As well as providing what amounts to a incredibly comprehensive walk-through guide of how to use the in-built ‘Skype button’ centered lovingly on the new 3 Skypephone handset (trust me – this article it is ideal for new users), Neville Hobson has provided his in-depth thoughts on the Skype capabilities of 3’s newest device.

Despite having some difficulty obtaining 3’s 3g signal in his area (Wokingham), and suffering the rather irritating task of “hav[ing] to go into the network settings each time, manually set [the phone] to 3’s 3G connection” as “it doesn’t always succeed on a 2G connection” – he seems nonetheless impressed. “I’ve made and received quite a few Skype calls to and from my Skype contacts. Call quality is generally good although much depends on the strength and quality of the network you’re connected to, just as with any normal mobile phone.”

Coupled with this, the free Skype minutes and chats offered with the device seem to have impressed, with Neville describing the fair use policy as “pretty generous to me”. One slight problem he does allude to though is the “couple of occasions when the phone has rebooted by itself”, but, as a problem he has encountered in the past, he is sure that firmware updates are sure to sort this out soon.

And his overall view? Well, see for yourself.

“I do think the Skypephone is terrific. It’s very easy to use, it’s affordable and being mobile with Skype is pretty compelling. I could see this flying off the store shelves between now and Christmas.”

You can read Neville’s comments on the aesthetics of the phone here.