Apple has one. Google is bringing one out. Now add Skype to the fold.

This is actually pretty cool though. Available in November from 3 is the Skype mobile phone.

This will be the first mobile phone with Skype built in, meaning that calls to other Skype members are free. The phone will cost about $100 with a pay-as-you-go plan (for the non-Skype calls), or free with a monthly contract.

This is an enlightened move on the part of 3. If people are going to start bypassing the mobile carriers with free Internet calls, the carriers might as well get in front of the trend and start cannibalizing themselves. At least this way, 3 captures the non-Skype calls and wins loyalty points among its Skype-using subscribers. Anything that reduces customer churn is worth a try in the eyes of the carriers.

its a pretty ugly phone though...

Ugly, but a fantastic move by Three. It's about time telephone companies acted on the opportunities (and threats) the internet is providing them with.

It was really heading this way... People are more on the go, and are using messenger, internet and myspace on there phones. Good innovation.

Sounds like a great idea! Yay Aust. release!

More info

That is actually one of the thing that surprises me the most - an Australia release. We're usually looked over in such areas, which is odd as we have the highest gadget take-up in percentage figures.

Does anyone know what brand the phone actually is? It looks like a rebranded Nokia.

Taking a guess, by recognising the top of the screen, it looks like a Sony Ericsson.

Post by Daniel
Does anyone know what brand the phone actually is? It looks like a rebranded Nokia.

Exactly! Look at the bloody iPhone. Can't wait to see the Google Phone though - will be quite interesting

The GPhone/Google Phone has me really interested. From what I gather, it's less of a phone and more of an operating system. So you'll find it on a number of handsets but what you'll really be buying is a brilliant O/S on the phone, with a hell of a lot of web functions built it.