Skype is not geographically located in a country therefore you will need to provide numbers as if dialling from abroad. there some notes on formats here: http://www.csoft.co.uk/phone_numbers/index.htm
I got a $3/mo plan on Skype on my n900 but am unable to call US phones. I can call them thru my computer but not thru my n900. When I try to call thru my n900 i get an error message saying that Skype requires numbers in international format. ??
To call a U.S. number with Skype, it will need to be in this format:
+1AAANNNNNNN where AAA is the area code and NNNNNNN is the actual number. The '+' is also required - it is added automatically by the Skype desktop clients.
What I find is that if I am initiating a Skypeout (Skype -> Landline/Mobile) call, I need to use the dialing pad. Apparently contact cards cannot be saved with the requisite '+' in front.
My PC at home had become supernode, and skype used up all my bandwidth and monthly allowed volume. I know it is P2P-ish and uses users bandwith, but I don't want to give all my bandwith. So I removed skype and went with an open standard (SIP).
Using Gizmo5 now (works very well), but since they were bought by Google they aren't taking new subscriptions (for now). There are other free SIP service providers available though.
I don't know why I should "forget about Skype" when it works great for me. The N900 is set up for Skype and works by default. True, you have to figure out what "international format" is for entering phone numbers, but that is not difficult and I imagine you have to do something similar for SIP calls. It seems to me that Skype is the simplest way to go.
