December 2007

Beth having been a “child of the 90s” was all about the MSN, but in her new job role was required to set up Skype and get au fait with the service. Good news - as it was something she achieved rapidly, and to use her own words, is now “whizzing messages around the office like a true pro.”

This has all stood her in good stead for her latest venture - the 3 Skypephone. Sadly lacking in contacts, currently standing at 5 (that was a week ago however), Beth admits to having almost allowed Skype to pass her by. Now though, tooled up with her device and her retro “brick” phone resigned to paperweight, she is “raring to go!”

We await the report upon her experiences with anticipation.

Also Beth, Windows Live Messenger is now available on the 3 Skypephone, so no reason to lose contact with your friends from the ’90s - That would be a good name for a band…

Jez McKean of the blog ‘Recursive’, has given 3mobilebuzz a mention in his latest post.

Discussing his trial of the 3 Skypephone, Jez looks at the strategy behind it, the progressive nature of it and the associated risks that come with undertaking such a campaign. 3mobilebuzz is referred to in the positive, “You can also see that they’re [3mobilebuzz] being fair with the selection of linked blog articles - some have negative points about the phone.” Conversation in this vein is always nice to read, and interestingly, Recursive has put the decision of whether to review the device to his readers. If you think he should, then he only asks you leave him a comment telling him so. I’d suggest, is there not more to do than simply review?

The image by the way is from Jez’s about page.

Stuart Bruce of ‘A PR Guy’s Musings’ has, by his own admission, been slow when it comes to collating his 3 Skypephone thoughts into digital prose for his blog. It has however been worth the wait as he has created a precise and informative job of passing on some knowledge.

Referring to the call quality as “fantastic”, Stuart promises us more on the phone that he believes is “great”. “It’s really well designed and feels like a quality piece of kit.” He is careful to state a couple of things he’d probably like to see improved, giving the initial review an equal balance.

Anyway, we look forward to reading more. To get up to speed before the next installment, read his post here.

Alasdair gives his impression so far over at the the ‘Daily ACK’ on the 3 Skypephone.

So what is his impression? Well, his only gripe is the 3G coverage. The network doesn’t stretch to a proportion of the most common locations that Alasdair finds himself, and this somewhat limits the usability of Skype function. This does not however, deter him from offering praise for the device, not only commenting that the Skype calls he has made have been of good quality - but also that “if you live in central London, and you use Skype, go out and buy yourself and your family some phones.”

You heard!

He also adds an analysis from a personal perspective. “The phone itself is pretty nice, it works as advertised, but at least for me, 3’s coverage doesn’t extend to anywhere I really need to be…”

‘SEO Expert - Adam Ok’ has been testing out the 3 Skypephone’s 2 megapixel camera. Although the camera does not feature a flash light, something that he feels hampers the phone in low light conditions, he believes that “shots taken in bright light conditions come out quite good.”

There are couple of the pictures he has taken below and there are more here.

Bernie ‘topgold’ Goldbach at Inside View from Ireland has added the 3 Skypephone to his daily kit, which takes his total of devices on him to three… Boy is this guy connected. And it seems that this initial introduction of the handset to his everyday life has resulted in a list of four first impressions.

Each is insightful and will be welcomed by those using the device already and the prospective 3 Skypephone owner. One of the points made, is that if you are having trouble connecting to a Skype contact for the first time, initiate the conversation via chat. Once the connection is made, subsequent voice Skype calls are made easily. This is definitely worth some investigation, and if you have any thoughts on this or any other of his observations, then leave a comment beneath or over at Inside View.

Windows Live Messenger is now available on the 3 Skypephone, meaning that short and sweet conversational exchanges to friends who aren’t available for Skype chat are now possible.

This news is being discussed at the 3 Skypephone forum in this thread, and the details of how to access it are nestled within this one.

Why hesitate, head to the 3 Skypephone’s launcher and download it now…

Brakenjan was worried about there potentially being “hidden costs” involved with the 3 Skypephone, and to quell concerns decided to post in the 3 Skypephone forum.

The precise response came through after less than a hour, providing the information that to continue using the Skype service on the device from one month to the next simply requires a £10 top-up of call credit. No hidden costs whatsoever!

A forum in positive, dynamic action - excellent!

Damien Mulley, who has been experimenting with the 3 Skypephone and has been talking to ‘Morning Ireland’ about the device.

The interview can be heard here at the ‘Morning Ireland’ homepage. Going into detail about the Skype functionality and what it means in terms of altering the habitual ways people use their mobile devices, leads into conversation on the likelihood of other service providers following 3’s direction.

Interestingly, Mulley has handed two devices over to his Mum and sister for a period to see how they get on, and this is also discussed in the interview.

Greg of ‘Greg’s Web2.0 Marketing Tips’ is impressed enough by the 3 Skypephone to consider adding it to his Christmas list.

Stating that it “excels” at Skype and also does “pretty well in all other aspects”, he goes on to give his opinion on the out-of-the-box, optimised-for-viewing web access via 3’s launcher.

All in all, it’s done enough to qualify for a space on Greg’s festive swag wish-list, which is surely an accolade in itself.

It’s been a long time since a new phone release has enthused Darren-mc as much as the recent unleashing of the 3 Skypephone.

Using more superlatives than I can fit into this purposefully short article, Darren is “bowled over with the quality of the Skype calls”. Purposefully short you say? That’s because I think it would be better if you got it sraight from the horse’s mouth, which you’ll find here.

Not the words of a cyberpunk, hack-happy anarchist, rather this is the opinion of blogger Neville Hobson as he collates his thoughts on the 3 Skypephone and his day at 3 UK headquarters.

Neville was one of the original triallists of the 3 Skypephone, which he has already written about a fair bit. This latest post addresses the whole thing from a slightly different and provocative angle as he talks 3’s strategy in launching the device. He uses two words to describe the process in which he has been involved, “nimble” and “disruptive”.

To read more on his viewpoint about the methods that he considers good disruption and some of the specifics discussed during the blogger update session regarding the future plans for the 3 Skypephone click here.

The cost conscious at Money Saving Expert are discussing the 3 Skypephone and its credentials when it comes to being cost effective.

It all began with Divadee asking about the device and the PAYG setup with a view of getting her brother a phone. This would mean that, despite him not having internet access, he could call her and their parents who are based in Singapore.

People have been responsive to the post, offering their thoughts and experiences in a more than helpful manner. To read what they have to say and to give your proverbial penny’s worth jump over here.

It’s always nice to end the day knowing that in your own small way you have made someone else’s life that little bit better, and it is with proud smiles and hats cocked to the direction of Robert at PacificIT, that we acknowledge UK Gadget Blog’s generous thanks for our post on how to twitter from the 3 Skypephone.

Reposting the simple command line and exact instructions on just how 3 Skypephone can open yet another line of ‘on the move’ communication to you free, the “handy tip that not a lot of people know about” has clearly proved very useful for those swashbuckling gadgeteers.

So Twitter away readers, and if you haven’t got an account just yet – head this way to sign up for a micro-blogging experience that will tantalize, and delight you.

Tinyjo at live journal has posted about receiving her pair of 3 Skypephones. What follows is discussion on them and the practice of getting bloggers involved in a trial such as this.

We learn that tinyjo has given one of her devices to her Mum, who she suggests is not the most “techie”… So it should be interesting. Having only had the device a couple of days there is a full review coming, which will hopefully feature how her befuddled-by-technology mother gets on. The discussion then switches to the ins and outs of her “elevation to the ranks of blogerati”, and how there is certainly a right and wrong way of doing things in terms of contacting bloggers. A subject that has been greeted with a couple of comments offering measured perspectives.

To have a read and add your thoughts, follow this link.