Netgear, Skype announce WiFi Mobile Phone

LAS VEGAS - January 4, 2006 - VoIP giant Skype, along with internet hardware manufacturer NetGear Inc. today announced the world's first WiFi-enabled Skype phone.

No longer will it be required that you be connected to a PC to enjoy the benifits of Skype - soon you will be able to make calls anywhere in the world using skype, from any home, office, restaurant, or from any one of hundreds of thousands of public WiFi Hotspots worldwide.

The Skype experience will remain the same - Skype users can call other skype users anywhere in the world for FREE, while paying only pennies per minute to call non-skype phone users.

The NetGear WiFi Skype phone will come preloaded with the Skype software, and out-of-the-box ready to use with any wireless network. A user will simply turn the Skype phone on, when they will be prompted to enter a Skype username and password. The WiFi Skype Phone will then load the user's full contact list on the display of the phone, showing the user which of their skype contacts are online, and which ones are not. Skype Phone users can place calls to regular phones and cell phones using the SkypeOut feature, which requires prepaid Skype credit, and is billed at much lower rates than regular long distance calls.

More information on NETGEAR's WiFi Skype phone, including pricing and availability, is planned for the first quarter of 2006.