The first time you run the application you have to confirm the EULA before being asked to create a new user or log on to Skype using existing access data.

The User Interface

The user interface is borrowed from Skype for the desktop PC. It has four tabs: Start, Contacts, Dial and Log.

The start screen shows which contacts are online. Users of the fee-based voice service "Skypeout" are also informed of their call credit. For a small fee - currently just two cents - Skypeout lets you call any fixed-line or mobile network anywhere in the world.

Skype users who also use the desktop version will be annoyed to find that there is currently no option to transfer an existing list of contacts from the desktop PC to the Pocket PC. This means that at first launch, the contact list is empty. All you can do is search with the "Search for Skype user" menu item for each contact and request authorization from them. Skype should look into fixing this.

Annoying: despite having an existing account, the contact list is empty at first