3 Skypephone S2 Preview
Discontinued 26th July 2008
The original
3 Skypephone was a useful but fairly basic handset
launched last year. It was almost definitely the easiest
way to get Skyping on a mobile phone, and combined with
3's generous data tariffs and excellent
approach to roaming charges it proved to be a minor
hit, but somewhat overshadowed by the release of
the iPhone.
The biggest problem with the original
Skypephone was its specification. With a 176 x 220 pixel
display and 2 megapixel camera, it was hardly going
to set pulses racing.
So, now we have the 3 Skypephone
S2 due for release in the UK on August 18th and
presumably in other 3 regions at roughly the same time.
The Skypephone S2 improves the display, camera and download
speeds over the original, making it a very much more
attractive handset to consumers.
The Skypephone S2's screen is a 240
x 320 pixel panel measuring 2.2", the camera is
now 3.2 megapixels although we don't know how sophisticated
it is. The S2 also features HSDPA, so download speeds
can be a lot quicker than the original (if you live
in a 3.5G
coverage area). One other nice feature is that the
Skypephone S2 contains all the Windows drivers you need
to turn it into a modem - plug in the USB cable and
everything will install automatically without needing
a CD or internet download. If you have used one of 3's
USB modems then you will have seen this in action before.
We
don't know all the other specifications of the Skypephone
S2 yet. We do know that there is 50MB of internal memory
expandable up to 4GB using microSD cards, the handset
measures 103 x 45 x 14mm and is powered by a beefy 1150
mAh battery. Also, the phone is made for 3 by Amoi
of China who give it the catchy model name of WMA8709.
What we have here then is easy-to-use
Skype without too many compromises. The specifications
are quite decent, the handset is tidily designed and
we know that the Skype capabilities should be good if
it is anything like the original. Pricing will vary
depending on tariff, the figure of £69.99 has
been mentioned, but we don't know which calling plan
this is for.
The bottom line is this - if you spend
a LOT of money on phone calls, then it is quite likely
that the Skypephone can save you a considerable amount
of cash while still being a pretty good mobile
phone. We are sure that will appeal to many potential
customers.
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3
Skypephone S2 at a glance
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Available:
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Q3
2008
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Network:
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GSM
+ UMTS (3G)
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Data:
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GPRS
+ UMTS (3G) + HSDPA
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Screen:
|
240
x 320 pixels
|
Camera:
|
3.2
megapixels
|
Size:
|
Medium
monoblock 103 x 45 x
14mm
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
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Memory
card:
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microSD
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Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
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Yes
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Java:
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Yes
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GPS:
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No
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Battery
life:
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Not
specified
|
|
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