eBay-owned Skype, the popular VoIP service provider, has released into open beta testing a client for mobile phones that supports phone calls, chat and other VoIP features. The introduction of this service is in line with the company’s goal to be present on different platforms.

At present, the service is compatible with approximately 50 handsets from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. The company has said that since the client is based on Java, other handsets supporting Java would also be able to run this application.

The beta version supports all features in the UK, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, and Estonia. In other countries; however, only the data features and incoming Skype calls work and outbound calls are barred. As is the case with the existing Skype client, all calls are routed via a Skype owned gateway to keep costs down.

The Galileo satellite navigation system has launched its second experimental satellite. The satellite was launched from Kazakhstan at 4:16am local time on Sunday (10:16 pm GMT Saturday). Called the Giove-B, it carries an atomic clock that is stable to within 1 nanosecond per day making it the most accurate atomic clock ever flown into space. The previously launched, Giove-A, had a pair of atomic clocks with 10-nanosecond accuracy.

Precise timekeeping is vital to the accuracy of satellite positioning because ground receivers work out their position by measuring and comparing the time it takes for signals to be received from several satellites. Clocks need to be kept perfectly in-sync if the system is to pinpoint a user’s position with accuracy. The Galileo project was launched by the EU to provide a civil alternative to the US military-controlled Navstar GPS system.

Dell and Hewlett- Packard have announced the launch of their ‘Business Class’ range of desktops powered by the triple- and quad-core processors from Advanced Micro Devices. The launch affirms the fact that the AMD Phenom processor is indeed ready for business. The desktops are available with the new 780v chipset with triple-core Phenom X3, quad-core Phenom X4, or dual-core Athlon X2 processors. Dell is refreshing its Optiplex 740 line of desktops while HP is adding two new models: the dc5850 and dx2450.

Previously k nown by the codename “Hardcastle,” Business Class taps into both AMD processor and ATI graphics technology. The platform also supports security and manageability standards.

Sony and Samsung, two of the biggest backers of the Blu-ray Disc format, have announced their intentions to launch new Blu-ray Disc products. Sony will launch two new machines, the BDZ-A70 and BDZ-T90, both Blu-ray Disc recorders that pack a hard-disk drive and dual-tuners for Japan’s digital TV broadcasting system. Samsung’s new player, the BD-P1500, supports “full HD” 1080p playback and accepts not only Blu-ray Disc but also DVD and CDs. In the case of DVDs it offers converting up to 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

Sony’s A70 has a 320 GB hard disk and iLink port for hooking up to a DV camcorder. In contrast, the T90 supports a 500 GB drive but comes without the camcorder connection.