The bundle is exclusively available to U.S. and European consumers from the Skype Web store at skype.com/shop and includes everything needed to make Internet calls at home, at work and on the move. The package offer the SMC Wi-Fi phone for Skype, FON's wireless router "La Fonera," 500 minutes of SkypeOut credit, and Skype Voicemail for a year.
While calls between Skype users will always be free, 500 SkypeOut minutes allow users to make cheap calls to ordinary telephones around the world.
"The arrival of Wi-Fi phones has helped liberate Skype users from the PC and made Internet calling truly mobile," said Stefan Oberg, Skype's general manager of hardware. "But never before have all the necessary ingredients been combined in one package at such an attractive price."
"We're pleased to have the opportunity to work with innovators -- Skype and FON -- to bring together a package that makes communication better," said Tony Stramandinoli, SMC Networks' vice president of marketing. "The SMC Wi-Fi Phone for Skype opens a new means for easy voice communication, and this bundle combines the best of components and features to get users started with Wi-Fi calling."
SMC's Wi-Fi Phone for Skype can be used anywhere where there is an open wireless access point. FON is offering the La Fonera Wi-Fi router, which allows users to share some of their bandwidth at home, and get free access to the global community of FON Access Points in exchange. FON already has tens of thousands of access points where the SMC Skype Wi-Fi Phone can already be used. In fact, it is the world's fastest-growing Wi-Fi community.
"Our goal at FON is to build a global Wi-Fi community so that consumers can benefit from the fantastic capabilities and services that ubiquitous Wi-Fi has to offer," said FON founder and CEO Martin Varsavsky. "The combination of Skype, SMC's Wi-Fi phone and FON is a huge leap forward towards this new realm of Wi-Fi everywhere."
