month, and nearly all plans have free long distance.

Aside from the international Skype-only calling, I don't see the appeal of this application.

robdew

@Perceptus:
Weird how it isn't there anymore, it showed a guy making a call via his Touch to his cell phone...

The video still works when following it from the Mac Rumors post below:
[www.macrumors.com]

cyclingplatypus

@BiZarRroBALlmeR:
Shouldn't be pulled Apple was pretty clear that a VoIP app could be made but only for use on wifi.

cyclingplatypus

I'm surprised his hasn't been pulled yet. I've downloaded it though.

BiZarRroBALlmeR

it's weird that AT&T has not protested about this app.

gear21

Fring will not let you make a Skype or SIP call over a cellular network only on WiFi

flyingeagle78

Thanks, but no thanks. Their privacy policy is very loose and all your info is sent through clear connection. That's quite unacceptable.

And they don't even provide quality service. The skype out calls are unintelligible to the person you call.

mario_grgic

I tried this a few months ago and it worked like crap. as a matter of fact I couldn't get one outbound skype call to connect. If anything, I recommend getting a skype to go(maybe it's called skypeout now) # and put your most important contacts on speed dial. Now that works!!

Swiftshark

I just downloaded, installed and tested on my iPhone and I agree with the other comments regarding the delay and call quality. However, I use Skype for chatting quite a bit, and for that it works great. Also, I live in a bad AT&T cell zone, so I end up having to forward my calls to GrandCentral number at home, which forwards to my Skype and home phones. With Fring at home, I can at least receive Skype calls on my iphone while on wifi. The call quality could use help, but it is better than nothing.

lucre

During the week I live within half a mile of a mobile phone mast I get almost no reception but use Fring to SkypeOut quite successfully on my N95 over WIFI. This could tempt me to switch to an iPhone (or steal my wife's next weekend!)

morefreckles

Fring is great. Been using it for the last 3 months on my Nokia E51.

Chuck

Like Chuck I have Fring installed on my E51 and it works well.

b3n

Lifehacker, I feel you may be in need of some therapy for this iphoneophilia you're suffering from.
Fring was running on the S60 platform long before apple graced us with the iphone. Get a grip!

Johnjoe0110

@Johnjoe0110: Lifehacker was totally correct in reporting that Fring is available for the iPhone. As a long time S60 user who recently switched to an iPhone, it matters to me that Fring is now available for the iPhone platform, specifically. It's news. On the other hand, it would have been less newsworthy to report that Fring was available for S60. That would not have been news.

saifrc

I tried fring app with a skypeout call while I was in italy, calling an italian phone number: the delay between the calling and the called was about 1 sec and the voice clear without any relevant noise: globally the call quality was very good.

iceman314

bgarner, I am in Canada too, and it works fine. It takes a while before you are signed in with skype. during the sign-in process you can go back to the overview screen, and after a while skype will be active. Goof luck!

TheaCrassus

@cyclingplatypus:

Okay, thanks!

Perceptus