Skype expands mobile push with Symbian support

Skype signed up another supporter today in Nokia (NYSE:NOK), which announced it would release the Skype client for its line of Symbian-based smartphones. The voice-over IP (VoIP) service will be available on more than 200 million Nokia smartphones through the Ovi App Store and will work on either WiFi or a 3G mobile data connection.

Skype for Symbian is downloadable free in much the same way Skype is installed on the PC. It will work on any Nokia phone running the latest version of Symbian, enabling free Skype-to-Skype calling and cheap international calls and messaging. The companies said that an app for Symbian phones from Sony Ericsson is also planned for later in the year.

Skype, which has been wildly popular on the PC, has also accelerated its wireless push in the past few months, most notably through a partnership with Verizon Wireless that will bring Skype to a range of BlackBerry devices. Russ Shaw, general manager of Skype’s mobile business said that Skype is approaching the mobile market from three angles: mobile operator partners, device manufacturers and with downloadable clients. He expects other operators to follow Verizon and original partner UK-based 3’s lead and integrate the Skype client directly, but that Skype will also continue to build its focus on devices and operating systems too.

Last year, for example, Nokia embedded Skype into the N900 smartphone. The close integration allowed Skype contact details to appear alongside the regular phone numbers of contacts. “Using Skype from the address book removes the need to open up the application separately and it’s proving a very popular model,” Shaw said in an email interview. “We’re now working with Nokia to integrate across their N-series range.”

On the flipside, Skype hasn’t been shy about pulling its software client from OSs where the experience may be less than ideal. Within the past week, it has stopped supporting Windows Mobile, which it said provided an inconsistent Skype experience. Consumers have also been waiting to have Skype opened up to AT&T’s 3G network on the iPhone, where the holdup has actually come from Skype, not AT&T or Apple.

Skype has seen more than 15% of iPhone and iPod Touch users install Skype since it was first offered in the App Store over WiFi less than a year ago. But while AT&T began allowing VoIP apps over 3G last fall, Skype hasn’t yet released a 3G version of its iPhone app. Now, Shaw is promising it will be available for the iPhone on AT&T “very soon.” The company is adding new audio technology to further improve the sound quality in the app and will then submit it to the app store for approval, he said.

“We know there is a lot of demand, so we want to make sure this is going to be something worth the wait as I am sure it’s going to be a hugely popular,” Shaw said.