CES: Android Wraps Its Robot Arms Around Skype

Making official what has been rumored for the last couple of days, Skype is announcing a new version of its Skype Lite mobile client for Android. The Google Inc. (GOOG) mobile platform marks the most recent mobile system to support Skype’s VoIP service, joining Windows Mobile and the Symbian OS from Nokia (NOK). Skype Lite will also be available on other Java-enabled handsets from major vendors including Motorola Inc. (MOT), Nokia, and LG (1577.TWO).

A Skype spokesperson confirmed the announcement, which is scheduled for a Skype press event today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The news spread rapidly across the blogosphere yesterday after a story reporting it went up on the CNET Web site, apparently prematurely. That story has since been removed.

Luxembourg-based Skype, the only provider to so far escape the contraction that is scouring the pure-play VoIP business, has been expanding its service to a variety of devices and platforms over the last year. In November, for example, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer ASUS announced the first Skype-enabled videophone. Skype Lite is the company's first native VoIP client for Java.

The Skype Lite client will be available through Google’s Android Marketplace for applications in the next few weeks. The release ups the pressure on the major wireless carriers, who have announced “all-you-can-eat” unlimited calling plans but will face increasing competition from mobile VoIP services.

There’s no word on when Skype Lite will be available for the iPhone – currently several third-party app developers offer Skype-iPhone integration, including TruPhone, which announced its software at Macworld this week. A native Skype client for the iPhone is a development that AT&T (T), the exclusive service provider for the popular Apple (AAPL) handset, is sure to resist.