3 Skypephone S2

[wcked]

The original 3 Skypephone was a useful but fairly basic handset launched last year. It was almost definitely the easiest way to get Skyping on a mobile phone, and combined with 3s generous data tariffs and excellent approach to roaming charges it proved to be a minor hit, but somewhat overshadowed by the release of the iPhone.

Now 3 has just given us official word that theyre releasing a new 3 Skypephone. 3 have upped their speed to HSDPA for more broadband-like connection speed. That should mean better quality calls over VoIP and less of the dreaded robot voice.

The Skypephone S2 improves the display, camera and download speeds over the original, making it a very much more attractive handset to consumers.

The Skypephone S2s screen is a 240 x 320 pixel panel measuring 2.2″. The camera is now 3.2 megapixels although we dont know how sophisticated it is. The most intriguing thing about the 3 Skypephone S2 is it contains all the Windows drivers you need to turn it into a modem - plug in the USB cable and everything will install automatically without needing a CD or internet download.

Your Skype contacts are integrated into your phonebook and its easy to tell whos online, which is good, as non-VoIP calls will cost your standard mobile rates, including Skype calls to mobile numbers.

There is 50MB of internal memory expandable up to 4GB using microSD cards, the handset measures 103 x 45 x 14mm and is powered by a beefy 1150 mAh battery.

It is estimated to be available Q3 2008.