Skype hopes to improve its fortunes in the mobile market, as it is previewing a number of initiatives at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Mobile versions of Skype have had a checkered past. Most software implementations we've tested to date have been unusable, such as Skype 2.2 Beta for Smartphone and Skype for Pocket PC 2.1. A number of dedicated hardware Skype Wi-Fi handsets also appeared on the market, including the Netgear Skype WiFi Phone SPH101 and the Belkin Wi-Fi Phone for Skype; none of these have worked particularly well either. The only successful devices to date have been dual-mode phones that also connect to analog landlines (like the Linksys iPhone Dual-Mode Internet Telephony Kit for Skype, the CIT400.

First off, Skype exhibited its support for the Sony PSP and the new Mylo COM-2 personal communicator). In addition to its new lineup of Sony Ericsson cell phones, Sony seems to be making a separate bet on Wi-Fi-based mobile gadgets that use Skype and browse the Internet. That's a perplexing decision, at least in the U.S., where Wi-Fi coverage is spotty at best even in major metropolitan areas.

Nonetheless, both devices support both SkypeOut and SkypeIn calls as well as free Skype-to-Skype voice calls and instant messages. Mylo COM-2 and Sony PSP users can also view their buddy lists to see who is online at any given time.

In addition to the Sony Mylo COM-2 and the Sony PSP, Skype is now supporting Intel-based Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), which are a kind of smaller version of UMPC devices like the Oqo Model 02, for both voice and video calls and inexpensive SkypeOut calls.

The company also showed off the previously announced 3 Skypephone, a cellular wireless handset that will run on U.K.-based 3's network. The 3 Skypephone makes free Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messages to anyone else logged into the Skype network worldwide, as well as regular cell phone calls over the 3 network. We won't see this device anytime soon in the U.S., however; the 3 Skypephone is currently on the market in the U.K., Australia, Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden, with plans to launch in Hong Kong as well.

Next up, Skype displayed the Freetalk Wireless Stereo Headset. This largish pair of headphones lets Skype users make and receive calls on any home or office hotspot. They also let you listen to stereo music wirelessly using a proprietary protocol called WiStereo—not Bluetooth—and charge via any available USB port. The Freetalk Wireless Stereo Headset uses AvneraAudio technology for clearer stereo sound. The headset also advertises a range of up to 20 meters (66 feet).

Finally, the company had on hand a Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, which lead analyst Sascha Segan found in his review to have a surprisingly good mobile Skype implementation.