Watching the web over the last few days you have most likely noticed an upswing in the hysteria surrounding Skype for BlackBerry 10. Initially released on BlackBerry World for the Q10 with a ‘coming soon’ for the Z10, it didn’t take long for the Z10 to get some Skype love through a downloadable bar file. Well, of course I had to try it out and give it a once through to see if this download is rocking and rolling or just a hopeful dream.
As you can see, it works! I have to say it works fairly well also! The person in the picture is using an Android device and actually had the Skype app freeze on her while mine just plugged along nicely. That said, my experience with the side loaded Skype app on my Z10 has been very good overall.
Signing in and maneuvering around the menus is very simple and self-explanatory. Once signed in, it took a few minutes to sync my contacts, and doing a search required some patience, but it did eventually work. The top left is the main functional tab while a swipe down from the top bezel brings up a bottom panel that you can access settings, about and help by tapping the three dot tab at the bottom right of the screen.
The quality of the video is decent. While not up to BBM Video Chat standards, Skype on the Z10 is acceptable. It was responsive and there was very little, if any delay in the feed. Be patient when making a call. Once connected, it takes a few seconds for both video feeds to go live. I could hear the other side and see them, but they couldn’t see me for about 3-5 seconds after the video call was connected. But once connected, everything worked as detailed. The sound quality was also just decent for me. Not call quality good but not under a water tunnel bad either.
Ultimately, I would say this app is rocking and rolling. I am not a huge Skype user, having only started late last year to use it to keep in touch with family, but having the mobility that Skype on my Z10 gives me, may have me using Skype a bit more. Of course I much prefer the BBM Video chat option, but would have no qualms about using the Skype app when necessary.