Skype Going Mobile

Skype Going Mobile

eBay’s Skype is working with a mobile handset maker to build a phone that would allow users in Britain to make free calls over the Internet, according to a report.

A company spokesman with British cell phone service provider 3, told the Times of London they are working with eBay Skype to deliver e a handset that would allow users in Britain to make free calls on the Internet.

Skype uses an Internet connection to place voice calls, cutting out the telecoms for that traditionally charge by the minute. Skype calls to other broadband-connected Skype users are free.

Skype is already offered on a subscription bases on many of the operator 3's handsets, however the new handset will work by sending phone calls over the Internet as data and will include a function where Skype customers can contact one another.

The VoIP-capable mobile phone will be available for both pre-paid and general payment plan options and is expected to cost approximately $200. The phone is expected to work in the normal way but to include a Skype function to contact other Skype customers.

Recently, online auction giant eBay has admitted it over bid, and subsequently overpaid, when it bought Internet telephony company Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005. The company has been looking for more ways to monetize its purchase.

The San Jose, Calif. company said it over estimated the value of Skype by a whopping $900 million.

When the merger was initially announced, eBay said it saw the possibility of significant synergy between its auction services and Skype's peer-to-peer voice over Internet Protocol technology. The company expects to use theVoIP technology to connect buyers and sellers in the eBay marketplace, as well as to integrate eBay's PayPal payment system with Skype's VoIP network.

3 is the British cell phone business of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa. The phone is expected to be ready for the holiday rush.