Now this looks compelling – a Skype phone that you use to make and receive phone calls on a wireless network without needing a computer.
Jaanus at Share Skype has been playing with a prototype:
[…[ It looks and feels much like a recent mobile phone and the basic controls for using the interface are also similar. So if you’ve used a mobile phone before, you’ll have no difficulties to get going. After turning it on, you must sign in or create a new Skype Name before you can do much else. Obviously, if you log on with an existing Skype Name, you immediately have your full contact list available and can start calling right away.
Note it’s for a wireless network, not a cellular network.
No news yet as to when or where such a phone will be available. Nor any details on pricing, how it interfaces with Skype, etc. Once it is available, though, I bet it sells like hot cakes if the price is right and the call costs are the same as they are currently with SkypeOut (eg, the global rate at about $0.02 per minute).
Talk about disruptive business models.