• GigaOm, Friday, March 27, 2009 11:31 AM

Skype is apparently close to launching an iPhone version of its P2P voice and IM service, says Om Malik.

"A tipster -- a very reliable one -- tells me that Skype is almost ready to launch that iPhone version, perhaps as soon as next week," he says, adding that the announcement will likely come at next week's CTIA Wireless event in Las Vegas. Skype already offers a Windows Mobile version of its client.

"As I've said before, Skype will have to turn to mobile to keep its growth intact," says Malik. He points out that services like iSkoot have stopped supporting Skype in recent months, while others, like Truphone and Nimbuzz, have added the service to their communication clients. Despite this activity, "a standalone Skype client would get a lot of traction among the Skype faithful," says Malik. "In the meantime, I think Skype is slowly flexing its muscles and swatting away little VoIP players with some of its recent moves."

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