“It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited over a new mobile handset, but I am with this one” gushes Chris Dawson in this 3 Skypephone post on his eBay related blog TameBay, and thus sets out his stall of appreciation for the new 3/Skype device which continues throughout the article.

Alongside his appreciation for the aesthetics of the phone “a remarkable sleek and sexy design with a magnetic catch for the battery cover”, and the fact that for the first time “free calls are actually free” - of particular interest to Chris is the use that these phones could have for small businesses who operate primarily on eBay.

After all, in ‘the world’s most popular online marketplace’, Skype is now a useful tool for dedicated sellers, and as Chris points out “anyone who uses Skype in their eBay listings can now be online as much as they like for customers to contact them”. Similarly, as far as other online (and offline) small business are concerned, “any company with mobile workers can now talk for free without needing to sign up for call plans with inclusive minutes.”

Too true, and amongst the “younger mobile customers and those who are consistently running out of credit”, Chris believes that “as soon as you’ve made and received your first Skype call you’re never going to want to lose the service.” Oh, and if you need his new mobile number, he says “you don’t need it – Skype me instead!”

Oh, and while you’re browsing TameBay, take a moment to check this post, which gives details of 3’s charity eBay auction – offering the chance to become one of the first to own the new 3 Skypephone, with all profits going to charity.