By Scott Moritz, writer

Ebay (EBAY) rolled out Skype’s unlimited calling plan in a bid to keep up with rivals and – let’s face it – to finally land some paying customers.

For $2.95 a month. U.S. Skype customers can make unlimited calls anywhere in the United States. Calling plans from the United States to Europe cost $9.95 a month.

The move comes amid speculation that eBay might be considering a carve-out option for the voice-over-Internet-protocol, or VOIP, service that counts 309 million registered users.

eBay’s $4 billion Skype bet hasn’t paid off as the company hoped when the deal was signed in 2005. Last year, the online auction shop took a $1.4 billion charge to write down some of the unrealized value of that deal. This year, some eBay investors are hoping for a different sort of transaction – a sale.

“This is something that belongs with another entity,” says Darren Chervitz with the Jacob Internet Fund, an eBay investor. “Skype makes more sense at a place like Google (GOOG).”

Skype software allows PC users with microphones and cameras to make free calls to other Skype users or cheap calls to conventional phones. The service was expected to enhance communication between buyers and sellers in eBay’s auction market.

Big tech companies that generate a lot of cash are justifiably wise to make bold bets on innovative acquisitions, says Chervitz. Sometimes it works, like eBay’s purchase of PayPal, and other times it doesn’t, like with Skype, he says.

Chervitz would like to see eBay get some value back from Skype while it still can. “They should sell it now, says Chervitz, “before the technology changes.”

By Michal Lev-Ram

While most mobile operators have shunned Internet phone calling, British carrier 3 has launched a Skype-enabled phone that lets customers make free calls.

While other WiFi mobile phones let people download Skype software, none come with an out-of-the-box experience like 3’s Skypephone. The handset, which doubles as a conventional 3G cellular phone, has a dedicated Skype (EBAY) button and an address book that is integrated with the Skype service. That’s in contrast to many carriers who have steered clear of WiFi phones for fear Internet calling will cannibalize their revenues.

Kevin Russell, chief executive of 3’s United Kingdom operations, says he doesn’t share that concern.

“It’s been very clear for the last couple of years that we have to start embracing Internet communications,” says Russell. “We believe we can do that in a model that is very beneficial to 3.”

But 3’s “free Internet calling” machine isn’t completely free: The phone costs about $100 with a pay-as-you-go plan, which requires subscribers to buy monthly “top ups” (a.k.a. minutes that can be used for cellular calls or Internet browsing) at $20 a pop. Customers willing to sign up for a minimum 18-month, $25-a-month contract can get the phone for free. Currently, Skype Out — low cost dialing to regular phones — is not available and customers can only use Skype’s free service to call other Skypephones or people who have Skype software on their computers. The Skypephone features a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and a 2-inch screen.

“It combines the essence of Skype with an advanced 3G phone,” says Eric Lagier, director of business development for mobile services for Skype, which is owned by eBay.

As the smallest and newest of carriers in the United Kingdom, 3 — a subsidary of Hutchison Whampoa — has little to lose by differentiating itself with the Skypephone. “We are looking to double our customer base,” says Russell.

The Skypephone will eventually be rolled out in additional markets, including Australia, Denmark, Macau and Italy. Customers in the United States will likely have to wait a while longer for the device — until the market “becomes more liberalized,” says Lagier.

It could have been so much worse for eBay (EBAY). Two weeks after the giant online auction site acknowledged that it had paid far too much for Skype, the Internet phone service, and would be writing off $1.4 billion in charges, the company surprised Wall Street with relatively strong results in the rest of its operations.

After the market closed on Wednesday, eBay reported record revenue of $1.89 billion in the third quarter, up 30% from last year — handily beating analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion.

Because of the Skype write-off, however, eBay quarterly results showed a net loss of $935.6 million, or 69 cents per share.