Skype mobile phone launched

Oct 29, 2007, 16:13 GMT

Luxembourg - Software developer Skype and mobile phone operator '3' on Monday launched a cheap handset that makes it easy to call people over the internet.

Priced at 49.99 pounds (103 dollars) for '3' customers who are not on a contract in Britain, the '3 Skypephone' allows Skype users to call other Skype contacts at the touch of a button.

Skype-to-Skype calls and messages are free, subject to fees and restrictions applied by '3' to its customers.

In Britain, for instance, Pay as You Go customers can call for 4,000 minutes (about 67 hours) and send 10,000 chat messages each month, with a 1,000-minute period of grace, for as little as 10 pounds, a '3' spokeswoman told Deutshe Presse-Agentur dpa.

'Skype is now truly mobile. This new handset is incredibly easy to use and lets you make free mobile Skype calls when you are on the move to other Skype users all over the world no matter where they are,' acting Skype CEO Michael van Swaaij said in a statement issued by Skype's Luxembourg headquarters.

Although Skype software is already available to download on mobile phones, most people use Skype via their computers. 3 Skypephones are 3G mobile phones that come with a 2-megapixel camera, mp3 player and access to the internet.

The phone will be available by the end of this year to '3' customers in Australia, Austria, Britain, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau and Sweden.

British customers could pre-order the phone as of Monday.