Nokia to put Skype on its flagship phone, challenging telcos

At what is turning out to be a go-go World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Nokia has dropped the latest bombshell with news it will bundle Skype with its N97 (above), due for New Zealand release later this year.

The pre-installed software from Skype (owned by eBay) will allow N97 owners to make free VoIP (voice over internet protocol) calls over the internet via a wi-fi connection, just as many use Skype on a desktop PC today.

That means an N97 user, when in range of a wi-fi hotspot, could sidestep their telco, and its cellular charges, altogether.

Nokia says it will put Skype on other high-end models following the N97’s launch.

Skype is already available in a version for Windows Mobile handsets, for those who choose to install it themselves, plus a "lite" version for Google Android - and aficionados are already adding Skype to any wi-fi handset using Fring (which also adds scads of IM clients).

But while making VoIP calls from a wi-fi enabled cellphone is nothing new to hardcore geeks, Nokia will become the first A-list brand manufacturer to throw its weight behind the mobile version of Skype, pre-loading the software on a mainstream mobile.

Nokia's N97 (preview here) will mark the Finnish phone makers' first high-end foray into touchscreen phones, fighting back agains the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm - but also out-feature and out-heft those devices with its fold-out Qwerty keyboard borrowed from Nokia's Communicator series.

Nokia New Zealand's Lane Stephens says it's still too early to put a local price or release date on the N97, which marks a radical design departure from the $1400 N96.

Earlier in Barcelona, Nokia announced an AppStore-style makeover for its Ovi service, which will be relaunched as OviStore during May.