The Blog known as Skype-watch.com, Skype-gadgets.com.

3 INQ Skype Facebook phone. Why not myspace in this 3 INQ Skype phone ?

"Continuing in 3's long tradition of trying to shake up the established phone industry, the network is planning to launch a new phone next week called INQ. It builds on the direction that the Skypephone started, and features very close integration with social-networking behemoth Facebook. Although info about the phone, has been floating around for a little while, we've got the official confirmation from 3 now, and they're holding a press event next Thursday to announce the handset. It's a not-particularly-pretty-looking slider phone, but where it really shines is in the software. Your Facebook contacts are your phonebook. Your SMS messages are Facebook messages. IM is handled over Facebook chat. " source : 3 to release INQ handset with massive Facebook integration.

Skype and Windows Live Messenger available on the 3 mobile phones.

"3 has announced it has updated its Skype and Windows Live Messenger applications available on its mobile phones. Skype allows 3 users to make calls and send messages, just like on a normal mobile, to anywhere in the world for free, as long as you and whoever you’re trying to get in touch with has a Skype ID. In addition to this existing functionality, 3 users can now use Skype on their mobile phones to call landlines and mobiles at a low rate. Windows Live Messenger has been updated to allow users to now send and receive pictures and other files, use emoticons, and have group chats straight from your phone. 3 customers can download Skype and Windows Live Messenger via the launcher button on their 3 mobile handset." source : 3 Updates Skype And MSN Apps.

Looking good. See the product 3 skype phone s2 here.
Don't forget to check the network coverage, since this phone is mainly useful when calling from overseas, to avoid roaming charges. I don't see it clearly spelled out that the calling from Skype to Skype will be free.

Marketing text below : 

" Introducing the new 3 Skypephone S2

The new 3 Skypephone S2 is the only mobile you'll ever need! Not only does it allow you to check your Facebook, instant message your friends with Windows Live Messenger and surf the web with ease, but it's also a brilliant phone too!

It's got an excellent 3.2 megapixel camera, thumb friendly keys for fast texting and allows easy access to your music. Plus great value calls, texts and internet access.

And don't forget - it's a Skypephone! You can make calls and send messages to anyone, anywhere in the world for free! (As long as they have a Skype ID of course)

Internet on the go

As for mobile internet, the 3 Skypephone S2 has got it all: speedy access and download times, quick links to all your favourite websites, and a nifty carousel so you can zip through your applications and launch your web pages at the touch of a button.

You will also get free access to Planet 3. This is your mobile internet hub, with games, TV, news, maps and much more. From here you can browse the 3MusicStore with over 1,000,000 tracks and download them to your phone.

And if you want even more from your mobile, you'll be pleased to know that if you hook your 3 Skypephone S2 to your laptop, it will act as an internet dongle, letting you use wireless broadband on the UK's largest 3G network, wherever you are from just £10!"

But unfortunately .... no hands-on test-report via www.skype-gadgets.com available. I was promise twice a model to test, I got nothing. I suspect it would not work in the regions where I am located. Apparently hardware dealers don't value the viral marketing of Skype hardware that much anymore as they used to do. Somebody should make a clear hands on country list where these 3skype phones really work. In reality that is, not in the marketing balloons...

Related :

"The mobile network provider 3 has launched Skype contract mobile phones that are integrated with both latest features and stunning look. The best thing about 3Skpye mobile phone is the skype button that is placed just below the large display screen. It allows the mobile phone users to call or send text messages on those contacts that are having the same 3Skype mobile phone for free." source : 3 Skype Phone - ultimate mobile phone for making free calls.

My take : why do you need to have the same 3skype mobile phone ?

See also :

Here are 4 questions to Julien Decot Principal Strategy Skype
mocoNews.net - 3 Italia Launches YouTube Phone
3 Mobile teases us with a new mystery Facebook  project
Is 3 prepping a Facebook phone?
3 Skypephone in new campaign
Skype says: call abroad from your mobile and save!

Humble statements by 3 : "It was amazing how we integrated Skype functionality. Suddenly, users were able to make voice calls over Skype and text using economies of the internet"

I hope it's not all marketing talk...

Hutchison to develop low-cost iPhone killers – working with Facebook
Siliconrepublic.com - Dublin,Ireland
It was amazing how we integrated Skype functionality. Suddenly, users were able to make voice calls over Skype and text using economies of the internet.

Low Cost 50 USD INQ phone by Mobile Operator 3 (Hutchison Whampoa) might eat the Apple Iphone.

"The parent company of mobile operator 3 is about to introduce an affordable one-button touch screen internet-capable handset called the INQ that will threaten the market of high-end smart phones currently dominated by the iPhone, Nokia E71 and Blackberry Storm."

Amazing looking at the information which is put forward :
"

• The device could hit most markets before Christmas and will retail for less than US$50, Sixt said.
• developed the Skype phone with voice and instant messaging (IM) delivered on flat packages.” He said the success of this move can be demonstrated by the fact that there are now 300,000 Skype phone users worldwide.
• We will bring IM, Skype and email to the front of the device. It will be reasonably priced for consumers.

• “We think our mission with INQ is to deliver same or better than these devices but at a mass market price point.” That price point, Sixt has suggested, could be for less than US$50.

• “Even if means cannibalising our content offerings the INQ needs to work like the rest of the internet.

• When it is introduced we will apply flat rate pricing structures across the board. We don’t believe in per minute or per megabit charging in the future,” Sixt said.

"

source quotes.

I can't wait to see this delivered. Will this phone work on other network than 3 ? And if it does not, in which countries will it work  ? And can I insert any SIMcard (of other operators in it) or will have to be unblocked... Just like was the case with the Apple Iphones... Locked into some limiting connection deal.

They should send me a sample, so I can do some hands on testing. 

"Hutchison subsidiary Three is working on its own brand of smart phone called INQ, which will compete with the iPhone, Android and handsets from Nokia and Motorola." Can Nokia, Motorola, Android & INQ compete with iPhone?

 

New 3 Skypephones produced by Chinese Manufacturer Amoi (夏新). Shall we see a fake 3skype phone soon ?

As you can read here : " the move stems directly from the fact that Hutchison decided to develop the original Skypephone. It needed a custom handset with Skype built in. Later on the Skypephone S2 was launched which boasted the ability to act like a 3G dongle as well as a phone.According to reports, the new handset vendor will boast a range of around five models. They all sound like they are being made for INQ/Hutchison by Chinese manufacturer, Amoi, as was the case with the Skypephones. " source news : INQ branded phones available from 3

Related articles on the 3skypephone at www.skype-gadgets.com. Note that I have not tested one yet, since they the promised hardware sample never arrived to my remote outpost in the Malaysian jungle here... Locally nobody talks about Skype, you won't find in the hypermarkets. It's like Hutchison Whampoa does not exist here... Looks like the markets are run by other local more powerful celco-/telco- operators here...

I wonder if they put something special (a special chinese skype listening cookie, maybe as is the case with the tom.com skype...) in those phones that makes them trackable. After all these phones are produced by a Chinese Manufacturer. Anybody looked into this topic already ?

I also wonder how long it will take before we see a fake 3 skypephone... It happened to the Apple Iphone too...

• Product : 3 Skypephone. Skype is now mobile. Calling your world is free. (actually it is not free...) www.3skypephone.com and there is even something about Three Skypephone Series on Wikipedia. Don't forget to look at the forum too. It can tell you a lot about the user problems with the different models. http://3skype.mobi/forum/ I notice that there are not so much postings on that forum. Does that mean there are very few users (a user would probably be somebody that bought a 3skypephone), or would that mean there are no or few problems with that device ?

• Company : www.three.co.uk / Hutchison Whampoa.

• Chinese Manufacturer : Amoi (夏新) is a Chinese electronics manufacturing company incorporated in 1997. Its products include mobile phones, LCD televisions, DVD players, laptops, ... http://www.amoi.com/

• Related : 3 To Design & Manufacture Own Brand Handsets  all 2 news articles »

Campaign for the new Skypephone S2

" 3 recently tasked glue with promoting their new 3 Skypephone S2. The phone, which is the second of 3’s integrated VoIP devices, has been specifically designed to make the most of the countries largest 3G network with a huge array of internet and social media led functions. Not only does it allow you to check your Facebook, instant message your friends with Windows Live Messenger and surf the web with ease, but it's also a brilliant phone too." source : http://www.utalkmarketing.com/pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=12062&Title=3_Skypephone_in_new_campaign No hardware hands review report by Skype-gadgets.com / could not get a sample.

Skype on 3 not a VoIP service ? Skype on 3 runs as a callback service rather than 'pure' VOIP.

Good summary "If a large number of your friends and family are on Skype, then a plan such as 3's X-Series -- which includes a fixed number of Skype-to-Skype calling minutes direct from your mobile each month -- can sound tempting. However, as Decoder points out, those free minutes are restricted purely to  the official 3-sanctioned Skype mobile client, in large part because Skype on 3 runs as a callback service rather than 'pure' VOIP. That means you can't use alternate clients such as previously mentioned Fring to consume your free minutes. That doesn't make the plans a bad deal, but it's something to bear in mind if you're looking for maximum flexibility" source : Skype Not A VOIP Service On 3 X-Series Mobiles

Now read the marketing message on www.3skypephone.com : " You can never have too many 3 Skypephones. Get one for yourself. One           for a friend. A few for the kids. The more people you know with a 3           Skypephone, the more you can talk to the world for free*.           3 Skypephone is great for people with relatives overseas and small businesses too.         Only the 3 Skypephone lets you make free unlimited calls to any of           Skype's 246 million users*. So the more people you know with a 3           Skypephone the more you can cut your mobile bill. " source.

My take : how many users did you say 246 million users ? I thought there were 370 million users. Hahahahahaa.

You can also find more information here on http://threestore.three.co.uk/skype/

Little hype on the new Sony PSP and S2 Mobile.

I read today something about a Research Toolkit: Skype, then something about An American in 3 Skypeland, followed by a Tutorial on how to erase your Skype Chat History.

Somebody states that they hate skype.

Finalizing you got a bunch of hardware hype around :

• Skypephone S2 Mobile Phone with Free Skype Calls
• Sony Announces PSP 3000: More of the Same
• Sony trumpets Playstation that doubles as phone
• Sony unveils PSP with voice services

No hands on review by www.skype-gadgets.com, no sample received.

Operator 3 sold over 100,000 Skypephones

I hope they can count better their number than the statistical brains at Skype .... Read the article "

The mobile phone operator 3 is understood to have sold well over 100,000 Skypephones, its mobile handset that includes the free Skype service, highlighting the growing attraction of free internet-based telephony services that threaten phone company revenues.

The success of the phone, which is made by the Chinese manufacturer Amoi, highlights the growing popularity of mobile versions of VoIP - voice over internet protocol - services. " source : Free internet calls boost 3 but threaten phone revenues

New 3 Skypephone S2 in july 2008

"3 Skypephone S2, it’s been unearthed by the news hounds at Stuff.tv, and comes sporting HSDPA abilities, a swankier 2.2 inch QVGA screen, and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

The phone also comes with its own drivers on-board, so the second you hook it up to a Mac or PC, it’ll start working as a USB modem."

no sample for www.skype-gadgets.com, no hands on report. Being in south east asia, I have not spotted anything like that over here (Kuala Lumpur). Maybe in Singapore or Hong Kong, you'll find this. By my knowledge there is no 3 coverage here anyways.

source : Brand new 3 Skype phone spotted who got it via  Stuff.tv

company : www.3skypephone.com
Related : When might the US get a Skype phone like 3 has?

Metro gives 100 lucky readers a 3 Skypephone every day.

Found this right here : " Simply visit www.skype.com/go/nomad to find out the answer to the following question:On the 20th May, whilst crossing the Sydney harbour Bridge, The Skype Nomad phoned a friend in London for free from her 3 Skypephone – what was her friend's first name?  For your chance to win this fantastic click here. " source

The original product can be found here at 3skypephone.com

So far I have never seen such a phone in Malaysia yet. As far as I know the network for it is not supported over here. I have been using video-calling over 3G (using Maxis, Hotlink) with my nokia phone since 1 year now. Works perfect from phone to phone. And it's all built into the phone, no need to download or install anything. Really great fun to do this.

Is the 3 skype phone chat free or not ? According to the Skype nomad it is.

I was just listening to a posting on youtube of the Skype Nomad, apparently in Cambridge on june the 2nd, 2008. Is the University of Cambridge department still banning Skype by the way ? (Cambridge professor warns of Skype botnet threat), but okay that is a long time ago...

It is being said in that video that skype chat on the 3 Skype phone is "free". Is that a so ? Let's analyze that statement. What does that really mean ? First let's take a look at the FAQ at the "not so much updated" FAQ on the 3skypephone.com website......

" Q. I'm not a Skype user and don't have a Skype account. Can I still enjoy all the free calls and chats the 3 Skypephone offers?    

A. Yes, 3 Skypephone is designed so that you can set up a Skype account quickly and easily, direct from your keypad. Simply press the Skype key and select the ‘Create new account' option. Once you have reviewed and accepted the terms and conditions you can create a Skype Name and a password and click OK. Skype will then process this, setting up your new account and getting you up and running in seconds. When this is complete, you are ready to start sharing your user name with other friends who have Skype and add their Skype details to your buddy list."

Further you can read that :

"What is Skype instant messaging?     

The 3 Skypephone has a full instant messaging system called Skype chat. It allows you to exchange instant messages with your buddies on Skype chat directly from your handset.    

How does Skype instant messaging work?    

The 3 Skypephone has Skype instant messaging built right in. You simply select your contact, choose to chat rather than call and a chat w