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3 Skypephone hands on review part 2: Should I buy this mobile phone?

3 Skypephone “Should I buy this mobile phone? Is a question you all are asking we guess so we will give you our honest opinion, we already done a review of out of the box in another post called 3 Skypephone hands on review part 1: WP-S1 Out of the box (View Here) and now we will let you know if this new Skype phone is well worth the buy or not.

We got sent two of these phones and I am using one and someone else from Phones Review is using the other, the other person called Hayley will let me know what she thinks about this new phone after she has used it for 2 months (We will keep you posted on her views), coming back to my honest opinion on the should I buy this mobile phone? Question my personal answer is yes.

Ok it is not the best mobile phone in the world but for the price and the way the whole phone feels and works it is a damn good mobile phone with the added benefit of fully integrated Skype function.

I have used this phone to call people and have also received calls and I have had no problems whatsoever, using the Skype function in my house was a bit of a pain in the ass as I could not get connected, but that is down to the signal strength of which was pretty low indeed but once outside and in some of my families house it worked fine.

I used the 3 MP camera and took some photos which when I saw the photos on the camera it looked pretty poor and sort of distorted but when I transferred them to my PC they came out very clear indeed. Sending text messages was a doddle and looking at the whole use-ability factor of the cool 3 Skypephone was just as easy as saying 1, 2, 3.

We will be giving you more hands on reviews about the 3 Skypephone so please do keep coming back for more info, why not subscribe to our newsletter where you will be sent all the latest reviews and news we publish Right Here.

So too answer your question which is “Should I buy this mobile phone? My personal answer has to be a big fat yes. Please do visit 3mobilebuzz.com on where to buy this very cool mobile phone.

Comments

11 thoughts on “3 Skypephone hands on review part 2: Should I buy this mobile phone?”

  1. I agree with the review wholeheartedly. I also agree with the comment about the phone being a little ‘too’ cheap. If you think about it though the objective here is to get Skype and the 3 network into use as widely as possible. A budget handset can accomplish that task. I believe that if this phone proves the Skype integration to be a success then we’ll see a broader range of Skypephones in the future.

    I’ll be writing an indepth review of my own experiences with the phone soon on my blog. I’ve also started a 3 Skypephone Users Group on Flickr where 3 Skypephone users can show of their creative works with the phone.

  2. Syd Del says:

    I was living in Moscow when my friend bought a Skypephone here in London. I was able to contact him on Skype 24/7, not just when he was sitting in front of his computer (I had Fring installed on a Nokia 6630, but there was no 3G network in Moscow).

    When I returned to London (nearly broke) I needed a new phone and decided to buy one of these as a temp. I wanted a 3G phone that I could use as a modem while waiting for my broadband installation in my new apartment, and a simple phone I could use to make/receive calls. My plan was to buy an el-cheapo that I could bin the moment I got a job (and my first pay cheque).

    It has been a while since I received my first pay cheque, but I have fallen in love with my Skypephone and don’t want to part with it. I call my family and friends in the US and Australia using Skype, and I can connect my laptop to the Internet and demo projects to clients while out on business lunches.

    Just as a point of interest, I have it on good authority that the Skypephone uses the normal cellular network for the first hop of Skype calls (instead of the 3G data network). That is, from your handset to the base station Skype calls are the same as normal voice calls – they use the same cellular network.

    It’s not a “fancy” phone, but it’s certainly functional. For just under £40, it’s amazing. If anything, I wish 3 would make a model that allowed Skype-Out calls and Skype Video (and throw in a HSDPA modem for good measure).

  3. Saki says:

    So…this may sound like a dumb question. but you can connect your phone to your laptop and it will work as a modem? how much does that cost to do?

    …how do i do it?

    thanks =D

  4. Syd Del says:

    Yes, you can use just about any phone that has 3G as a 3G modem for your laptop. It’s very convenient, and from what I have seen, 3 Network offer the best data deals (for 3G, not sure about HSDPA – yet).

    It costs £5 per month on PAYG with 3 Network for “unlimited” access (the “Internet Max” add-on, I think). There’s probably some kind of “fair usage” policy in place. Before paying for the month, first buy one day Internet access add-on for about 50p to test it.

    1. Install the 3 Skypephone (WP-S1) USB modem driver (on the CD supplied).
    2. Attach your Skypephone and select “USB Mass Storage Device” when prompted to choose “PC Sync” or “Mass Storage Device”.
    3. Create a DUN (Dial-up Network), set the phone number to “*99#”. Leave username and password blank.
    4. Double-click the DUN you created, you should now be connected.

    If it doesn’t work, check that your handset is set to “Via USB”:

    1. Click on the “Menu” button.
    2. Select “Settings”.
    3. Select “Connectivity”.
    4. Select “Modem Connection”.

    You then have 2 options: “Via Bluetooth” or “Via USB”. Choose accordingly (although you may need a different driver to connect via bluetooth).

    I have read on the 3 Forums that some folks seem to get it working, others do not. Wish people would post detailing what operating system they use. Even if using Linux, there is a how-to tutorial by Dave Stevens here:

    http://davestevens.co.uk/blog/2008/01/03/3-skype-phone-as-bluetooth-modem-on-ubuntu-linux/

    Other relevant links:

    http://gadgeteer.org.uk/2007/11/26/using-a-3skypephone-as-a-modem/

    This forum here is somewhat confusing:

    http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?t=71306

    Although I love what 3 Network offers PAYG customers in terms of data access, I am very frustrated that when you call them with a “problem using my 3G phone as a modem” problem, most of the time they will tell you they don’t support using the XYZ mobile as a modem, and that’ll be it.

  5. dave says:

    i find this phone inq1 from 3 to be very bad.this is my second phone in 1 month battery not lasting more than 2 days .texting is very bad also itjust keeps rotating the numbers and contacts

  6. I am using this phone with no problems. It's a low priced handset with excellent call quality. It is best used as the main handset and to be selective to maximize Skype. Obviously it is good phone for teenagers

  7. Without any second thought you should go for skype phones as they are pretty handy and can be available at affordable prices. I can’t live without skype that’s why I am using this phone and still so far I am glad to have one.

    Cheers!

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