4 ms·

Fring’s mis-use of Skype software was damaging to our brand and reputation

23 points by rpledge 16y ago

tptacek 16y ago
Reading between the lines, one take: "we didn't block them, but we told them we were going to."
- TallGuyShort 16y ago
  I do think that's a fundamental difference though. Skype claims there was a ToS violation, and they had been trying to resolve the issue with Fring. If that's the case, hypocritical or not, it's unfair of Fring to announce that they were blocked, implicitly with no warning. Admittedly, there's two sides to every story, and it's pretty hard to see the facts through either side, here.
drivebyacct2 16y ago
What a joke: "On Friday, for example, Fring withdrew support for video calls over Skype on iOS 4 without warning, again damaging our brand and disappointing our customers, who have high expectations of the Skype experience." Right, which is why Skype on Android is abizmally bland, has no support for any sort of video chat, is only available on Verizon, and doesn't work on Wifi. Oh, and your iPhone client has a great video experience right? You blocked fring because it doesn't support the Skype experience, which you're defining as including video support. Hypocrite much? XMPP and Facetime need to get with it.
- dcurtis 16y ago
  This has nothing to do with features or platforms. Fring said it was based on Skype, it provided a bad experience, and therefore damaged the brand of Skype. Skype has every right - an obligation, really - to protect its brand.
  - Pengwin 16y ago
    Fring for android wasn't that bad, i found it quite alright to use. I used Fring for one main reason: Skype has no Android client. Now that Fring doesn't do Skype there is no way for me to use Skype on Android. That is probably hurting their business just as much.
    - eli 16y ago
      Maybe true, but it's Skype's call to make not yours.
petercooper 16y ago
The comments are the most interesting part there. It's OK for Skype to defend itself against erroneous claims, but if they're not going to step up and produce the clients that their customers want, their customers are going to remain ticked off.
Malcx 16y ago
Android user since day one here and had skype lite on my g1. I upgraded to the HTC Desire and while it's a great phone, the official skype app is unavailable in the uk marketplace for this specific model - I've no idea why, so I've been using fring, but now I'm starting to have my first gripe with the Android experience...
- redorb 16y ago
  Why is your gripe with Android and not Skype or Fring?
  - Malcx 16y ago
    It's with skype primarily - and certainly not with android, but with the "android experience" I.e. in this case, upgrading my phone means LESS features.
risotto 16y ago
Fring sucks. It shows a lot of promise but its buggy as hell and it killed my battery. I hope it's not representative of other background VOIP apps. Next question: where is the official Skype iOS4 app?
paul9290 16y ago
Skype sold it's soul to Verizon with their crippled Verizon mobile app.
woodall 16y ago
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this like Twitter telling Tweetdeck that their application is horrible- I have never used it, just an example- and that they will no longer allow them to use their API?
- ja27 16y ago
  Maybe, but only if Brighthouse Cable was paying Twitter to only offer the official Twitter client to Brighthouse customers.

23 points by rpledge 16y ago

tptacek 16y ago

Reading between the lines, one take: "we didn't block them, but we told them we were going to."

TallGuyShort 16y ago
I do think that's a fundamental difference though. Skype claims there was a ToS violation, and they had been trying to resolve the issue with Fring. If that's the case, hypocritical or not, it's unfair of Fring to announce that they were blocked, implicitly with no warning. Admittedly, there's two sides to every story, and it's pretty hard to see the facts through either side, here.

drivebyacct2 16y ago

What a joke: "On Friday, for example, Fring withdrew support for video calls over Skype on iOS 4 without warning, again damaging our brand and disappointing our customers, who have high expectations of the Skype experience." Right, which is why Skype on Android is abizmally bland, has no support for any sort of video chat, is only available on Verizon, and doesn't work on Wifi. Oh, and your iPhone client has a great video experience right? You blocked fring because it doesn't support the Skype experience, which you're defining as including video support. Hypocrite much? XMPP and Facetime need to get with it.

dcurtis 16y ago
This has nothing to do with features or platforms. Fring said it was based on Skype, it provided a bad experience, and therefore damaged the brand of Skype. Skype has every right - an obligation, really - to protect its brand.
- Pengwin 16y ago
  Fring for android wasn't that bad, i found it quite alright to use. I used Fring for one main reason: Skype has no Android client. Now that Fring doesn't do Skype there is no way for me to use Skype on Android. That is probably hurting their business just as much.
  - eli 16y ago
    Maybe true, but it's Skype's call to make not yours.

petercooper 16y ago

The comments are the most interesting part there. It's OK for Skype to defend itself against erroneous claims, but if they're not going to step up and produce the clients that their customers want, their customers are going to remain ticked off.

Malcx 16y ago

Android user since day one here and had skype lite on my g1. I upgraded to the HTC Desire and while it's a great phone, the official skype app is unavailable in the uk marketplace for this specific model - I've no idea why, so I've been using fring, but now I'm starting to have my first gripe with the Android experience...

redorb 16y ago
Why is your gripe with Android and not Skype or Fring?
- Malcx 16y ago
  It's with skype primarily - and certainly not with android, but with the "android experience" I.e. in this case, upgrading my phone means LESS features.

risotto 16y ago

Fring sucks. It shows a lot of promise but its buggy as hell and it killed my battery. I hope it's not representative of other background VOIP apps. Next question: where is the official Skype iOS4 app?

paul9290 16y ago

Skype sold it's soul to Verizon with their crippled Verizon mobile app.

woodall 16y ago

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this like Twitter telling Tweetdeck that their application is horrible- I have never used it, just an example- and that they will no longer allow them to use their API?

ja27 16y ago
Maybe, but only if Brighthouse Cable was paying Twitter to only offer the official Twitter client to Brighthouse customers.