Mobile Phone Reviews
 
 
Skype Makes Mobile Deal With iSkoot

Fri, 11 Aug 2006

Skype will help market an application that will put its contact list and voice-over-IP (VoIP) and instant-messaging services on high-end mobile phones via a program called iSkoot.

Jacob Guedalia, chief executive officer of iSkoot says the two companies will market the service to mobile operators.

"Handset manufacturers will also be courted to preload iSkoot on devices. Skype's phone book has become an integral part of some users' lives," and iSkoot gives clients the "ability to continue to interact with a group of people that you used to have to be sitting in front of a PC to have access to."

According to PCWorld, the iSkoot interface allows users to see who on their contact list is currently online, and to check their SkypeOut account balance. The user can change their status, such as to "away," which will then be visible to others logged in to Skype at their PCs. The contact list can be refreshed, a feature enabled through the user's data plan, according to iSkoot.

When the software makes a call to a name in the Skype contact list, it first dials a regular voice call to an iSkoot gateway server. The server then transfers the call to Skype’s VoIP system. Callers pay for the call to the server from their cellular calling plan. The remaining portion of the call is either free, if it’s to a PC, or charged at Skype’s SkypeOut rates if to a regular telephone .

For now, the gateway is available in the United States, and will be available later this month in Europe and Asia, Guedalia said.

The company is offering free use of the gateway network for a limited time; eventually, it will charge a flat rate for access, he added
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.