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When it comes to the forefront of smartphone technology, Apple’s trend-setting iPhone handset has pretty much everything a tech-loving consumer could want. And now those avoiding adoption on the grounds of combined unit costs and mandatory service contracts can also get in on the iPhone act, courtesy of Skype.
Cheap-as-chips telephonic access for the iPod Touch as Apple embraces Skype. Image: Skype.
More pointedly, the eBay-owned VoIP telephony service is set to hit the iPhone this coming Tuesday (Mar. 31), which, while extending communication choices for established iPhone owners, could attract significantly more consumer focus for later versions of Apple’s non-telephonic iPod Touch handset.
While providing no cost handset-to-handset calls between iPhone Skype users, the free application is also compatible with iPod Touch units carrying a built-in microphone, which swiftly makes Apple’s cellular-free iPhone alterative a much more attractive proposition and adds greatly to its standard Wi-Fi connectivity.
The current 8GB version of the 3G iPhone costs $199 USD ahead of a two-year service contract with exclusive U.S. carrier AT&T. By way of comparison, the 8GB iPod Touch costs $229 USD, which, when factoring in the addition of Skype, makes the non-telephonic handset a fairly convincing iPhone in all-but name.
As with the desktop computer iteration of Skype, eBay will be looking to create revenue streams from any and all handset calls connected to conventional phones not equipped or compatible with eBay's hugely popular VoIP platform.
BlackBerry owners feeling left out by Skype’s near-immediate availability on the iPhone won’t be stranded in the VoIP cold for too long as the online chat application will be released for Research In Motion’s platforms in May.
Other branded devices already playing host to Skype include compatible handsets from Nokia along with smartphones carrying operating systems such as Google Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.
Skype for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch will be officially showcased during this week’s CTIA annual mobile event in Las Vegas and available for download from tomorrow through Apple's iTunes Store.
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