Skype has developed a beta version of its software that is compatible with mobile phones.

The technology will allow mobile users to receive Skype and SkypeIn calls, including chat, group chat and presence facilities and will initially be available on Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson phones.

Gareth O'Loughlin, general manager of mobile and hardware devices at the communications provider, stressed the importance of consumer feedback: "We need to hear what delights them and where there is still work to be done."

"These are still the early days for making Skype calls on mobile phones, but we've already made great strides in this space," he added.

Additional capability for making Skype-to-Skype and SkypeOut calls from the mobile handsets will be available in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Last week a spokesperson for Which? predicted that everything we now do on computers will eventually be possible on mobile phones.

Jon Barrow, senior researcher at the consumer body, added that as phone technology becomes more innovative, it will also become more expensive.


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