Skype me for 3

29/10/2007 at 20:32

I was in the post office this afternoon and my phone rang, but it wasn’t a normal call, it was Sue starting a Skype chat on our new Skypephones. No computers, no wires, and I wasn’t even aware I was connected to the Internet but Sue was – she could see my online Skype presence and knew I was contactable. Michael van Swaaij, acting CEO of Skype said of the new Skypephone, “Finally you can put Skype in your pocket”, and how true that is.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited over a new mobile handset, but I am with this one. It’s not the phone itself, which is a remarkable sleek and sexy design with a magnetic catch for the battery cover. It’s not the 2.0 megapixel camera, the MP3 player or all the normal extras that people expect on their phones today. It’s the fact that for the very first time “Free” calls really are “Free”.

3 include 4,000 free Skype minutes and 10,000 free Skype chat messages in your monthly tariff, and that includes Pay As You Go customers. For as little as £10 a month you can talk for free on Skype, and normal mobile calls and text messages will still only cost 12p/minute

Rather than the a Wi-Fi connection, the Skypephone uses the 3G telephone network. With the 3 mobile network that gives me coverage of at least 90% of the UK, Wi-Fi just can’t compete. Any time I have a 3G connection Skype, is automatically logged in and I can send and receive calls without being tied to a computer, or even to a fixed Internet connection.

The Skypephone from 3 aims to deliver services that customers want at a price point their willing to pay and above all to be useable. Kevin Russell CEO of 3 UK said the Skypephone ticks all those boxes. 3 aim to be the first mobile media company to start delivering service propositions which can change the market, and integrating Skype with free calls and free chat is a great way to attract new customers.

So who’s going to use the Skypephone? Well first and foremost eBay sellers shouldn’t be without one. Anyone who uses Skype in their eBay listings can now be online as much as they like for customers to contact them. Then for small businesses the Skypephone will be invaluable – any company with mobile workers can now talk for free without needing to sign up for call plans with inclusive minutes.

Where the Skypephone will really win though will be with the younger customers. How many teenagers are constantly running out of credit on their phones? With the Skypephone you can top up £10 per month and so long as your friends are on Skype you can talk for free for hours!

What really makes this phone special is that Skype isn’t an add on, it’s fully integrated into the handset. There’s no need to log into Skype, even the address book integrates your traditional telephone contacts with your Skype contacts.

If colours are your thing the Skypephone comes in a choice of black, or white and blue or pink. It’s available for pre-order now, or you can buy it from 3 Stores from the 2nd November or on the Skype and 3 websites.

The one and only downside of the Skypephone is that it doesn’t yet support SkypeIn and SkypeOut. Michael van Swaaij assured me that those services will be added in the future and that will make this the best mobile handset available.

This phone is going to be a winner for 3, because as soon as you’ve made and received your first Skype call you’re never going to want to lose the service. If you switch to another mobile provider you’ll lose your free chat, free voice calls and your online presence, which lets your friends know you’re available to talk to. Imagine that, going off line! It’s so 2006!

PS…. if you want my new mobile phone number you don’t need it – SkypeMe instead!