is the iPhone vs. n800 really an apples to apples comparison? the biggest differences (that i know of) being the cellular functionality of the iPhone and the recently announced 3rd party development capabilities, ie. it wasnt drafted to allow 3rd party apps originally.

with the Jobs affect, drooling fan-boy following, and recent marketplace resurgence of Apple, it will be an uphill battle to upstage that media circus.

not that i want to claim influence on the project, but shortly after i got my 770, i sent an email request to skpye to port the app to the maemo platform, since it was available for a standard debian install. i cited the fact that google talk was available for the 770 as standard install.

i think that skype sees an oppurtunity for further market penetration and brand recognition, and has aligned with a market giant to achieve growth, albeit in a niche market, at this time.

with the next gen of wireless devices, some of which are available now, looking to incorporate both wifi and cellular networking, skype has teamed up with one of the first companies to start pushing these devices out to the market. i dont see nokia or skype trying to outdo apple, simply moving forward on a different front.