Nokia and Skype have today jointly announced the release of Skype for Symbian, a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian operating system. The Skype for Symbian app, available free in the Ovi Store, lets Nokia smartphone users access Skype on the move over Wi-Fi or using the phones data connection.

In addition to the obvious, free Skype to Skype calls anywhere in the world, the new Skype for Symbian app lets users make cheaper international calls, send and receive instant messages to and from individuals or groups, share pictures, videos and other files, see when Skype contacts are online and available to call or IM and import names and numbers from the phone’s address book. Not bad for an app currently available for the princely sum of £0.

Speaking about the Skype for Symbian app, Jo Harlow, Senior Vice President for Smartphones at Nokia commented “Symbian enables us to bring smartphones to more and more people and ensures scale for our solutions and compelling services, such as Skype. We’re seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users.”

Russ Shaw, General Manager, Mobile at Skype said, “With Skype for Nokia smartphones, more than 200 million smartphone users worldwide will be able to take the Skype features they love with them on the move. Alongside Skype’s relationships with operators and handset manufacturers worldwide, making Skype available direct to consumers will help millions of users keep in contact with the people that are important to them without worrying about the cost, distance or whether they are away from a computer.”

Skype for Symbian app is compatible with the following Nokia touchscreen phones: Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia 5530 and the following non-touch devices: Nokia E72, Nokia E71, Nokia E90, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E51, Nokia N96, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N85, Nokia N82, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8 GB, Nokia N79, Nokia N78, Nokia 6220 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator and Nokia 5320. Skype also plan to roll out the app to Symbian smartphones from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson, meaning the Sony Ericsson Satio and upcoming Vivaz can both join in the fun.