December 2007

It’s only a day away, by this time tomorrow we’ll be sat on the sofa awaiting the words of our majesty, well-fed and surrounded by shreds of wrapping paper, marveling at this years selection of goodies…

So, from everyone at 3mobilebuzz, have a happy holiday and a joyous new year - see you in January!

The ProCookie Technology Blog has reviewed the 3 Skypephone and determined that it is quality at an affordable price.

They talk tariff and specifications, before getting to the meat - the price! Bearing in mind that they thought the phone was a good solid device, they were expecting to pay between £100 - £150. The news that it is available for £49.99 was greeted with the exclamation that “at only £50! its a steal!”

To read the rest click here.

‘Beyond PR’ is authored by Joël Céré, who has created a well-written and therefore easy to read review of the 3 Skypephone. Admitting to not being a big reviewer of products on his site, but with his new company Mountain View in California, Skype is a service he uses daily and a device with integrated Skype sounded like a “godsend” to him.

Splitting the details down into sub-headings, even the most wandering of minds will be able to find their way through the article and take away the important points made by Joël, such as “The picture quality of live TV is impressive. Sharp and good streaming. On offer: BBC1, BBC3, BBC News, National Geographic, FHM, MTV…”

To get the full review and reasons why Joël has put the 3 Skypephone top of his “2008 must-have list” click here.

Another review has arrived courtesy of Stephen Newton who, perhaps unsurprisingly, is the author of ‘Stephen Newton’s Diary of Sorts’. You can find his opinion on the 3 Skypephone here.

And this opinion is very much a high one. Believing that, “For less than £50, I don’t think you can go far wrong and it [3 Skypephone] should be at the top of every regular Skype user’s Christmas list.” He makes a brief assessment of the iPhone using the terms “overhyped, underpowered and overpriced” and as a point of comparison states that the “the 3 Skypephone is genuinely innovative and a real bargain at less than £50.”

It’s all interesting stuff though he does express some disappointment that the device isn’t set up to work in the US, but overall Stephen is impressed. Read all his thoughts here.

Social Networking venue Facebook has brought together some London dwelling Parisians, although we’re not sure if they’re actually Parisian. They’re definitely French - well, some of them at least. Totaling seven members, the group is snappily titled ‘Do you want to make saving…?‘ and is undoubtedly in fledgling status.

The potential for the group is that many members will equate to many 3 Skypephones, meaning lots of talk and chatting on Skype for free. Even grander, the group is suggesting that should there be swift uptake with a landslide of sign up ensuing, meaning the phones can be bought in bulk and distributed - facilitating further saving.

It all sounds very sensible, the group is open for anyone with a Facebook account so click here and join up!

The blog ‘Talent Imitates, Genius Steals’ is run by Faris and he has reviewed the 3 Skypephone.

Faris takes time to discuss the design of the phone and the role of our good selves, 3mobilebuzz, in the device launch. He explains how the 3 Skypephone ticks all the boxes when it comes to the expected functions of a modern mobile with the added bonus of the launcher application, “a cool little web menu that takes you straight to facebook / youtube / google /ebay/ Msn Messenger - which is much easier that the still bizarrely annoying web mobile interface most phones seem to have.”

Moving on to the Skype function, there appears to be a small amount of confusion as Faris talks about using the VoIP service. He suggests that connecting to the network via the data connection incurs a small cost, when in fact it is entirely free as long your 3 Skypephone has been topped up with a minimum of £10. Even if the device is not topped up it will simply not connect to Skype, rather than result in data charges.

As Faris departs he makes some intriguing comments regarding the future of mobile technology, and while believing things will move beyond the 3 Skypephone, currently as fully integrated mobile Skype goes, it “does a good job.”

The 3 Skypephone has landed in Sweden, Austria and Denmark as part of the continuing expansion into new territories.

There is a plethora of venues discussing this news, each offering a slightly different perspective on the announcement. To fill you in on the spread of the 3 Skypephone check in on these four blogs, Skype-Gadgets.com, GoMo News, 3g.co.uk and finally Skype and Hidden Emoticons Blog.

This should be more than enough to tide you over…

Gerrymoth has been recommending a 3 Skypephone as a suitable offering for friends and relatives in this festive period of giving and receiving. He’s got a point, I may be over stepping the mark, but the 3 Skypephone is definitely better than socks in many situations. In fact the sock only really excels in the act of covering one’s foot and maybe creating very cheap puppets via the addition of wobbly eyes.

So why not do as Gerrymoth suggests, think about bringing to one and all this Christmas the joy of mobile Skype calling.

ACUK of Fresh Plastic has seen enough to facilitate a transaction and has bought a pair of 3 Skypephones.

He exchanged £85 for the duo of devices at the Carphone Warehouse after reading Chris Green’s post. ACUK is also quick to point out that the Carphone Warehouse isn’t in fact a warehouse or a purveyor of carphones - interesting.

After reading through his Crimbo shopping experience be sure to note his cheeky request in the comments section, hmmm… ;-)

Who should I SMS? A question asked by Scott Yang on his blog, and with good reason considering he has 239,198 SMS’s prepaid… 3mobilebuzz suggests… err… everyone!?

So how did this happen? Well it appears that currently, Scott believes it to be the work of those mischievous gadgetry gremlins that inhabit lands far away - in this case, Australia. With only until mid-February to deplete his SMS stockpile, somebody should probably get Scott a pair of thumb braces for Christmas, as his opposable digits have hell of a lot of texting to get through.

It’s Monday, it’s December 17th and midday has passed - what does this mean? It means that the 3 Skypephone competition is over, the dust has settled and judging has been completed!

There was a flurry of entries at the opening and sprinkling toward the end and those that arrived in the middle sadly fell short of the mark. So, before we announce our top three, we, as 3mobilebuzz collective, would like to thank all those that entered and all those that took an interest. We salute you.

Without further ado, or badly scripted auto cue action resulting in embarrassing awkwardness on a par with Samantha Fox and Mick Fleetwood’s forever memorable Brit Awards partnership, the time has come to reveal our champions. If you will, imagine a drum roll please…

In third… Susan’s late break for 3 Skypephone glory was a success as she followed our lead with this Flickr image.

Oh so close, and grasping second - Rosie took a creative gamble that paid off, and rather than copy our examples she jumped on this idea and created four eBay Match Ups.

But the champion, and winner of three 3 Skypephones is Dave’s video entry, triumphant and victorious, originally hosted on vzaar and available here.

Congratulations to all our winners and to Tamebay, who referred Dave’s all conquering video of mobile mauling, two phones for you.

Once again, thanks for all who took part. There is nothing left to say than here in all its emphatic final seconds glory is Dave’s winning contribution!

Fresh Plastic, or Ant UK to those that frequent his patch of the VOX community, is asking an interesting question with regards to the 3 Skypephone. Considering the value offered by the device, he is surprised that more aren’t being snaffled by the cost-conscious consumer, and he wants to know why.

As far as he is concerned, 3 offer the best value in the UK for individuals who travel between countries served by 3 - especially considering the addition of Skype: “Throw Skype into the mix and you’ve got a network ideal for students, families and those who regularly call any country abroad.”

To read his thoughts in full head to here. A quick note though, currently the text isn’t wrapping on his entry, to be able to see it all simply highlight it and everything becomes illuminated.

There isn’t long left. Anyone wanting to win a few 3 Skypephones for keeps has got until midday Monday! For that is when the hammer falls on our competition and we start picking the top three.

There have been a few end of the day posts from bloggers informing the ’sphere about the chance to bag a trio of 3 Skypephones. ‘Norton’s Notes’ Chris Norton mentions his colleagues Beth and Stuart - who have been trialling devices - as he relays the necessary details of how to “get your mucky paws” on a device.

While contemplating the value of Word Of Mouth Joe Anderson of ‘Webby’s World’ kindly provides a link to us and our 3 Skypephone giveaway. It is however, Gregory T’Kint of ‘Greg’s Blogosphere’ who passes on the required message while commenting on his approval of the device and upcoming review… “In the meantime just be creative and win yourself a 3 Skypephone. However, you will have to be Fast, Furious and Creative this weekend because the competition ends midday on Monday.”

So would you threaten a penguin for a 3 Skypephone?

Alasdair Allan of the Daily Ack is reflecting on the 3 Skypephone before handing them back to 3mobilebuzz stockpile.

As a testament to the device, he has put together an extensive and enlightening review of all that has occurred to him while the 3 Skypephone has been in his hands. Maybe the most important part of his musings is this, taken from the opening paragraph and about the significance of the handset as the “first not only officially sanctioned, but heavily promoted, VoIP application on a phone targeted at the average consumer [and what it] means for the industry.”

As well as addressing this, he makes comparisons with the Nokia NSeries and inevitably the iPhone. A trend that leads him to discuss some areas he sees as demonstrating shortcomings. Nevertheless he signs off with the tinge of a heavy heart, “But despite all these complaints, am I going to regret saying goodbye to my Skypephones? Probably…”

Chris Green has alerted us and other readers of his blog, to his incoming post… a collection of thoughts on the 3 Skypephone.

This news arrived in the post, Things That Mean You Can’t Sleep…, as he discusses his reasons for a recent bout of insomnia, a condition that has him up at two a.m. posting and waiting for a repeat of Top Gear Polar Special to start.

He gives an allusion to the tone the upcoming analysis might take by outlining details of his reason for writing on the device as it all breaks into a bit of review preview, “Basically it’s brilliant, and is without doubt the unexpected gadget hit of this Christmas.” He goes on to discuss the pricing of the 3 Skypephone, pointing out that if one goes to the ‘Carphone Shed’ (his words not ours) you grab a pair “for £85 - a bargain!”

Be sure to know that when his review arrives we’ll be covering it at 3mobilebuzz.