Notices

I went to the skype website and clicked on the N900 link. It requires me to purchase Skype for my N900. Is this correct?

The Skype "application" is built into the 900's operating system, more specifically, the phone app. If you want to configure an account, go to:

>Settings >VoIP and IM accounts

...then enter your Skype credentials.

....therefore, you don't need to buy Skype because it's already there.

er.. when you click the "buy now" button, youre not buying skype; youre buying an N900!

The website says "skype is built in to the N900"
And the buy now page shows an N900 with £499.99 price tag

Must I have a Skype account, set up on the Skype website, before I can activate Skype on my N900?

Or is it sufficient for me to set up everything from the N900 device itself?

Thanks in advance.

People don't buy Skype, but rather Skype credit. The app itself is free. Calling from your N900 to a computer is free. Calling from your N900 to a cell phone or to a landline cost a few cents per minute. Skype credit can be charged to your PayPal account. I purchase $10 worth of credit at a time which lasts me several months.

I might add that depending on your location, and the geographic areas you intend to call, Skype may also offer suitable subscriptions. The gist of those is that you pay a flat rate per month/3-months/year (your choice, but cheaper if you pay for longer at a time), and can cancel at any time. This gives you what they (used to?) call "unlimited" calling. Of course, it's not really unlimited, and there are a bunch of restrictions, but if it fits your usage, it's significantly cheaper than buying normal credit; I used to pay $7.95/3-months. Last I checked, some of the caveats were: 10,000min/month max., and 50 unique numbers called per month, after which (I think) any more numbers you call in that month are billed per-minute at normal rates. Don't take my word for it, though, and make sure you read the terms, as this is off the top of my head, and from months ago.