name joint venture industry communications founded 2007 headquarters london united kingdom products mobile phones number of employees n a parent 3 skype website www.three.com the 3 skypephone series was a range of 3g mobile phones made as a global project by the 3 network . the project was initiated by the 3 s global handset team some of whom later went on to found the new mobile phone company inq . the phones were sold in australia austria denmark italy ireland sweden the united kingdom hong kong and macau but the service has now been discontinued . 1 3 offered 4000 free skype outbound voice minutes with the phones . initially the quota expired after 90 days 30 days in ireland unless the user purchased another topup or was on a pay monthly plan . this restriction was lifted by the network in 2009 where calls could still be made and received without the need to top up with credit . the service was advertised as unlimited in the uk ; however it is subject to fair use limitations as in other countries . the skypephone series of phones supported umts w cdma 2100 mhz gsm and gprs 900 1800 mhz as well as hsdpa with the 3 skypephone s2 . the skypephone series used the normal 3g or gsm voice network for handling skype calls which permitted users to make skype calls within 3 s 3g network or when the user is out of range of the 3g network and is roaming on one of 3 s partner 2g networks . the two skypephone models were not unique in using normal gsm or 3g voice protocols for handling skype three s symbian and java me based skype clients also did this but they did also need a data connection for low bandwidth communication with three s servers while the voice call is being set up . all other mobile skype applications such as skype for iphone use a gprs edge or 3g packet data connection to handle skype . the skype application used was native to the 3 skypephone series and is a brew application whereas other mobile skype clients are 3rd party downloads and are either symbian or java me based the latter is now defunct . an advantage of using the standardized 3gpp circuit switched cs voice protocols for handling calls is that it does not require a constant gprs edge 3g or wifi data connection all of which consume significantly more battery life than cs voice . 2 the 3 skypephone series used a usb connector for recharging and phone to pc communication allowing them to recharge when plugged into a computer . phone to pc connections are also possible over bluetooth . contents 1 usage terms 2 inq 3 see also 4 references 5 external links usage terms edit free skype to skype calls and instant messages were only available in the country where the phone was purchased or while roaming on 3 s sister networks . skype to skype calls and instant messages were subject to a fair use policy of 4 000 minutes of outgoing calls and 10 000 instant messages per month depending on country . 3 for 3 pay as you go customers the skype functionality was subject to activating a minimum top up value depending on country and valid for 90 days 30 days in ireland from activating their last top up but 3 removed the minimum top up requirement on 1 may 2009 . inq edit the skypephone project was a collaborative effort with the 3 s global handset team working closely with skype and qualcomm . 4 according to skype 5 the skypephone series if it were to continue could possibly be continued on a different network from 3 . in the irish market the phones have been discontinued since the introduction of inq handsets in january 2009 . see also edit 3 skypephone s1 3 skypephone s2 inq references edit when connecting to http mobile.three.co.uk help net skype from a three phone page not available from outside the three network the following message is displayed skype on three has been withdrawn by skype . if you try to log in to skype on three you may see this message sorry we can t connect you right now . please try again later . please ignore this message skype on three has been withdrawn and will not be available later . the world s best phone . 28 november 2007 . 3 terms and conditions . retrieved 26 july 2009 . can inq cell phones whack iphone in the knees . 8 october 2008 . 3 reveals the skypephone to hacks . 29 october 2007 . external links edit stephen fry s blog and guardian article about skypephone 2 victor keegan at the guardian on the skypephone 2 three skypephone portal in english danish german italian and swedish three skypephone wap portal in english danish german italian and swedish three skypephone at three.co.uk three skypephone review at gadgetvenue.com skypephone s2 on skype official website video walkthrough of main features on youtube christianlindholm.com s review tonyblews.co.uk s review part 1 and part 2 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title 3 skypephone series & oldid 731667731 categories amoi mobile phonesskypehidden categories use dmy dates from july 2013pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters 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