Skype Free Mobile Phone Arrives

This Friday will see the introduction of the first mobile phone to offer free VoIP calls.

It was probably inevitable – the only question was who’d do it first. But Skype and British mobile operator 3 have introduced the 3 Skypephone, the first handset that lets users make free call over the Internet using VoIP technology.

Users can call other Skype users and exchange instant messages using Skype chat. It’s also possible to talk internationally for free to others who have who have the mobile Skypephones. However, only the British launch, for November 2, has yet been announced. Several other countries are set to follow, but the US is not yet among them.

The Skypephone comes with a 2-megapixel camera, mp3 player, and mobile TV and Internet. It functions as a regular mobile phone, with the Skype service accessible by a handset button.

"It takes an innovative operator… to challenge traditional thinking and offer the kind of product other operators are still shying away from," Skype’s acting chief executive, Michaelvan Swaaij, told the BBC. "It’s is now truly mobile. Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena.”