by Todd Pheifer

Created on: March 26, 2010

The long-awaited partnership between Skype and Verizon has come to fruition, and fans of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that Skype uses will now be able to use it on their phone.  Initially, Verizon stated that it will be available on nine of it's smartphones, but that number will likely grow as time goes on.  As much as people love their cell phones, they do not necessarily like the costs associated with deluxe phone services.  The partnership with Skype may provide a number of benefits to current and future Verizon customers, including the possibility of cost-savings.  Here are a few details on how Skype will benefit Verizon customers.

Saving those minutes

The main potential benefit for using Skype on the Verizon phone is that customers will theoretically be able to make calls without using up their minutes or their data plan allocations.  This could be a major plus for Verizon customers, particularly those that are on their phone a great deal.  For individuals as well as businesses, there exists the possibility that they may be able to drop to cheaper plans and leverage the availability of Skype.  Granted, people have to keep in mind that Skype has limitations, which means that it will not necessarily be the same as making a regular call through Verizon. 

International savings

Another benefit to Skype is that it connects people all over the world.  Verizon customers will be able to use Skype to make international calls, and it will theoretically be cheaper than international calls through Verizon.  This is another piece of good news for consumers and small businesses, particularly since the global community has become so dependent on digital communication.  It is very common for people to talk to their friends and family on the other side of the globe, and the same is true for businesses that deal with customers in distant countries. 

Working in the background

Finally, one other benefit to the Skype app on Verizon phones is that it can be used simultaneously with other programs.  There is a Skype app for the Apple iPhone, but it is not capable of multitasking, which means that it has to be a dedicated program.  The Verizon smartphones can have Skype running in the background while other things are being done.  This allows people to pull up other programs and information but still keep the Skype program running in case people want to call in.  Overall, this will be an interesting application and it may change the way that Verizon users make calls in the future. 

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