Skype is now available for Windows Phone.
What’s surprising is that it has taken so long for that statement to be true. After all, both Skype and Windows Phone are owned by the same company – Microsoft.
The software giant purchased Skype, which used to be its own company, for $8.5 billion last year, making it one of the biggest software acquisitions ever. Since then, to end users, there hasn’t been much change.
But behind the scenes, Microsoft has been working hard to integrate Skype with its other products and services. Recently, the company posted a job ad that hinted at bringing the video chatting platform to the Xbox platform. Nothing specific in that area has been confirmed, however.
What has been confirmed is Skype’s arrival on Microsoft’s mobile platform. The app went into beta at the Mobile World Congress trade show earlier this year, and it is now fully available.
The app includes both landscape and portrait video calling, support for audio conference calls, and complete contact management just like the Skype computer application. It requires Windows Phone 7.5 or later.
“This is the first of many releases to come for Windows Phone, so stay tuned for even more capabilities in the future. We believe in the great potential of the Windows Phone platform and will continue to invest over time to enable experiences unmatched by any other app in the market,” said Skype mobile product head Derek Snyder.
