Nokia announced today that they will be teaming up with Internet based  voip provider Skype to offer calls on a cell phone without using minutes on your provider’s calling plan.  

Nokia’s new N800 Internet Tablet will allow phone connections through Skype by splitting up digital voice signals into data packets, and sending them across the Internet. The Internet tablet is currently available for purchase; although, the Skype feature will not be available for download till June. 

“Working with the leading mobile handset manufacturer puts us in a unique position to get Skype to the mobile masses,” said Eric Lagier, head of Skype’s business development in hardware and mobile operations.

Nokia has as much to gain in this as Skype. For Skype, this is a major opportunity. The Skype service is not free; however, it is substantially cheaper to use minutes over Skype Vs. over cellular networks, and for Nokia, this is their chance to offer a service that no other cell phone manufacturer provides.

While Nokia is still at the head of the pack, they are attempting to make up lost ground on Motorola and Samsung by offering users a chance to receive their minutes at a much cheaper cost, and all at the cell phone service provider’s expense. If this Duo is successful, it wouldn’t surprise me to see unlimited Internet access on cell phones fade away or completely disappear.

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Entry was posted on Monday, January 8th, 2007 at 4:31 pm under Uncategorized.

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