Notices

When I first wrote mycontacts I used Vicar to place skype out calls and it worked without problems - it was just a matter of getting the righ configuration. I haven't tested on newer versions because now mycontacts has rudimentary support for placing skypeout calls directly.

One think to be aware is that when calling a number for a second time skype will add an extra prompt.

Thanks a lot! Do you by any chance remember 'the right configuration'?
Cheers.

What MyContacts dials and works for me is:

2p phone_number_without_plus #p2

so a call to +1 212 333 1234
would actually be:
2p12123331234#p2

The last "p2" is to skip the "you have called this number before..." prompt.

Great. Thanks! I'll give it a go.

Doesn't seem to be working for me.

I set up Vicar as you suggested but after placing a call I get a standard "We couldn't connect your call, hang up and try again later" Skype message.

The weird thing I noticed is that even though I put 2p in the 'Prefix before DTMF' field Vicar automatically adds an extra p when actually dialling the number so it looks like:
p2p333333333#p2 rather than:
2p333333333#p2

Is there anything I am doing wrong here?
Also, I think this is irrelevant as others reported this issue before and still got the Vicar working but I get the message 'This contact application doesn't support calls' even though it actually connects a call.

The "pause" before the number the option to place a call may be a problem. You can turn the speaker on and monitor the "voice prompts".

You can also try mycontacts to make sure that this combination of "tones" work.

Thanks a lot fcrochik.

After giving it a second thought I am fairly certain it's not gonna work with Skype on 3 that easily or even at all. For some reason I didn't think about this before but if I just call 3 Skype access number there is no way Skype will recognize me on their network as there are no user details sent.

I am not sure how a native 3 Skype application (available for other platforms like Symbian for example) passes user details onto Skype network as the only piece of the puzzle I have is the number it calls.

Bugger. Looks like I have to keep swapping my SIM card and still use an old Skype phone to make Skype calls.

Skype uses the caller id to identify you. Did I miss something?

EDIT: We are still talking about how to place a skypeout call to a phone number, right? I saw that on your first post you quoted another one talking about not being charged while calling a skype user BUT all that we have discussed since then does not have anything to do with this. You can only call "phone numbers" (not skype users on their computers) with skypeout and you will be charged by your carrier for a local call (assuming your skypeout number is local) and skype also will charge you for the call.

I guess there is a bit of confusion here

1. Yes I want to place a skype out call - by skype out I mean a phone call that is terminated outside skype network, which means:
2. Yes, I try to call phone numbers, not skype users.
3. Yes, I am aware that skype will charge for connecting me to a skype-out number so it's not what I (or an OP) meant by free skype calls. Let me explain:

My mobile provider doesn't charge me for skype calls if I use their software (unfortunately there isn't one available for N900). What that means is that if I place a skype call (no matter if to a skype user or a phone number) while on my network I won't be charged for data usage. The way it works is that when I make a skype call it's being connected through some special number. I used to run this kind of software on my E71 and that's how I know the number that is being dialled when placing skype calls on my network. What I was trying to do was to call the same number which I assume is some kind of skype gateway on my network. In the meantime I realised that there is no way Skype can identify me as a user most likely because the number my network uses is configured to work with their software and my skype account is in no way connected to my mobile number. Hope that makes sense.

I guess that the number you've mentioned is some kind of dedicated 'skypeout' gateway that you can call from any phone and it works exactly the same way as some other calling cards and the only difference is that it's using skype network.

So... The conclusion is that If all of we've said so far has nothing to do with my initial post then we can forget about this. But thanks for your input anyway After reading your initial answer I just hoped you made it work on 3.

czajunia:
Are you sure that on your old phone it actually dials out a "access phone number" instead of using VOIP (starting on your phone)?
That would make more sense.... Especially if you could also call "skype" accounts

Also, I assume that if this was a "cell operator" feature and you are actually dialing a phone number to access skype that they would rely on your caller id to identify your phone.

Do they charge you for data?