April 2008

LUXEMBOURG, April 24, 2008 – Following recent moves to extend Skype™ conversations to a wide variety of new mobile and wireless devices, Skype is taking another major step as it continues to merge its internet communications software with mobile phones. Today, the company released a beta version of Skype for your mobile, a mobile “thin“ client that works on about 50 of the most popular Java-enabled mobile phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

The beta version of Skype for your mobile is available worldwide with a feature set that includes chat, group chat, presence (seeing when your contacts are online), and receiving calls from Skype users, and through SkypeIn.* Additional features, which include the making of Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls from the mobile handsets, are initially supported in seven markets: Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

"These are still the early days for making Skype calls on mobile phones, but we've already made great strides in this space," said Gareth O'Loughlin, general manager, mobile and hardware devices. "Among other things, we have a great relationship with 3, the mobile operator, which has brought the mobile Skype experience to eight markets through the 3 Skypephone and a range of other packages and phones. Skype for your mobile will expand the available options even further.

"While Skype for your mobile is in beta,“ O’Loughlin added, "it is an important time for us to listen to our users‘ feedback, be it through surveys or user forums. We need to hear what delights them and where there is still work to be done. But this product underscores our commitment to innovation and to putting Skype conversations in the pockets of today’s mobile masses."

With its beta version, Skype for your mobile enters a public testing phase that will help Skype gauge the response of technology-savvy users whose feedback will help tweak the offering. This phase is expected to last several months, after which a public version of the application will be made available to millions of mobile phone owners around the world.

There are two ways to get the beta version of Skype for your mobile: as a direct over-the-air download to a compatible mobile phone, or it can be downloaded to a computer and then transferred to the phone. For instructions, please visit www.skype.com/go/mobiledownload. This Web page also includes a directory of currently supported mobile phones and the list of markets where the full feature set is available. Additional phones and markets will be added over time.

* You will not incur charges from Skype to call or chat with friends on Skype. Skype will charge its regular very low SkypeOut rates when you call friends who are not on Skype or receive calls in your mobile handset from other Skype users or over SkypeIn. 
When you call Skype-to-Skype or SkypeOut from your mobile, you are using mobile voice and data networks for which your mobile operator charges you for data usage and local mobile calling minutes. We highly recommend getting an unlimited data plan to use with Skype for your mobile. The mobile data network is used to sign onto Skype and to download your contacts, update presence and send/receive instant messages – so the longer you stay signed on, the more Skype contacts you have or the more you chat with another Skype user, the more you will use your mobile data plan. 

To keep the application lightweight, Skype for your mobile works over standard mobile voice networks connections for the first and/or last legs of Skype, SkypeOut and SkypeIn calls – and over the internet for the rest.

Users in ‘3’ territories can already get free end-to-end Skype calling and chat on the 3 Skypephone and end-to-end Skype calling at no extra cost on all compatible contract phones from the ‘3’ mobile operator, as part of their subscription. For more information, please visit www.3skypephone.com.

About Skype


Millions of people every day use Skype software to communicate with others through free voice and video calls, as well as instant messages. Skype's 309 million registered users have made more than 100 billion minutes worth of free Skype-to-Skype calls. Many people also use SkypeOut or one of our global subscriptions to save money when calling landlines and mobiles at home and abroad. No longer bound to the computer, Skype conversations can also be had on a broad range of cordless handsets, mobile devices and other Skype Certified hardware. We've made it easy for Skype users to list and recommend their favourite local businesses to the rest of the community with SkypeFind. And even when you're fluent in Skype, there is always more to discover: hundreds of third-party developers have created software plug-ins to make Skype even more useful. All of this makes Skype the leading global internet communications company.

Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

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Luxembourg, 21st April, 2008 – Skype announced unlimited* calling today to over a third of the world’s population with the launch of its new calling subscriptions. The new subscriptions signal the first time Skype has offered a single, monthly flat rate for international calling to landline numbers in 34 countries.

The new subscriptions have no long-term contract. You can make calls whenever you want – at any time of the day, on any day of the week. From today, you can choose from three types of subscription – from unlimited calls to landlines in the country of your choice through to landlines in 34 destination countries worldwide.

Stefan Oberg, VP & GM telecoms at Skype said, “This move is a natural step for Skype. Skype was founded on the principle of making free voice and video calls available to people all around the world. And now we’re making it even easier for the Skype community to call their friends and family who are not yet on Skype. Our subscriptions give people an easy, hassle-free choice for how and when they want to catch up with their loved ones.”

Oberg continued, “For example if you live in London, for just €2.95 a month, you can call your grandmother in Poland, whenever you like, talk for up to six hours at a time, and not worry about how much it’s costing you. Your grandmother doesn’t need to understand the internet. You just use your Skype subscription to make the call and she just picks up the phone. And if you have friends and family spread over the world, you can reach them all for as little as €8.95 a month. When you combine the free features Skype is known for – from instant messaging to conference calling to video calls – with our subscriptions, it’s hard to find a better alternative.”

309 million people all over the world use Skype in all sorts of ways – whether it’s a weekly video call with a sister in Paris or sending an instant message to a college friend in Tokyo or calling a business contact overseas.

To purchase a subscription, simply go to skype.com/go/subscriptions for more details. If you purchase one of the new subscriptions for a 3-month or 12-month period before June 1st 2008, you will receive a further 33% discount.

About Skype’s calling subscriptions:

Skype users around the world can choose to subscribe to any one of the following calling subscriptions based on their individual calling needs:

You will only pay one flat monthly fee. There are no hidden costs or additional connection charges.

In parallel with our new subscriptions, Skype continues to offer its Pay As You Go option. Put as little as €10 on your Skype account and you can call whoever you want, whenever you want at very low rates.

*Unlimited calling: all calls are subject to Skype’s fair usage policy which is set at 10,000 minutes per month (which equates to more than 5 hours of calling per day). Calls to premium, non-geographic and other special numbers are excluded.

About Skype

Millions of people every day use Skype software to communicate with others through free voice and video calls, as well as instant messages. Skype's 309 million registered users have made more than 100 billion minutes worth of free Skype-to-Skype calls. Many people also use SkypeOut™ or one of our global subscriptions to save money when calling landlines and mobiles at home and abroad. No longer bound to the computer, Skype conversations can also be had on a broad range of cordless handsets, mobile devices and other Skype Certified™ hardware. We've made it easy for Skype users to list and recommend their favourite local businesses to the rest of the community with SkypeFind. And even when you're fluent in Skype, there is always more to discover: hundreds of third-party developers have created software plug-ins that make Skype even more useful. All of this makes Skype the leading global internet communications company.

Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY), and you can learn more and get Skype at www.skype.com.

Access to a broadband Internet connection is required for Skype and all Skype Certified devices and accessories. Skype is not a replacement for your traditional telephone service and cannot be used for emergency calling.

Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

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