Recently, I was enquiring about whether there was a Skype client for Symbian-operated mobiles as an online acquaintance told me that there was one out already [sic.]. I had been a bit off from VoIP watching in the last 5-6 weeks or so concentrating on the Web 2.0 thingy, hence, I thought I might have missed on the big point. I asked Andy Abramson a couple of days back over IM whether it was out or not on which he answered in the negative adding that we may expect one soon.
So, when I saw this yesterday I was naturally very excited. I need not have done so, but like an OCD patient I doubled-checked on the Nokia N73 phone specifications to reassure myself that it indeed ran on Symbian. So as reported in The Inquirer and elsewhere, is it really Skype?
Om Malik points out the anomaly here. The client is actually a product of an MA-based company iSkoot. Om writes;
You see what happened was that iSkoot2, a Cambridge, MA.-based company cut a deal with 3g wireless service provider, 3, part of the Hutchison empire. As part of that deal, 3 would install iSkoot3 in some of its handsets including two Symbian based phones, the Nokia N73 and Sony Ericsson W950. iSkoot is not an official Skype product, and despite a tepid endorsement by Skype, and its capabilities, cannot be qualified as Skype for Symbian.
Skype endorses iSkoot, but as Om says, it cannot be qualified as Skype for Symbian. So by tepidly endorsing the product and letting the product go as ‘Skype’, Skype might be attempting a branding campaign for itself.
No wonder it is creating so much confusion. No wonder it got my friend confused when he told me Skype for Symbian is out. You see, iSkoot has been around on Symbian platform for quite sometime now!
I would like your views on this.
