Skype bids to bridge mobile phone-computer gap

VoIP supplier Skype is calling for network operators, software providers and device makers to work together to help Skype's 405 million users consolidate their communications media on a single mobile device.

The move has the potential to revolutionize enterprise communications.

Skype's call follows research it commissioned that found smartphones and netbooks are not yet the same thing in users' minds.

The survey of 3,000 mobile users in the US, Japan, Spain and the UK showed most do not download applications to mobile devices, and most want more control over how they work with their device.

The study found

. 62% do not yet see their mobile device as an extension of their computer

. Only 23% feel that they have more or the same level of control over their mobile device as they have over their computer

. 70% have never downloaded an application to their mobile device

. 67% want to be able to choose their mobile applications rather than have their carriers choose for them.

Respondents in Japan, the US and the UK felt they had the least control over their mobile devices versus personal computers, and fewer than one in three had downloaded an application to their mobile. Read More>>>