Skype archives

Steve from last100 (@sohear & @last100) has been trialing the INQ Chat 3G and shared his thoughts this week.

He compares the INQ Chat 3G to his “much more expensive smartphone” in terms of the built-in apps that are available. In his words:

“…the INQ Chat fulfills its mission: bringing a social messaging QWERTY phone to the mass market.”

He talks about the pros and cons of this phone, from the camera to the Twitter & Skype apps. For all his thoughts, and to ask him any questions about the phone, head over to last100 to find out more.

This week Stephen Timms, the Minister for Digital Britain (@stephenctimms) made the billionth Skype minute on the 3 network to the CEO of medical aid charity Merlin. 3 have donated some skypephones to Merlin to help them keep in touch with their staff on the ground in Haiti.



Stephen at UKGadgeteer (@ukgadgeteer) and Craig at geekcomputers (@geekcomputers) share their views on this milestone.



Between them, 3 customers make 3 million minutes of Skype calls a day. Do we have any avid Skype users in our midst that help contribute to this?!

3mobilebuzz friend and regular Abul has posted his initial thoughts of the N900, not something we would normally talk about but Abul’s thoughts on the device and 3 were too interesting to miss. He has not been using the device as his primary weapon because of issues with 3G only 3UK SIM cards, however this is something he’s heard will be solved soon. He hopes this will be the case (as do we) due to his views on the similarities between the device and 3:

“I think that would be a wise decision [to update the firmware]. 3UK are very much like the N900 – open (well more than their competitors) so it makes sense to make it widely available.”

We agree with this, for a network 3 are indeed open, offerings like free Skype and free WLM are a sign of this, but more notably it can be seen here, here and here in some of the activities we have been involved with this year.



In related N900 news, 3G.co.uk has posted about the built-in Skype app, a step in the 3 direction.

UKGadgeteer has posted the full list of handsets that will support 3UK’s Skype and Windows Live Messenger clients.

The clients are readily available if you have one of the listed handsets and a 3 SIM,

“All you need to do is to insert your 3UK SIM into your phone, power it on, and go to the Planet 3 link which should automatically appear on the phone (either directly on a shortcut key, or within the Favourites/Bookmarks within the browser, and you may find it’s preset as the homepage within the browser).  Once there, you can select these apps, and then download these apps.”

SIMple, and in a move described by UKGadgeteer as ‘smart’ from 1^st October placing a 3 SIM in your phone will perform the above automatically. Click through for more details and that full list of handsets.

UKGadgeteer has written a short post on free Skype on non-3UK handsets,

“When we first mentioned the Skype Free Calls Forever we said that in time 3UK were hoping to extend the capability to non-3UK supplied handsets. Well, that time has come; last night we were briefly informed by 3UK that both their Skype client and their Windows Live Messenger client […] are now available for selected non-3UK supplied handsets.”

Head through for a little more detail…

It was confirmed yesterday that eBay has sold Skype for $2.75 billion to private investors.

You can follow all the details of the saga courtesy of TechCrunch. The news was confirmed by Brad Stone and Claire Cain Miller of the NY Times, “eBay plans to announce on Tuesday a deal to sell its Skype Internet calling division to a group of private investors, according to two people briefed on the company’s plans.”

TechCrunch was able to elaborate, “The new investors will buy approximately 65% of Skype, with eBay continuing to own 35%, in a deal valuing Skype at $2.75 billion US. eBay is expected to receive approximately $1.9 billion in cash upon the completion of the sale and a note from the buyer in the principal amount of $125 million. The transaction, which is not subject to a financing condition, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.”

Attached to the TechCrunch post by Robin Wauters is the full press release.

Over at Mobile Shop, there’s news that the number of people using Skype is set to grow in the future. But analyst Rupert Wood predicts that:

‘Until…operators start offering [VoIP] as a primary line service then people will probably be largely uninterested’

3 are leading the way with the support of the service, first with their Skypephones and latterly with the INQ range. Do you Skype? Whay do you think more people don’t? Let us know your feelings on the matter.

Alex Kinch of AlexKinch.com is locking up his handset, and he wants you to do the same! As part of our endeavour to get people giving Skype a try, he’s been given some cages and phones to see if he can find willing participants to take on the challenge of fully embracing Skype.

Puns-a-plenty as he explains the idea, “The challenge? 3 want to lock up your mobile, and replace it with a model that’s a little more ‘3′ (yes I know, terrible pun). [...] All have a 3 SIM card and free calls for you to try for a couple of weeks. There’s also a cute little ‘phone cell’ (again, another terrible pun) for you to lock up your old handset.”

He’s looking for volunteers, people willing to don their device in prison uniform and set themselves free with Skype. If you’re interested, get in touch with him through AlexKinch.com or make an appearance at Friday’s Tuttle meet in London.

Over at One Part Truth Two Parts Mixer Priyanka has been thinking about being set free by Skype.

Admitting to not really seeing the benefit straight away, it took a comment on Twitter to get her to consider the possibilities, “I didn’t really see how it was such a big deal, but Scouse made the point that they are the first company to offer a deal which doesn’t rely on you using their network - quite radical.”

What she really wants though is critical mass. Although using Skype to phone family abroad and create video messages for her mum, that’s about it. It needs to filter in to everyday use more, there needs to be a tipping point.

Is this moment approaching? Have you got your friends Skype-enabled and chatting for free? Let Priyanka know.

Since launching their free Skype-to-Skype calling initiative, 3 have seen a sharp rise in customer numbers and Skype calls according to Mobile News.

Kevin Russell 3UK chief executive said of the increase, “Sales and usage have gone up remarkably. It’s a cracking proposition, and we have seen a great jump in Skype usage and are very happy with it.”

With the Skype advertising campaign currently on TV and going into cinemas across the country throughout June the movement of 3 consumers embracing the VoIP service looks set to continue. All the details are here.

UKGadgeteer has posted an update to their article, which networks will carry the Nokia N97, suggesting 3 will be among those stocking the handset. The information came from Dan Carter at World of Nokia who posted an image of a 3 advert for the device he’d seen.

Details are reasonably slim at the moment, though UKGadgeteer and World of Nokia do outline what they believe the pricing will be on both contract and PAYG – head through to either to join the speculation.

Also, with the N97 being the first Nokia handset with fully integrated Skype it is likely to sit extremely comfortably with 3’s Free Skype Forever movement…

Our latest 3mobilebuzz trial is about to begin and is focused on the role of Skype in 3’s changing mobile forever campaign. We can’t say too much as the fun is yet to begin and we don’t want to ruin the surprise for those involved. Nevertheless we can give you a visual inkling to go with the title of this post as to the theme of what’ll be occuring…

The guys currently on board are Improbulus of Consuming Experience, Iain from CrackUnit.com, Charlie of Tantramar and Curtis James who is the man behind Not the kinda cool you’re looking for. Keep your on eye on these loveable rogues to see what they get up to…

UKGadgeteer has news of 3’s latest offers on the INQ1 and Skypephone S2.

In line with 3’s Skype Free Calls Forever the price of both handsets has dropped. Previously £99.99, you can pick up either device on PAYG for £69.99, “for around £70 you can now buy a phone which will offer free Skype to Skype calls and not even need to top up the device to continue using it.”

Amy-Mae Elliot at Pocket-Lint has also covered this news, hailing the return of the S2 and giving a little heads up about some info gleaned from 3’s CEO, Kevin Russell, that another dedicated Skype handset will be arriving Q4…

3’s Skype for free forever move was covered by Ben Robinson of IntoMobile, and he has now followed this up

after receiving an email from the network provider.

“The email I received […] carries quite a bold claim - but then again, free Skype calls on Pre-pay handsets, without needing to top up ever, is potentially a game-changing offering!” Well we’re two weeks into 3’s Skype push, and it certainly seems to be getting noticed. Your thoughts welcome as always…

In keeping with their Skype entirely free campaign 3 have created a handy Facebook application for expanding your VoIP-focused address book. UKGadgeteer passes on the details, “Simply install the Skype Friend Finder in Facebook, provide it your Skype account name, and then invite your friends to install the app too.”

Be sure to let UKGadgeteer know what you think of the app here.