Mobile Skype Phone

Skype is a budget-friendly way to stay in touch when you travel, as it allows free calls over the internet and video chat as well.

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A mobile Skype phone is one of the best ways for travelers to stay in contact with friends and family back home, without having to spend a fortune in long-distance fees. Skype is software that allows you to make phone calls over the internet anywhere in the world, with low fees of just a few cents a minute, or free for Skype-to-Skype calls. To pay for Skype calls, you will have to purchase Skype credit, which will then be debited from your Skype account as you use it.

You can, of course, make Skype calls over a computer if you have access to one. However, this does not allow you receive calls while you are on the move, and can be inconvenient when you have to stop and look for a computer or set up your laptop while traveling. If you're in search of a way to use a mobile Skype phone, there are several options open to you, aside from cell phone rentals and purchasing calling cards.

Many people use their iPhone, iPod Touch, or other smartphone as a Skype phone for travel. While you will not be able to have Skype running in the background to receive incoming calls, you can easily use the Skype iPhone application to make outgoing calls by finding a free WiFi access spot while traveling. This allows you to avoid expensive 3G roaming charges. For the iPod Touch, you will need to buy a microphone/headphone set to access the voice features of Skype, as a microphone is not built into the iPod Touch.

There is also a new feature offered by a partnership between Skype and Verizon which will allow owners of certain 3G smartphones, including new Blackberry and Android phones, to use an application that enables their Skype phone for travel. Although these plans are limited to areas and customers who receive service from Verizon (in the US), they do allow users to place overseas calls using Skype credit at greatly reduced rates, and place/receive Skype-to-Skype calls for free. The benefit of these Skype phones is that the Skype application can run permanently in the background, allowing you to receive Skype calls anytime.

Skype has also teamed up with 3 Mobile in countries such as the UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark to offer Skype calling services over the 3 Skypephone. If you are traveling in any of these countries and have a 3 Mobile-enabled Skype phone for travel, you may place calls to other countries using your Skype credit (but not for calls within the same country).

Unfortunately, with most of the new Skype-enabled phones, it is much easier to place outgoing international calls than it is to use Skype while roaming internationally. If you want to call internationally while traveling, especially if you will be on the move constantly, your best bet may be to use a WiFi-enabled Skype application, which can be used if your mobile Skype phone can access free Wifi (such as the iPhone), or to access your Skype account via a Wifi-enabled laptop.