How to really close Skype on the Samsung Galaxy S2

 Although the Skype application on the Samsung Galaxy S2 is an excellent app allowing for free calls and free video calls however it is flawed and you may notice that even when you log out the app is still running in the background after you use it. This means that even though you are logged out and not using it the app will still be slowly draining down the phones battery and using up processing power.

So to actually close Skype using just the phone you will need to go into the settings screen (press menu on the home screen) and follow the rest of this guide which will see you closing the process much like you would do on a computer. From the Settings menu you will need to select "Applications" option.

Inside the Applications menu you need to select the "Running services" menu which should be near the top by default. Make sure you then select the "Running" tab from along the the top of the screen before finding "Skype" which should be running "1 Process and 1 Service" (see below left). Whilst it is still running
it will be using up some of the RAM (which can cause other programs to run slowly) and cause the battery to drain slightly quicker. What you need to from this screen is select the "Skype" app.

After selecting the Skype application you will see a screen like the one on the right hand side with the option to "Stop". Selecting stop will close the application for good and help you maintain the battery life and the full processing power.

How to make Skype video calls with the Samsung Galaxy S2

One of the few complaints with the Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone on release date was that the Skype app didn't allow video calls, this has however been sorted out thanks to to a new update for the app. Before you attempt to make a free video call through Skype with the phone make sure to update the application to the newest version (at the time of writing it is version 2.1.0.46.)
First you need to login into the app, you may need to create a Skype account if you've not already got one this is easily done via a computer (though I'm not sure on setting one up via the phone it's self).

After logging into Skype you will see the menu screen that the app uses. You can select "Contacts", "Recent", "Call phones" and "Profile" as well as a search function (top right) and a text entry part to enter your status. If you wish to play about then fantastic! Though the option you need to select to make video
calls is the "Contacts" option which will open your contact list.
Sadly as you can see in the screenshot to the left I've not got many contacts on my Skype account (having only created it for the purposes of this guide) though you need to select the contact that you are wishing to call.

 Whilst in the contact screen (see right) you will notice 3 options
you can make a "Skype call" a "Skype video call" or "Send IM" (a plain text type message such as you would use on MSN or Facebook chat). The option you need to select here is the "Skype video call" option (rather predictably) and, as long as the other contact accepts the call you'll manage to make the call.

Remember however that the other contact will need to be logged into an account and on a device capable of receiving and sending video calls (A PC or a phone with similar capabilities). When using a Samsung Galaxy S2 you'll be using the phones front facing 2MP camera and also able to see your contact on the screen.

Remember when using this that you will need an internet connection, preferably a high speed 3G (or even 4G) connection or a good and stable Wi-Fi connection. If you are using a mobile internet connection make sure you keep an eye on your usage as you may end up incurring a data charge, however the function of making video calls through Skype it's self is free. You will usually notice that using Wi-Fi will allow a smoother call than using mobile internet though even using 3G should allow a smooth and solid call.

How do you manually call someone with a Samsung Galaxy S2?

Sadly with being a bit "technically advanced" I've sort of ignored the simple things with this website so far so now we'll take a look at one of the most simple things we could possibly want to do with the Samsung Galaxy S2, making calls. Of course despite the Android operating system, the Super AMOLED Plus screen and it's ravenous dual core processor the Samsung Galaxy S2 is essentially, a phone and phones are there to make phone calls.
To start we press the "Phone" icon on the home screen. By default the phone icon will be shown on every home screen on the bottom left corner (if you've rooted your phone it may be possible that you've moved it). Pressing the phone icon opens a screen like the one to the left. From here you enter the phone number you wish to call. This is the "manual part" of the call (as opposed to calling a contact).

When you've completed entering the number and any area code you may need to enter press on the small green phone icon. Press on the green icon will see an option screen
popping up allowing you to either use the dialer to make the call or "SkypeOut". If you've got free minutes or wish to just make a normal phone call you will usually use the "Dialer" option though if you've got a connection to wi-fi using SkyeOut could be a better option for you.


Of course if your contact is stored on your phone you can click contacts and call through either the dialer contact tab or the normal contact app from the homescreen with the same option to call via Skype or the Dialer.