The guys from 3mobilebuzz kindly sent me 2 3 Skypephones on loan for a month in order for me to review them. In case you don’t know the 3 Skypephone is a mobile telephone which utilises the 3G data transfer the British network 3 offer to allow for VoIP to be used on a mobile phone, providing the user with free Skype-to-Skype calls. Skypephones are also available in several other nations worldwide.
What’s in the box?
- MiniUSB charger
- Lots of documentation
- 256MB MicroSD card (depends on nation)
- Phone, of course
- Headphones
- USB lead
Skype!
The phones allows mobile phone users to phone and receive calls (and messages) from other Skype users free of charge, providing Skype - which is pre-installed on the phone - is being used. So, not only could you phone computers but you could phone other Skypephones or smartphones with Skype installed free of charge (almost!). Naturally, all of this requires a fast internet connection so UMTS is used… sadly as most Brits will know, we have great difficulty in getting a 3G signal anywhere. When no UMTS is available, the phone will switch to GSM (I don’t know if Skype works under GSM!)
Skypephones offer good audio quality for Skype calls (better than my laptop’s!) and offers conference calling but sadly lack SkypeOut, Skype Video Calling and SkypeIn abilities (to make calls to normal phones, you must pay normal 3 rates).
Connectivity & Internet
As mentioned above, the Skypephone uses a 3G signal (a UMTS one, to be precise). UMTS is one of the slower 3G protocols and the Skypephone does not utilise the faster HSDPA protocol.
The browser offered by the Skypephone is pretty standard but it supports J2ME so you could install Opera Mini if you wanted to.
Also, you can use the Skypephone for media. 3 have quite a good music download store and you can pay 49p to listen to online radio for 24 hours. I might be mistaken, but I think BBC radio is free.
The phone supports Windows Live Messenger which, much like Skype, is free providing you top your phone up.
Unlimited monthly Internet will cost you 50p for one day’s access, £2.50 for a week’s, £5 for a month or alternatively £1/megabyte.
Skypephones also support Bluetooth and it seems pretty average. I’ve never been a Bluetooth fan, too many services for my liking, and have always preferred IrDA (infrared)… something which the Skypephone (and indeed my laptop) lacks!
The phone has a mini USB port so the odds are you’ll already have a cable to connect it to your PC!
Camera
The Skypephone has a 2 megapixel camera. It’s reasonable but is no Viewty! it doesn’t seem to have many anti-shake features, as you can see below! Also, there’s no flash (not even an LED light which claims to be one!).
Below is a photo (scaled down, the link will take you to the full-size image), which you can easily send via MMS, email, Bluetooth or Printer immediately after taking a photo. I sent it via Bluetooth! 
The Skypephone, unusually for a 3G phone, possesses only 1 camera. Most 3G phones have 2 cameras: a low-res one on the front for video calling and a high-res one on the back for taking photos.
To keep costs down, the Skypephone lacks a front camera which isn’t a big loss considering video calling is pretty much unused although it will prove annoying if it ever takes off. The phone does permit 3G video calls using the back camera, and there’s a mirror next to this camera so you can see yourself.
Aesthetics
The phone’s don’t look particularly amazing, to be frank. The have a fairly simple design (not a slide/flip up), are available in several colours (white with blue, white with pink and black) and have a distinctive ‘Skype’ button which confusingly launches Skype but sometimes acts as a select key! The phone isn’t tiny either, but it isn’t massive, weighing in at around 85g and measuring 100×44x13.6mm!
On the back of the phone, there’s 3 and Skype branding.
Pricing
The phone cost £50 on pay as you go, requiring a £10 monthly top-up for Skype and/or MSN, and the cost on contract will probably be free. 4000 Skype minutes come free with that £10! If you buy two phones, a £10 discount is offered (2 phones cost £100!).
The rest
The phone and text facility is average. The phone supports T9, but in no way has any innovation on the phone/text end. Voice call quality seemed good enough but I always find it hard to judge!
Contacts nicely integrates normal numbers and Skype, keeping people together instead of multiple contact entries!
Conclusion
It would be superb if Skypephones were available on other networks because 3 lack some key features, such as top-up cards, and have inferior signal strength but as the company grows I am sure this will too.
Overall, the 3 Skypephone is a great idea and for the cost you simply cannot go wrong! It’s probably cheaper than a Skype WiFi phone!
Tags: phones, 3skypephone, skypephone, 3 skypephone, 3, three, mobile phones, skype, voip
