Skype’s screens are well organized and use the iPhone’s ability to add filters, for instance, to sort your contacts alphabetically, or by who’s online. There’s chatting as well, though Skype’s flagship feature is its VoIP calling that’s free to other Skype users and an inexpensive per-minute fee to landlines. Calls on Skype for iPhone work only if you’re in range of a Wi-Fi network, so your call quality will in part be at the mercy and strength of wireless networks nearby–calls will not work over the cell phone network on the iPhone (but chatting will.) Assuming your connection is solid, you can dial a number or quickly call a contacts stored in your address book. During a call, you can mute the line, go on hold, or put the call on speakerphone.

This represents yet another step away from cell phone networks, and embracing traditional web connectivity as the be-all and end-all.

Related posts:

1. Palm Pre: on the heals of the iPhone
2. Google Voice converts Voicemail to Text
3. Designing the Palm Pre: An interview with Michelle Koh