Land of Droid 
Skype redesigned its Android app to work better on tablets, well, apparently they haven’t done it good enough as users are complaining that the update is affecting performance.
Skype for Android 3.0, released on Tuesday, has been built to take advantage of the extra screen size offered by tablets, the company said.
But users on smartphones are now also having problems, whereas before this update it was running pretty smoothly.
Like other apps we’ve seen, a dedicated tablet app works better and, does not impact on smartphones like this new version, let alone various tablets makes and models.
Derek Snyder, head of mobile product marketing at Skype, said in a blog post
“With so many now using tablets to make video and voice calls with Skype, this latest version is optimized to scale to your tablet’s bigger screen, so you can experience Skype on a larger display wherever you go,”
The redesign has a two-column layout, with frequently used Skype options (such as contacts, calling and messages) on the left and an active call/video stream on the right.
However, a number of users have complained in reviews section of the app’s listing on Google Play that the redesign doesn’t let them use the app in portrait mode for smaller tablets like the Nexus 7.
User ‘Omair’ Asus Nexus 7
It’s downright horrible for the nexus 7 where most people use portrait to type in. I’d rather look for the older apk and downgrade. This was a disaster. Look up “Skype apk 2.9.0.315″ on Google and download it if anyone wants to downgrade back to when it was good.
User ‘Jeffrey’ Asus Nexus 7
“Why no portrait Google Nexus 7? What a disaster update. How can I downgrade? Please help.” Others reported a slowdown in performance, or strange behaviour such as inverted video streams, dropped calls and crashes.
User ‘Can’ HTC One X
“The video chat is impossible to use for communication, data sent back and forth is so slow that it is not very probable you can get a glimpse of the person you are trying to talk to, also, whenever I sign in, leave Skype open and then return back to see which contacts are on, the app just simply crashes. In order to see them, I need to login again. This is not good,”
Can noted.
User ‘Rick’ Motorola XOOM
No longer works with Bluetooth on the Motorola Xoom. Is that possible? What were you guys trying to fix?
Skype for Android 3.0 introduces support for its own wide-band audio codec, called Silk.
“Silk was designed to capture the richness of human speech. It copes well with the often varying speeds of internet connections, ensuring that the audio quality is always the best it can be,” Snyder said. “That way, Skype will deliver the best possible audio on your tablet, even with a shaky connection.”
Microsoft — owner of Skype since May 2011 — earlier in November it will start merging the Skype service with Windows Live Messenger. As part of this move, the new Skype app allows users to log in using their Microsoft credentials.
