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3 Lets Skype On Network |
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Written by Adam Gosling
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Tuesday, 30 October 2007 |
3 has befriended Skype - not only allowing free Skype to Skype calls and IM across its network., but positiviely encouraging it.
The two have announced a widespread roll-out of a new
mobile / Skypephone, expected to be available locally before
Christmas. The phones are a fully-featured 3G mobile phone, but has
Skype built-in thanks to Qualcomm's Brew platform.
This means it can still access 3's other content
services and makes normal calls too, but the Skype functionality is an
added benefit. The phone has a 2 megapixel camera, mp3 player, mobile
TV and internet, and weighs just 86 grams. 3 describes it as "small and
shiny" and available in black or white with blue or pink trim.
The handset was developed by Skype and 3 in partnership with Qualcomm,
using Qualcomm's BREW platform to enable Skype to work with core
handset features such as address book and messaging.
The Skype functionality is accessed by pressing the phone's large Skype
button, giving users access to 3 million registered Skype users in
Australia and 246 million worldwide.
The free calls are not unlimited however, but you'll be hard pushed to
use the, 4,000 minutes of free Skype to Skype calls and 10,000 free
Skype chat messages each month.
"People like using Skype and enjoying free calls on their PC, so why
not set Skype free on the mobile and in a way that's really easy to
use," said Nigel Dews, CEO 3. "This is simply giving people what they
want, and challenging the traditional phone company view that dictates
customers get charged for everything they do, with access to VOIP on
the mobile being essentially off limits. We believe that's
fundamentally flawed and wanted to make Skype on the mobile as easy and
free as it should be."
John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum points out that 3's competitors
have taken a lot of flak for their "alleged hostility towards customers
using VoIP" on their networks.
"Now here comes 3, not only encouraging its customers to use VoIP, but
bending over backwards to make it easy for them. That this initiative
is being taken by 3 is no coincidence, of course. As the smallest and
newest of the UK mobile operators, 3's best hope for growth is to
disrupt the status quo wherever it can," he said.
"We think 3 might have something of a hit with the Skype Phone - albeit
within a niche, unless (1) it expands the range of handsets available
and (2) it makes Skype In/Out available - at present only
Skype-to-Skype is supported. The package is attractive, and the cost of
acquiring it is low. The phone is cheap at £50 but, crucially, it
doesn't look or feel cheap: it has a slim, elegant design, it's nicely
finished and it has a pretty good spec for its price point, including a
2 megapixel camera. In combination with the promise of ‘free phone
calls', it's likely to get at least a second look from customers who
haven't necessarily set their hearts on the latest from Nokia or
Samsung.
"To get the Skype phone off the ground, 3 will have to do a lot more
marketing follow-up than it did with the X-Series. X-Series was
launched with some serious hoo-hah almost a year ago, but it hasn't
been promoted very effectively since then. However, the Skype phone has
two advantages over X-Series as a market proposition: it's simpler and
more focused; and its target market is wider, encompassing people who
just want to make phone calls, and can't/don't want to spend a lot of
money on their phone," said Delaney.
"In the short term, 3 may be able to use the Skype phone effectively to
boost its subscriber numbers. In the long term, though, if 3 is
successful with the Skype phone, the X-Series and similar projects, it
might end up creating its own strategic problems. Imagine the scenario:
on your mobile phone you use Skype for phone calls, Hotmail for
messaging, Google for search and directions, YouTube for TV and music.
What do you need your mobile operator for? The answer could turn out to
be: subsidising phones, carrying data packets, and dealing with
problems & complaints. Does that add up to an attractive business?"
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