Reuters reports that Skype is having trouble getting their mobile client to market. Niklas Zennstrom is quoted as saying: “When we begun developing the mobile phone version we didn’t realize the number of technical obstacles. It is challenging and is taking much longer than expected.”
The story goes on to elaborate that while the Windows Mobile version is available, there are few of those handsets out in Europe.  Of course, the version everyone wants is the Symbian version. According to some developers I’ve spoken with, it seems that Symbian is a much harder environment to work with than either Windows Mobile, or BlackBerry.Â
In any case, the recent rash of mobile announcements from Jajah, RebTel and others  has got to be putting pressure on Niklas’ team to get their own mobile offering to market.
UPDATE: BusinessWeek’s Olga Kharif also picked up this story.Â
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
