While I can find no press release from any of Skype, iSkoot or 3, it appears there was some 3 media event yesterday where it was announced that 3 will be introducing a new Skypephone 2 on August 18. Key new features include:

• 3G mobile broadband supporting HSDPA
• a 3.2 Mpixel camera (vs the current 2.0 Mpixel)
• integration of Skype contacts into the phone’s address book
• support for email (post-launch date)
• software to allow the Skypephone to be used as a modem when plugged into a PC (tethering)
• slightly larger screen (2.2 inch QVGA)
• RSS feed support
• a built-in Facebook application
• pricing of £69.95 on Pay-As-You-Go or free for contract customers

Chris Dawson at TameBay saw one yesterday:

The Skypephone however is the only handset in the world that has Skype built-in as an “always on” embedded tool rather than as an add-on application. That means it doesn’t eat into your data allowance and 3 allows a generous 4,000 Skype minutes and 10,000 Skype chat messages a month for free on the Skypephone.

At this same event it was also confirmed that 3 will be carrying the Blackberry Bold (where you have a full QWERTY keyboard for handling email and other keyboard-intensive activities).

Not exactly a quiet summer for smartphone introductions!

Tags: Skype, Skypephone, 3

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