Just an FYI but it looks like Marketplace is using your SIM card to determine geographical information.

I am currently in the US, and I have a unlocked US G1 with a T-Mobile UK SIM card in it. 

I'm not roaming for data, since it would be hellishly expensive, but I am using data over WiFi.

WIth my UK SIM in the phone, I cannot see or download the iSkoot client from the marketplace. However, my G1 came with a US T-Mobile SIM card and even though it is not active, when I put it in the G1 I can then see and install iSkoot from Marketplace over WiFI.

When I switch SIM cards back, it's still there though it does not seem to route calls over WiFi anyway, and calls a UK based number to connect the call.

Regards,

Dave

If you want to try the Skype client, assuming that the Skype servers don't prevent it, you should be able to find somebody to host the client online and you can install it from there. And worst-case scenario, hit a wifi connection that's going through a US proxy. Performance will be crappy but you'll at least get to use the app.

As for Fav 5 functionality, it's pretty basic. Kinda flashy graphics/animations, each of the 5 get a special icon and other meta data but none of which is a whole lot different than the typical contacts. The worst thing about it is that the dialer app knows nothing about your fav 5. There is an independent fav5 app that you must go thru to see who your fav5 are. I mean, the dialer app can still call them because they're still in your contacts, and it's still free but it doesn't know that.

And yes, Yank version has AIM, GTalk, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo IM clients. The GTalk messages are NOT SMS-based but all of the others are.

Hope that clears some things up. :)

-Shane

It seems Voip isnt the only thing missing from the UK version, such as a multi protocol instant messenger. Many reviews stated out of the box support for MSN, yahoo, ICQ etc... etc...

It seems that only the yanks get this feature (although they're charged the price of a text for each message they send!)

Related comment, not direct, I found good reviews on the Android at AMD. Dont understand why AMD looking at Android, but review still good.

http://blogs.amd.com/patmoorhead/archive/tags/Android/default.aspx