3 launches Skypephone S2

Hold up just a second, this is more than your average WiFi-powered Skype handset for yakking it up while you're wandering around the abode in your skivvies. In fact, it's none other than the follow-on to 3's Skypephone of last year -- the aptly-named Skypephone S2 -- offering HSDPA data, a 3.2 megapixel camera, 50MB of memory with a microSD slot for plenty more, and pretty much all the Skype support you can handle (hence the name, we suppose). Skype-to-Skype calls are completely free from the phone, and the Skype service can be kept active by adding £10 (about $19) monthly on a pay-as-you-go arrangement; otherwise, the phone can be had for as little as zilch if you sign up for a monthly plan. It'll work as a broadband dongle, too, which we think officially makes this thing oodles more useful than even the most capable of WiFi phones, skivvies or otherwise.

[Via Tech Digest]

[w4rh34rt @ Aug 20th 2008 6:47AM]

Yea', these things are really useful little phones, they may not have everything, but the things they do, make it wicked! If I hadn't of just signed up for a new contract, I might have gotten one of these ^_^

[Laxmanan Gowrishankar @ Aug 20th 2008 8:25AM]

I've been with 3 for a couple of years now, and i've never had a problem like ever.Not had a dropped call,the signal is like good,
o.k customer service is in India but they always solve the problem for me so i'm with David on this one

[w4rh34rt @ Aug 20th 2008 10:02AM]

Yea', I agree with Laxmanan on this one, I've been with 3 also for a while now and I've had no problems. Like he said, customer services are based in India, but they were polite and I could understand them, and they helped me solve my problems, like customer services should do.

Anyway, they probably aren't the best provider, but certaintly aren't the worst.

[Nick @ Aug 20th 2008 7:08AM]

It's a great product, we got to play with one on a training course last month.
It's just a damn shame 3 are literally the worst network in the UK.
Not only as a customer (I really feel sorry for you guys I've sold to), but also to work for.

[David @ Aug 20th 2008 8:03AM]

hardly - jdpower surveys do not place 3 at the bottom. also they are great to work for. so there :P

[biohazard @ Aug 20th 2008 8:58AM]

actually 3 is so much better than vodafone uk for example! (couldn't even get network coverage in my room at university!!!!!!!)
I've got the first skypephone and it works really well, except it seems to heat up way too much when you're using 3G!
I wish i hadn't just bought the first one, this one seems quite useful with the HSDPA capabilities...

[poisonborz @ Aug 20th 2008 7:45AM]

Umm, many wifi phones can be used as a dongle with free 3rd party software, eg. the N95

[James @ Aug 20th 2008 7:51AM]

It's an awesome little phone. The interface is very, very fast, and all the Skype messages and contacts are integrated with normal texts and calls. There's an unboxing of it here: http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2008/08/19/unboxed-3-skypephone-s2/

[Cesar Cardoso @ Aug 20th 2008 8:43AM]

Looks like an awesome phone. Please Skype, 3, whatever, sell it unlocked worldwide...

[Stan-O @ Aug 20th 2008 8:46AM]

Yeah, I don't get what the hype is all about. Doesn't Nokia E51 (or pretty much any Nokia N-series or E-series phone, but E51 seems to be the cheapest alternative today) already do that (plus, you can turn it into a hotspot and share that HSDPA link between a few laptops)?
I went thru a share of the WiFi VoIP (both SIP & Skype) phones and trust me you're much better off with a Nokia E-series or N-series phone than a "dedicated" phone.

[biohazard @ Aug 20th 2008 9:01AM]

a dedicated phone means you can go around and call from skype for FREE by just having your phone on you, so no need for a laptop!
also there's actually a way to make phonecalls from the skypephone to an actual phone...

[Christian @ Aug 20th 2008 11:23AM]

Is there a phone like this that handles SIP or IAX2?

[David @ Aug 20th 2008 10:47AM]

Please everyone be aware that on 3 Skype calls do not use the data bearer - its a circuit switched call back to the network, and then it gets converted to VoIP on the network side. Benefit of this means that if there is only 2.5G coverage you can still make a Skype call. The 2.5G allows for data so you can select your contact to call, and the packets are sent to set the call up but once connected the call is a normal 64k voice call back to the network.

The phone still makes normal calls of course to wherever without using Skype if needed.

[CJ Soup @ Aug 20th 2008 11:29AM]

All the original 3 Skypephone was was a rebranded Nokia handset (looked like the 6120c) running a rebranded version of iSkoot with the functionality limited so that only Skype-to-Skype calls work. I can't imagine that 3 has done anything more than upgrade the handset being used here. iSkoot, while a great app, has a few disappointing charges associated with it (such as having Skype credit used if someone calls your SkypeIn number and you answer it on a phone running iSkoot) and the only advantage to using the 3 branded client is that you don't get charged / have minutes taken off when you dialed into the server to make a call.

[tsamaya @ Aug 20th 2008 11:46AM]

I think this a major step towards cell phone carriers eventually turning into wireless internet service providers. I look forward to a day when you only pay for the 3G internet connection and use that connection for all your communication and browsing needs just like we do on the desktop. 3 seems to be the first carrier to officially allow VoIP calls on their 3G network at $30/month.

There in another WiFi phone that launched a couple of weeks ago which surprisingly hasn't been covered on Engadget. 5Linx (a Vonage-like VoIP company) has a $25/month plan for a modified Nokia N95 to make unlimited VoIP WiFi calls to some 10 countries.

The phone allows for any SIM card unlike 3's offering. However, you can't make VoIP calls on the SIM's 3G connection like you can on 3. It's kind of like having Vonage and ATT on a single handset - the $500 N95. The advantage is that you can make wireless VoIP calls at home, work or a coffee shop then use a pay-as-you-go/regular SIM for the times you are not within WiFi range. The pain is that the two don't seamlessly work together - there is no handoff from WiFi to GSM or vice versa. You have to manually switch between the services. You have two different numbers, two different plans and the phone is not subsidized.

Certainly not for everyone, but for those who want their VoIP service on a high end cell phone this is it. The business traveler will also enjoy the cost savings of calling the said 10 countries from anywhere in the world at no additional charge. People calling you will call your US number and you will receive that call wherever in the world you happen to have a WiFi connection at no additional charge to you or to them.

http://www.globalinx.com/?bNew=True&strRIN=L272190

[wild bill @ Aug 20th 2008 11:49AM]

That should just fill my anal cavity.

[Scott Bradach @ Aug 20th 2008 2:35PM]

Man, I would love this in the US... Nice phone. I contacted a rep at 3 and said they can't ship to the US... Bummer.

[Josh @ Aug 20th 2008 7:30PM]

is it possible that somebody could create a Skype iPhone app?...because that would be very convenient...and bump up skype usage like crazy...

[Al @ Sep 10th 2008 4:08PM]

this phone is great.
I have it with 300 mix and match for £15 a month, but skype is of course free. for those of you who were dissing 3, get into their store and they will give you pretty much any deal you want. i mentioned to the guy my girlfriend is on 3 and he gave me unlimited 3 to 3 calls free. plus he stuck me on a 6 month contract instead of 18 month. this phone does everything you would get from any other phone plus FREE skype whenever you want, and in several sister-network countries as well.
whoever was on about some nokia phone, fine, use that if you want and pay for all your data useage. i'll do it the free way though.
by the way, i get 3 bars of HSDPA in my basement, while O2's signal never even used to exist in my house.

[GeoNeil @ Oct 17th 2008 10:16AM]

The original Skypephone was actually made by Amoi, as I believe this one is, and yes, it's not a patch on a Nokia N or E series but it's not meant to be.