eBay owned Skype is partnering with mobile phone giant Nokia to have Skype’s voice-over-IP (VoIP) and instant messaging software pre-installed on several Nokia handsets.

Skype will be integrated onto Nokia’s N97 device from the start of the third quarter of 2009, and then on other N-series handsets. Users of the new Nokia mobile phones will be able to communicate via Skype-to-Skype voice calls, as well as make mobile and landline Skype calls at reasonable prices.

Some level of Skype functionality is already available for Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 device and a ‘lite’ version of Skype has been available in beta on compatible LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson phones. This latest initiative, however, will see a full version of Skype pre-installed on the Nokia phones.

Source: Robin Wauters, “Skype Integration On Handsets: Threat Or Opportunity For Mobile VoIP Startups?” TechCrunch, February 17, 2009

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