Nimbuzz/Skype Breakup: from your point of view

Last week we announced that Skype will no longer be accessible via Nimbuzz starting October 31, 2010, because they asked us to remove support for their service.

The news spread like fire and in no time was the top story on  TechCrunch, GigaOm, VentureBeat, TheInquirer and many other mobile blogs.

Here is what the media had to say about this:

“Nimbuzz is not a small player in the mobile messenger / VoIP space either, any way you look at it. The startup recently announced that it has surpassed 150 million downloads and has 30 million registered users across all major mobile operating systems. Moreover, Nimbuzz claims 3.65 billion mobile voice minutes have been logged over the past year.” – Robin Wauters, TechCrunch

“It used to be that Skype represented an alternative to the totalitarian rule that traditional telecom companies/carriers.  Now, with moves like this, the Internet telephony company is just proving to be just another phone company.” – TechCraver

Most of the readers were surprised by Skype decision and disappointed at the same time. For a lot of people Nimbuzz provided a stable connection to Skype and in some cases (i.e. Android and Symbian) it was the only way they could use their Skype account.

While most of our readers were supportive about this change, there were a few people that said they will look for another solution.

We understand your reactions and frustration but we hope you will choose what’s best for you. We hope you will demand more from your mobile phone, and see that Nimbuzz offers you a better solution and a more complete set of tools to manage your online communication.

And this is what you had to say on the blog and the Nimbuzz Facebook page:

“Truly bad news for Skype but good news for Nimbuzz. Your rates are good and even some better than Skype.” Joao Luis

“For me this breakup means that I will not use Nimbuzz anymore.” – Davide

“Won’t miss Skype. Folks should invite friends on Skype to Sign Up on Nimbuzz. Nimbuzz rocks. None like it for chatting.”

Although the Skype removal was unfortunate this was just a piece of the greater puzzle.

With Nimbuzz you still can:

  • Make free Nimbuzz to Nimbuzz calls
  • Make cheap calls to mobile phones and landlines worldwide with NimbuzzOut (similar to SkypeOut, but cheaper :D )
  • Chat for free with all your friends
  • Send and receive files (music, photos and doc) on your mobile
  • Connect to your friends on Facebook, MSN, Yahoo,  Gtalk, MySpace and more.

Nimbuzz is designed to be a true new-generation open mobile service ;) .

PS: As always if you any feedback we are here to help. Also we would like to remind you that you can always use the Nimbuzz Forum knowledge base to get a fast answer to your questions. Besides our support team we have some really active users like formidable and Mr. Kevin ;) ) that can help you out.

Image credits goes to: Erik Johansson

Andrei Piftor (Andi) on November 2nd, 2010 in News

39 Responses to “Nimbuzz/Skype Breakup: from your point of view”

  1. the good thing about nimbuzz is that it connect you to all voip apps in 1 time
    you dont need to open then 1 by 1
    i 1st used it on nokia n97 when i found out their is no skype or msn for n97
    nimbuzz had it all
    i would still use it sure but its real shame that skype will nt be tere any more

    shay November 2nd, 2010

  2. Nimbuzz cons :
    1.multi provider chat interface,
    2.no advertisement over status update like ebuddy or fring,
    3.easier to scroll through chat, and chat history,(unlike skype u have to press 2 times on the name of the person then type a character to open chat box then type ur message, nimbuzz much easier)
    4.quick to sign in,less disconnect time,
    5 rates of nimbuzz phone out are clearly cheaper than skype and everything in US dollars,not like skype,different currencies for each users,some with taxes some no.

    6.skype doesn’t have offline message, while nimbuzz through yahoo, and msn has offline messaging in case u disconnect

    please consider my reply as i’m heavy user of nimbuzz

    regards
    nadim

    nadim sleilaty November 2nd, 2010

  3. This completely sucks because the skype application doesn’t work on the Samsung galaxy s i9000. Nimbuzz was what I used to talk to my family and friends back in the states. I guess there is no need to keep supporting skype now.

    /Nicci
    in Sweden

    Nicci November 2nd, 2010

  4. Nimbuzz is already providing the service that skype provides..Infact Nimbuzz gives more power to my phone than the skype!…
    I have both the apps installed,i rearly use skype! But Nimbuzz it connects me to the world MAN!! each moment :D wid my frenz n family..Really happy to use Nimbuzz…twin thumbs up! to the guys over there on the Nimbuzz ;) ……..it ROCKS!!

    John November 3rd, 2010

  5. after hearing the news, I bought nimbuzz out credit for the first time. but im not satisfied with the voice quality and reliability or stability. it sometimes fails to connect and often disconnects in the middle of conversation. i was not able to try the voice quality before i buy the credit and there seems to be no way to get refund. i often call to my friend in the philippines. even though nimbuzz claims its cheaper than skype, the price is about the same or skype is a bit cheaper. so skype is better for me and i will not buy nimbuzz credit again.
    and after the change, i get annoying error message about skype everytime i start up nimbuzz.

    takashi November 3rd, 2010

  6. I usually spent $10 every month with skype from nimbuzz.
    That means another SIP company will get my money.

    Dumb decision from skype (as their app for android is slow and unusable)

    Dandandin November 3rd, 2010

  7. the original skype for the other than andriod and iphone sucks. I already invited my contacts to nimbuzz.

    stak bundles November 3rd, 2010

  8. @takashi
    Thanks for your feedback, note sometimes the call quality depends on your network and the one from the person you are calling.
    @nadim
    Thansk for your comment, much appreciated.
    Kind Regards

    queralt escrich November 3rd, 2010

  9. I love nimbuzz…. and i dont like skype…..

    payman November 3rd, 2010

  10. Well for me it is the end of nimbuzz on my android phone…to bad!

    Racker November 3rd, 2010

  11. Great…….who needs Skype anyway.

    Come to XeloQ Communications and enjoy savings up to 95%.

    See you at http://www.XeloQ.com or http://www.XeloQ.nl

    Regards,
    Team XeloQ Communications

    XeloQ November 3rd, 2010

  12. i think nimbuzz should work to improve their sound quality
    i used fring a it was sounding better a had video seport as well
    i like better to use nimbuzz a i will be happy if they improve thse things
    sorry for my english spelling…that needs to improve to…:)

    shay November 3rd, 2010

  13. For me, this is an opportunity for nimbuzz to prove, how great and effective NimbuzzOut is… Through marketing, quality services and delivering customer satisfaction.
    Btw, nice image! ^_^

    Mr.Kevin November 3rd, 2010

  14. I’m fond of Nimbuzz, but until NimbuzzOut can offer subscriptions for unlimited calling to the US and Canada and dial-in phone numbers in the US at least, it isn’t a viable alternative to Skype for me.

    You guys should totally do those things!!!

    UniqueCrash5 November 3rd, 2010

  15. @uniquecrash5
    Thanks for your feedback, we will consider offering this service in the future.
    Cheers

    queralt escrich November 4th, 2010

  16. I thought “No problem, I’ll get the Skype client for my Nokia E71″. Downloaded it, fired it up, and my goodness it’s awful compared to Nimbuzz. Really awful. It doesn’t log in automatically, and, unlike Nimbuzz, when you start typing you lose the first character you type. And I won’t mention the periodic freezes where it won’t let you do anything until it ultimately crashes. Who designed this piece of rubbish??

    I’ve actually just given up using Skype IM on my phone altogether because it’s now a horrendous user experience. Thanks for nothing, Skype!

    NickDV November 4th, 2010

  17. just proves that skype has a ‘do-evil’ approach and with that not caring for the best interest of the end-consumer. i wish nimbuzz all the success and hope they remember in future days of success not to let down their supporters. i’ve been using skype for a long time and see this as a reason to not use them anymore. it was so easy to just use skype from nimbuzz that it could only be in their interest!

    indion November 5th, 2010

  18. Really bad move Skype… rather than move to your app, I WILL find an alternative. Add in stuff like Picture/file sending to iPhone and MAYBEE I’ll come back. Isolating yourself from open use, only, well.. Isolates you. Skype management, you want direct feedback? You know my Skype address (not that hard to work out…)

    Tensai Hilra November 5th, 2010

  19. Nimbuzz is good… but you can’t compare NimbuzzOut to Skypeout because Skype is so much cheaper: E.g. Unlimited calls for ~5 bucks / month. I know it’s not possible for Nimbuzz … but I only care for the price. Sorry.

    Devon November 5th, 2010

  20. That is sad :( The Skype mobile doesn’t work on my phone (hopefully will after upgrading it) but it was so convenient to use it with Nimbuzz.

    Anastasia November 5th, 2010

  21. I guess that’s pretty much the end of Nimbuzz for me. Apart from the emotional outbursts I am seeing in comments, I must say most of the people will eventually forget Nimbuzz, as soon as they find an alternative way to use skype. I quit Fring and I guess I will quit Nimbuzz too. Sad but inevitable :(

    Faisal November 5th, 2010

  22. I am sure that will be Skype for Android in future.Nimbuzz is history.

    Mirokado November 5th, 2010

  23. A very shortsighted move on Skype’s part. I use Nimbuzz because it allows me to aggregate all my messaging and VOIP in one program. I DON’T use Skype because their balloons and hearts sign-on page is totally unprofessional.

    David November 5th, 2010

  24. Skype is terrible application with really poor User experience and not to mention how heavy is actually.

    I’m always prefer something more light and fast like Numbuzz or Adium – well Nimbuzz is my favorite for symbian mobiles.

    It brings more quality with his “..Out ” service than skype

    vlado November 6th, 2010

  25. its sad that skype are being the way they are. Theyre symbian app feels heavy n bloated so nimbuzz was a great way to use their service. I hope nimbuzz continues n improves as it is currently well designed and has great potential. It probably needs a free vid calling service to prevent ppl flooding to fring. But i will continue using nimbuzz for msn anyway

    uk guy November 6th, 2010

  26. Bye bye Skype! Since my network operator wants 5 Euro more per month for using Skype on my mobile I’m moving to Nimbuzz Out now.

    JM November 9th, 2010

  27. Used to use Skype-to-Skype and Facebook chat on Nimbuzz all the time from my phone. Now I can barely find use for Nimbuzz on my phone. I would love to try convert everyone to Nimbuzz chat but they won’t do it, it took forever just to get my contacts on Skype. Pretty freeking LAME on Skypes behalf if you ask me. Anyways Nimbuzz you were awesome while you were useful, thanks for the service. Frustrating…not sure where to go now.

    ROFL November 12th, 2010

  28. i hate skype

    kostas November 15th, 2010

  29. They did this with Fring and now Nimbuzz… the Skype app on my Nokia N95 8Gb does not work! How can I use Skype now?

    Emyr Wyn Morris November 17th, 2010

  30. This sucks so bad. Support for many social platforms is the main reason I use Nimbuzz, I don’t want to install separate app for every “¤%# social service. Nimbuzz and FB is enough. This means no more using skype for me, atleast not from my iPhone.

    blarblar November 20th, 2010

  31. i do like to use skype to talk to friends outside the uk and that was one of the main reasons for me getting nimbuzz, i could spend hours complaing about the loss of skype and there app not supporting my phone but it would be pointless skype is cutting off other companys like nimbuzz and fring hoping it will lure people to only use there apps ( even if they dont work for there cumstomers) nimbuzz works with my phone has not crashed on me yet and logs me into msn and yahoo the 2 main clients i need so skype if you are Snooping you have just lost Another customer Well done, maybe you should try and sell some skype t-shirts and mouse mats to try and get some money back into the company

    poto November 23rd, 2010

  32. I have Nokia X3-02 which has Internet telephony, but how to use it for Nimbuzz. Anyone ?

    x3-02 November 27th, 2010

  33. @x3-02
    Thanks for your interest.
    Could you be more specific? which kind of help/guidance do you need?
    Let us know

    queralt escrich November 30th, 2010

  34. Sorry Nimbuzz! But you are useless now, I need skype. All the best!

    Stan December 11th, 2010

  35. why nimbuzz not open skype in mobile

    anwar December 15th, 2010

  36. @anwar
    We no longer support this comunity, more info here:
    http://blog.nimbuzz.com/2010/10/25/what-the-skypenimbuzz-breakup-means-to-you/
    Cheers

    queralt escrich December 15th, 2010

  37. imo.im still has Skype access on smart phones or via the web… That will be my preferred app from now on.

    Donat Cllanes December 17th, 2010

  38. THANKS TO THE DOWNLOADED NIMBUZZ I LOST JUST BY ENTERING MY CELLPHONE NUMBER BY NOW 50€uros WITHOUT EVEN DOING THE SLIGHTEST THING!!!!!!!!!!! HOW THE HECK CAN THAT HAPPEN I EXPECT A SOON ANSWER!!!!!

    Krishna March 18th, 2011

  39. @Krishna
    We strongly recommend you to check directly with your network provider and discuss your bill.
    The application is free to download and use. Nimbuzz requires a data connection, and operator data costs will apply. For this reason we recommend you to have a flat rate data plan or free WiFi hot-spot available to be able to use the full benefits of the application without data charges.
    Regards

    queralt escrich March 18th, 2011


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