Skype says to launch its first ever mobile phone
235753
EBay division Skype and mobile phone  group 3 said on Monday they have launched a mobile handset that  allows users to access internet calls provider Skype while on  the move.
633868
Skype Ltd. is looking to a 1968 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to open up the country's mobile phone industry for "unlocked" devices and third-party applications-- such as Skype.
316019
InfoWorld - Sony Ericsson will begin selling its first phone using Windows Mobile software this year, Microsoft was due to announce on Sunday, just ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
744054
Most mobile phone users will still  have to wait some time for Internet telephony company Skype's  mobile service because of technical hurdles and a lack of  suitable handsets, Skype's chief executive was quoted as saying  in a Finnish newspaper on Thursday.
751126
Dutch Philips Electronics    said on Thursday it would introduce the world's first  cordless DECT phone that can make Skype Internet calls without  being connected to a personal computer.
709220
Emirates is set to become the first airline to allow mobile phone calls in flight in a deal with Aeromobile.
204180
A beta of a new service launched by Skype Wednesday night will allow any user with the most current version of the popular communications client charge for voice and video calls placed to their account.
278737
The founders of the Internet telephone company Skype are closing in on launching a global television service delivered to customers through high-speed broadband internet, the Financial Times reported.
581255
The Linux Phone Standards Forum expects to post its first mobile phone specifications today.
446542
U.K. mobile phone operator Hutchison 3G UK on Monday rolled out the Skypephone, a handset designed to simplify use of the Skype VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) application.Hutchison 3G, branded as &quot;3&quot; in the U.K., is offering free calls between Skype users through the 3G mobile phone, which goes on sale Friday in the U.K. The Skypephone will be released by the end of the year in Australia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Macau, and Sweden.Some mobile phones already support Skype, but volume-based data usage charges typically make the service expensive to use. Skype recommends using its mobile application with unlimited 3G data plans or Wi-Fi.Hutchison 3 has been offering unlimited Skype calls on its pricier X-Series phones, but the Skypephone is simpler and aimed at the mass market, according to a company spokesman. The phone has a large button with Skype&#39;s logo that&#39;s used to launch calls and IMs.Hutchison 3 is not charging for the cost of Skype calls on its network, although it does limit the service to about 4,000 minutes per month. Hutchison 3 will then suspend outgoing Skype calls but allow incoming ones.If a user is outside of Hutchison 3&#39;s network, roaming charges apply, which can be pricey despite a rate drop from operators after warnings from the European Commission earlier this year. The Skypephone is dual-band and won&#39;t work in the U.S.Hutchison 3&#39;s Skypephone allows free calls between registered Skype users, but the SkypeOut service that allows PC users to call regular telephone numbers using Skype is not available. Those must be dialed as regular calls charged for by Hutchison 3.The candy-bar style handset , which comes in white and black, was developed by Huchison 3 and Qualcomm. It has a 2-megapixel camera, MPHutchison 3 player, Bluetooth connectivity, 16MB of internal memory that can be expanded to 1GB with a Micro SD memory card.In the U.K., the handset costs &#163;49.99 ($102) for customers who prepay their service. The phone is free for those on a contract with Huchison 3, which start around &#163;12 per month.Skype, which is owned by eBay, and Hutchison 3, agreed in 2006 to work on a mobile VOIP phone. Hutchison 3 is the smallest U.K. operator and has shown less aversion to shaking up the market, particularly with VOIP, which threatens operators&#39; revenue, wrote John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum.&quot;The bigger operators, such as Vodafone, T-Mobile, and Orange, have all taken flak recently for alleged hostility towards customers using VOIP on their networks,&quot; Delaney wrote. &quot;Now here comes Hutchison 3, not only encouraging its customers to use VOIP, but bending over backwards to make it easy for them.&quot;&#160;
667053
A version of Skype made for mobile phones and networks is far from complete due to a lack of compatible handsets and technical issues, its CEO says. Originally, a mobile version for Nokia handsets was due to appear in 2005.
601986
Skype has launched a package for small businesses that bundles up the company&#39;s software with call credits and subscriptions for multiple users.
516089
LG Electronics has unveiled the worlds first terrestrial digital multimedia broadcast-receiving mobile phone, and demonstrated its functions.
667337
eBay's Skype lands a sweet mobile deal overseas.
644985
(InfoWorld) - Vodafone Group will introduce what could be its first mobile phone to carry its own brand exclusively, and not that of the phone manufacturer. A Vodafone spokesman confirmed that the phones will be introduced at an event in Hong Kong on Thursday, but would not provide additional details. The handsets will likely be made by China's Huawei Technologies Co., which said in February that it had signed an exclusive deal to provide Vodafone with its own brand of 3G phones. The phones would be sold in 21 countries, Huawei said, with the first handsets expected to hit the market in September. The deal with such a large operator marks a significant step for a Chinese manufacturer in Europe, which has been dominated by device makers from Europe, the U.S. and Korea. Vodafone already sells self-branded phones, but they also carry the name of the manufacturer. The handsets for its Simply offering, for example, feature the operator's logo prominently, but the name of the manufacturer, Sagem, is visible as well. Phones that carry an operator's brands exclusively are typically made by less well known phone makers. The operators often use them to improve their bargaining position with the top handset manufacturers, said Ben Wood, an analyst with Collins Consulting in the U.K. "A good [self-branded phone] strategy by network operators is a very effective stick to beat the major manufacturers with, to make sure they hit pricing in particular, but also the technology and functionality curves that the network operators want," he said. The self-branded devices are unlikely to steal much market share from the big handset makers, however. "It keeps them on their toes but I don't see it as a big threat," Wood said. "It's highly unlikely that the network operators can ever get the brand resonance on an own-branded device that manufacturers like Motorola, Nokia and Samsung get." That's partly because phone makers often spend several million dollars marketing a new phone in a single market, and operators are unlikely to match that, Wood said. In addition, end users aren't always happy with the service they get from their operator, so the self-branding may not instill loyalty. Operators typically offer self-branded phones tactically, to target a specific segment. For example, Orange sells a self-branded line of high-end phones targeted at business professionals. O2Â offers a self-branded phone for the low end of the 3G market. The new Vodafone phones may also target low-end 3G users.
674246
A European startup says it is ready to bring e-mail to low-cost cell phones.
207836
UK-based mobile group O2 Plc has unveiled the first cellphone in Europe to feature the uiONE technology from Qualcomm Inc, enabling it to offer own-brand phones with a common user interface, regardless of the underlying hardware and operating system.