my name is mwd

John turned up in the shed yesterday to show us his new toy – the 3 Skype phone.

The basic premise is that it’s a normal mobile phone, except it has a Skype client in it from which you can make Skype voice calls to other Skype users for free, and you can also do Skype instant messaging for free. There’s a little button on the side that lets you switch between normal phone and Skype mode.

It all worked very well, and it’s a great idea. A lot of my friends are on Skype, so the idea that I could call them for free wherever they are in the world is very appealing. Better yet the phone is just under fifty pounds on a pay-as-you-go contract, so it’s not even that expensive. Otherwise it’s a nice, minimal, mobile phone.

There’s a strong temptation to go retro on phone technology. Although the iPhone is nice, I already have a nice iPod that’s got the capacity I need, unlike the iPhone. I use the camera in my phone an awful lot though, and occasional picture messages are nice, something I’ve appreciated more since my sister’s had children and I’m far away from them. Otherwise I’d be sorely tempted to go back to a classic phone of yore.