Redmond, Washington — In an attempt to attract the audience to its year old acquisition of Skype, and now Bing and Skype fans have a new reason to rejoice. The software monopolists Microsoft announced today on the official Bing blog that duo are working on a number of cross-platform products and promotions, and soon it will be rolling out new rewards for Bing users.
Well, it is not a secret anymore that Microsoft gobbled Skype to the tune of $8.5 billion last year, and since then Skype users have been impatiently waiting to begin to make itself known within Microsoft products, and although today’s announced “Bing and Skype–Better Together” promotion it is not something like earth shattering news, but it is just a beginning.
Soon, in the next few days, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant plans to add Skype credits to its Bing Rewards redemption center, according to a post on the Bing Search blog,
Furthermore, Skype Credits are set to be offered through the Bing Rewards redemption center: In exchange for just 100 Bing Rewards credits, members can receive Skype Credit for up to 60 minutes of calling on Skype. While Skype users can always make free one-on-one video calls, and send instant messages, with Skype Credit they can:
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Call landlines or mobile phones
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SMS to mobile phones directly
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Set up a Skype To Go numberand call abroad from any phone
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Access Skype Wi-Fi through third-party hotspots
On the other hand, Bing and Skype are also working up on the Bing Bar front. Skype has recently begun offering users the ability to easily download the Bing Toolbar is now being offered to new Skype users at installation, and it “may also be offered” to existing Skype users, which also includes links to Hotmail, breaking news on Bing, access to Facebook and more.
It seems like that there may be more, unspecified “better together” combination under-wraps between Bing and Skype in the future, from what the new blog post says.
However, bear in mind that this is an exclusive Skype and Bing relationship. If you want to get free Skype call time, you have to use Internet Explorer. Microsoft owns Skype now and they are going to leverage this acquisition to their advantage. If you already are an IE and Bing Rewards user, you can start taking advantage of the offer now. If the temptation of free Skype credit is too much to resist, better get used to seeing this:
Find out more about Bing Rewards.