Skype on Nokia early next year
By Vivek | December 29th, 2006 at 10:37 am ET
According to the Swedish S60 Blog, Skype is planning to rollout it’s mobile client as early as January 2007. Skype has been working with Stockholm based Ocean Observations since 2005 to develop the mobile app. The Skype service is most likely to work on WiFi enabled Nokia phones(later on Sony Ericssons Symbian based phones) and might pave the way for free worldwide calling.
We have already seen startups like Fring, SoonR, EQO offering Skype calling from mobile. However each of them have seen limited uptake ’cause of one or more reasons. Fring requires a data plan to enable calls over the data network that are really pricey in US, while SoonR and EQO want you to be near your PC when you are making your calls. Skype plans to counter these issues by offering a Skype mobile client that is powered by WiFi connection. In terms of feature set, Skype is looking to go a step further by integrating the Skype and phone contacts(I wish Google did this for Gtalk on BB).
Earlier Gizmo Project in partnership with Nokia had launched it’s Gizmo Project VoIP client on Nokia N80 phones. N80, which has WiFi capabilities, enables users to make cheap calls to landlines and other mobile phone users. Last time I checked, users were facing issues related to making mobile-to-mobile Gizmo calls.
on December 29th, 2006 at 11:29 am
You mean Jan. 2007…
:-)
on December 29th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Oh Yeah 2007!
on January 2nd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
[…] Fring, whose 3G mobile application enables users to make free calls using their wireless data network(mVoIP), will soon be able to make calls over their WiFi networks. I had long expected Fring to offer the WiFi compatibility and even last week written about Fring(on data only network) in comparison to Skype on mobile. WiFi connectivity mode on Fring will come with an automatic handover configuration so that you can use hotspots and your home WiFi networks to make calls quickly and easily. Still it will be interesting to play around with the wireless-Data-WiFi switching of networks. […]
on January 9th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
[…] Nokia today announced at CES that it will work with Skype to build mobile version of IM/Voice client for Nokia N800. Nokia N800, which comes as an update for N770, was launched at CES yesterday. I had written about this upcoming news last year/last month. […]
on January 11th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
[…] (-)Development community: Nokia has a good market share of the mobile apps that are launched and strong development community to power innovative application development. Just look at some of the most promising technologies in making from startups like Truphone, Fring, iSkoot, Skype, Gizmo, and Imity, all of whom first support the Symbian phones. After Nokia, rest of the market share is taken up by Moto, Sony, Treo/Microsoft Mobile and few more European mobile companies. When Apple opens up its platform(if it plans) in June, it will be looking to grab share from either of these development communities which like any other development platform take its own sweet amount of time. […]