Nokia is working with Skype to bring free and low-cost calls to your Nokia, starting with the Nokia. While the Nokia N97 is set to ship in June, we’ll need to wait until Q3 of this year before we’ll be able to download a firmware update to get Skype on our handsets.
Skype will be integrated into the address book of the Nokia N97, so you’ll be able to see who’s online, as well as their status. You’ll be able to connect using 3G, as well as Wi-Fi, to make the most of free or low-cost calls.
This is the leading story to come out of Mobile World Congress this morning. Other top stories include a top award for Nokia Sports Tracker - Best Mobile Internet Service, as well as a universal charger for all Nokia and rival mobile phones.
Nokia N97 comes with Skype
Nokia is working with Skype to bring free and low-cost calls to your Nokia, starting with the Nokia N97. This will be the first smartphone in the world to be unleashed with the service that currently delivers low-cost calls to pver 40 million users. Skype will be integrated into the address book of the Nokia N97, so you’ll be able to see who’s online, as well as their status. You’ll be able to connect using 3G, as well as Wi-Fi, to make the most of free or low-cost calls.
It’s not all good news, or so it seems, as apparently the Symbian Guru has discovered the first version will come as another tab, rather like your buddy list, adding to the number of contact options on your phone. There hasn’t been any clarification on the matter but it’s early days yet, so things should improve.
Nokia Sports Tracker - Best Mobile Internet Service
The Nokia Sports Tracker application has taken the Best Mobile Internet Service award at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The app is available free and has been downloaded over 2.5 million times to date, making it one of the most popular sports aid programs in the world.
Nokia Sports Tracker allows you to monitor your exercise routines and also tracks fitness levels. Where the real magic happens is that it allows you to share this information online with friends, showing them the best routes and routines.
If you don’t know, Nokia Sports Tracker is a GPS-based tracking system that runs on Nokia smartphones. Information such as speed, distance and time are updated and stored in your training diary, so you can keep tabs with your progress. You can even store your workout details and favourite routes on the Sports Tracker website for others to use.
Last month we saw the launch of Nokia’s own Eco line of phones, which come sans charger, and now it seems the company is getting behind a move to standardise chargers across the industry. This would involve using a microUSB plug, not mini-USB and could be standard practise by 2012, which is great news as how many different chargers does the average home currently use?
The guys over at All About Symbian have a picture of what they think it’ll look like. You have to hope there will be a UK variant, otherwise we’re looking at adding on more plastic.
