Skype app released for Windows Phone
Microsoft has released a full version of a Skype app for the Windows Phone operating system.
The free app, available in 18 languages, adds Windows Phone users to the 200 million people using Skype on computers, smartphones and tablets monthly. Users can connect over the Internet telephony and chat service via 4G, 3G and Wi-Fi.
In beta from February, the formal app adds video calling in portrait mode and friend management capabilities including invite, accept invitations, block, and unblock contacts. It’s a 6-megabyte download, and Microsoft says it will only install and run on devices using the 7.5 Mango version of the WP operating system. That would exclude some of its lower-end phones, like the not-yet-released Lumia 610, using an earlier Tango version.
You’ll remember that Skype was acquired by Microsoft last October for $8.5 billion. Thus, this inclusion in the announcement should go without saying: “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.â€
The Verge reports that app has some limitations in this initial release, including that the app runs only in foreground for receiving communications, lacks SMS send support and will install and run only on devices with 512 MB of memory. Microsoft might address these issues in a later update.
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