Skype gets pulled from Nokia's Ovi store in the U.S.

Since Skype and Verizon Wireless shook hands on an deal that we reported on last month, a number of things have happened to Skype's service with other carriers and platforms. 5 days after the Verizon-Skype deal was announced, we told you that a previously announced deal to allow Skype to be used over the iPhone's 3G network was being delayed,.The same story mentioned that a tipster for web site Gigaom told the site that the Skype-Verizon deal was an exclusive pact for 2 to 3 years. The delay in the Skype-iPhone 3G app surely hinted at Big Red's exclusivity. Then, as reported, Skype pulled its Windows Mobile client. Considering that Verizon offers Windows Mobile phones, this might have to do with the real reason given by Skype which had to do with the Windows Mobile app not meeting the standards set by the company's apps for other platforms. Also, Skype is planning on offering a client for the new Windows Phones 7 OS and didn't want to waste time by going back to rework the current Windows Mobile app.

Just a couple of days ago, Nokia's Ovi Store introduced Skype for all locations and then pulled the app from the U.S. version of the store. Sravanthi Agrawal, a member of Skype's corporate communications team, said, "Skype has made a decision in the United States to not promote the Skype for Symbian app through the Ovi Store. We did this so that we could drive more attention to the recently announced Skype and Verizon Wireless agreement. This was a marketing decision — plain and simple." Agarwal added, "Skype users in the U.S can still download Symbian by going directly to Skype.com." The Skype-Verizon offering is expected to launch sometime later this month, and while there are still ways for customers of other carriers besides Verizon to download Skype on their phone, it probably would be best to so so soon. After all, if Skype is doing all these things now before the deal with Big Red starts, what will happen when the contract kicks in?

source: VentureBeat via BGR