Cannot find skypephone in Italy

[ramlax13]

Hey there everyone,

So I am currently studying abroad in Rome, and having done my research before I got here, was anxious to get a skypephone while was here. I went to the closest official 3 store I could find and talked to the lady at the desk. I explained I wanted a phone with skype and she told me they had one but that I needed a 24 month contract to get it. I believe she was referring to the INQ phone that has skype on it, because the phone is free with contract.

Does anyone know where I can get the skypephone in Rome still? It seems as though it has also slipped off of the Tre.it website as well. If I cannot get it, are there any good alternatives for me?

Thank you.

[inquisitor]

Those Skypephones from 3 are quite outdated and had a relatively short battery life. In your place I would buy a recent E- oder N-series Nokia phone (e.g. a Nokia E52), which supports VoIP, get a free VoIP account including free geographical US-number from sipgate.us and so you would be reachable free of charge on a regular US-number in Italy. People could call you using regular phones instead of computers or Skype-capable phones and they will of course pay only a domestic call, while you won't be charged for receiving those calls at all. Of course you can also place outgoing calls to the US at sipgate's rates, which are quite low.
Just make sure the Nokia, you chose supports SIP (the required VoIP-protocol) and both, HSDPA and HSUPA, as the lastmentioned will reduce latency and so there won't be a lag in your calls.

P.S.: You might need someone in the US to sign up for sipgate.us as they might restrict registration to American IP-addresses. However you'll be able to use the VoIP-account even from abroad afterwards.

[Stu]

3's Skype client for the Nokia E-Series is floating around on the web. I added it to my Nokia E66 (not from 3) without any problem.

[inquisitor]

Does that software support voice calls? The current Android version of Skype supports only instant messaging (by text).

[ramlax13]

Originally Posted by Stu

3's Skype client for the Nokia E-Series is floating around on the web. I added it to my Nokia E66 (not from 3) without any problem.

So do you mean if I bought a Nokia E Series phone from 3 it would have a skype client installed on it? I have google voice/gizmo which I could use through sip, but I was looking more for a way to do free skype text messaging, something I know the skypephone provided. Is this possible with the E-series nokias or any other phone?

[ramlax13]

Also, I have a Nokia E61i that a friend lent to me for the trip. If I put a 3 sim card in it, will I be able to download the skype client from 3?

[inquisitor]

If you are just looking for text messaging through Skype, their recently released software for Symbian (Symbian is the operating software used by most Nokia handsets) will do it, however not on the E61, as it's outdated and not supported.
Fortunately there's an alternative free software called Fring, which supports not only the E61, but nearly every instant messaging service (including Skype) and VoIP at once. So just download Fring to your handset, sign up for Fring and then configure all the IM and VoIP-accounts you want to use.
However since the E61 does neither support HSUPA nor HSDPA you are likely to experience inferior sound quality and a bit of a lag while talking via VoIP.
Btw, the E61 has also an integrated VoIP-client by default, which is very comfortable to use, as it's highly integrated. After dialing a number or picking one from your phonebook you can simply go to Options / Internet call and the call will be placed via VoIP. No need to start any application etc. Of course you need to configure a VoIP-account before.

P.S.: Here 3 UK offer their Skype client for download, however there's no version for the E61 either - so Fring is your only choice.

[ramlax13]

Originally Posted by inquisitor

If you are just looking for text messaging through Skype, their recently released software for Symbian (Symbian is the operating software used by most Nokia handsets) will do it, however not on the E61, as it's outdated and not supported.
Fortunately there's an alternative free software called Fring, which supports not only the E61, but nearly every instant messaging service (including Skype) and VoIP at once. So just download Fring to your handset, sign up for Fring and then configure all the IM and VoIP-accounts you want to use.
However since the E61 does neither support HSUPA nor HSDPA you are likely to experience inferior sound quality and a bit of a lag while talking via VoIP.
Btw, the E61 has also an integrated VoIP-client by default, which is very comfortable to use, as it's highly integrated. After dialing a number or picking one from your phonebook you can simply go to Options / Internet call and the call will be placed via VoIP. No need to start any application etc. Of course you need to configure a VoIP-account before.

P.S.: Here 3 UK offer their Skype client for download, however there's no version for the E61 either - so Fring is your only choice.

It says on this page here that the E61 is compatible with the Skype Client.

Info Utili e Compatibilità

[inquisitor]

Tre Italia probably have another Skype client for their clients. So just try it!
According to the "Guida e installazione" tab of the linked page, that software supports Skype voice calls, which are actually established through a callback over a circuit-switched voice channel (like regular voice calls), so calls should be crystal clear and will not be dependant on quality or bandwidth of the datalink.

[Stu]

Three's Skype client is a proprietary version of the iSkoot software. It doesn't doesn't support true VOIP and has a broad list of supported handsets because of it.