The Skypephone S2 isn’t the kind of thing we usually review Smartphone Daily. It does have some basic smartphone capability in that you can synchronise calendar and contacts, but its smartphone credentials aren’t really up there with the best of them for the average PDA user. There is a clue in the device name as to what draws us to the Skypephone S2. It allows you to use your Skype account and contacts without paying a penny for the privilege. Now, if you are the kind of person who likes to take advantage of Skype on your main computer and maybe your PDA too, this could be a real plus point.

Specs & info

Price: contract or PAYG
Operating system: proprietary
Processor: n/a
Memory: 16MB
Dimensions: 100mm x 44mm x 13.6mm
Weight: 86g
Display size: 2.2 diagonal inches
Display resolution: 176 x 220
Expansion slot: 1 x microSD

The Skypephone is exclusive to 3 and is free on a Pay Monthly contract. It costs £69.99 on Pay As You Go. In both cases there is a fair use policy which limits you to 4,000 Skype to Skype call minutes and 10,000 Skype to Skype IM messages a month. This is generous enough that we doubt any user will worry about it.

You can put a Skype client on lots of mobile devices and PDAs, but it isn’t integrated into them in the same way as it is here. When you switch the Skypephone S2 on a row of icons along the bottom of the screen lets you get to various applications on the phone including Skype. Choose this and you just enter your account details, or sign up if you are a new user, and you are up and running.

The interesting thing about this handset is that 3 thinks it can make money even though it is offering the Skype stuff at no cost.

This makes sense. Unless you are a very rare person indeed you probably can’t Skype everyone you know. Sooner or later you are going to have to use the mobile network to make a charged for call. And there is plenty of non-Skype stuff here to take your attention.

There is a Facebook client, RSS feed reader, Windows Live Messenger, Google Mail, Google Maps, and mobile email support to keep you using the network. There is also a Web browser, and while the screen is a little smaller and lower resolution than we are used to seeing in a PDA at 2.2 inches and 176 x 220 pixels, the browser works fine over the 3 network.

And, if you need a final lure, there is the fact that the Skypephone S2 will happily act as a 3G dongle for your laptop using cables that come with it. So you can turn your laptop into an HSDPA connected device quite easily.

Build quality is very good and the Skypephone S2 feels tough and robust in the hand. It is light at just 86g. The buttons are a little small but they and the D-pad are nicely raised from their surroundings which helps with speed of use. The battery cover is a solid silver metal which adds some class to proceedings.

There is a 3.2 megapixel camera but sadly no front camera for two way video calling. There is 50MB of built in memory and a microSD card slot which, in a design glitch, sits under the battery.

The Skypephone S2 is not an alternative to a fully-fledged smartphone, but offers enough to be appealing as an inexpensive backup, especially with that 3G dongle functionality. You may not carry it on a day to day basis but it may be ideal for those times when you don’t need the all singing, all dancing PDA that is your pride and joy, but do want to call Auntie Babs in Australia for nothing.

Essential Verdict

Performance: 8/10
The Skype software is easy to use

Design: 8/10
Nice build quality with a feeling of class to it

Features: 6/10
An experienced PDA or smartphone user might find it a little lacking in features

Value for Money: 9/10
Inexpensive even on pay as you go for a 3G phone

Overall score: 6/10

Review originally published in Smartphone & PDA Essentials magazine. Words by Sandra Vogel.

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