Skype for Android 2.0.0.45 adds video calling

Download Skype for Android 2.0 from the Android Market. Available for Skype users in all markets, all wireless operators.

Its new one-to-one video calling features require a user-facing camera; if you have two cameras, you can use both and switch between cameras during a call. [Look-at-me! Look-at-that! Look-at-me!] Skype has yet to offer group video calling on mobiles.

Android Skype users enjoy better integration with the phone’s native address book than their iOS cousins. You can launch a Skype call directly from the address book. iPhone users cannot.

A new user interface looks deliciously iPhone-like. So does the video advert below, with its white backgrounds, folksy music, and shiny actors. The Skype client shown loads and works very fast compared to my own experience. Reminder to self: must buy a more muscular Android phone and cut a thousand people from my Skype contacts.

Android Fragmentation Alert: Video may not work on your Android phone or tablet. You need Android v2.1 on most phones and v2.2 on Samsung Galaxy S. Skype says they’ve tested video on: Google Nexus S, HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia pro handsets.

Battery Note: The app will stay open in the background so you can still receive Skype IMs and phone calls. sangolt88 commented on YouTube “Still no freakin exit button? lol.” So “Please sign out of Skype to close the application” if you need to preserve battery life.

Screenshots below the fold…