New York — Hot on the heels of its much-anticipated iPad-optimized app announced last month, Skype, the popular VoIP service provider, makes another splash over the weekend by releasing out its second version of Skype for Android, a video calling application that positions the chat service as a de facto standard across mobile platforms.
Video is an extremely important component in the Skype ecosystem. The company whose name became synonymous with Internet calling in the mid-2000s, and amazingly at any given time, there are 30 million concurrent users on Skype, according to the company. At its peak, Skype sees 500,000 simultaneous video calls across its service.
(Image Credit: Skype)
The VoIP provider said its updated Android app would initially support video calling only on a handful phones at first: the Google Nexus S, HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo and Sony Ericsson Xperia pro, with more to follow soon.
“We are committed to bringing Skype video calling to as many platforms as possible,” Skype’s vice president and general manager of product and marketing, Neil Stevens said in a statement.
Well, if you are counting, that is only four devices. Besides, the new app lets select Android phones make video calls over 3G and WiFi, and can be used for Skype video calls to other mobile devices, including iPhones, PCs, Macs and other Skype-enabled products.
Video chatting has now made its way to Skype’s Android app. (Credit: Screen capture by Don Reisinger/CNET)
With the new app, users can make video calls through their Android phones as effortlessly as on the desktop version. When users download the free Skype for Android 2.0, they will find that they can place or receive video calls with owners of other Android handsets, as well as those who use the platform on their iPhone, Mac, Windows PC, or television.
However, Video calling is not the only element being released. The new Skype 2.0 for Android also boasts a completely renewed look and feel. Now, the application launches to a cleanly designed Home screen with icons for all your basic functions. You can also change your mood message (Skype’s version of a status update) right from the top of the Home screen.
Users’ can just click on the contact icon and hit the Skype Video Call button. While in a video call a user also has the option to Mute, End, or access the video menu. Additionally, if a regular voice call is received (not through Skype), and if the user accepts it, then the Skype call will be placed on hold. Video quality will depend upon network conditions, with a strong Wi-Fi connection presumably being optimal.
(Image Credit: Skype)
Aside from video calling, Skype may find itself the go-to solution for VoIP and video calls across mobile platforms. Weighs around 10MB, plus another 15MB for user account data, the new application is a hefty one. Fortunately, Skype 2.0 still lets you install to your phone’s SD card.
Moreover, Apple’s FaceTime service, for instance, only works with iOS devices and Mac computers. Skype, which had average of 145 million users a month, now connects all the major platforms.
While the new feature is indeed a big deal, it is especially a good news for Microsoft, which acquired Skype in May to presumably incorporate it into its Windows Phone platform, though only a very small section of Android users who have something to be excited about today.
The more deep-rooted Skype is, the more useful the functionality will be. And, for the rest of us, we will have to wait until the folks at Skype make the functionality compatible with the rest of the gamut of Android devices. Skype said in a blog post that it plans to support more devices “very soon.”
Nevertheless, Skype’s latest app release comes during a developmental phase for the company. Also, the move will inspire makers of phones based on Google’s Android software compete with Apple’s FaceTime video-calling service launched last year for the iPhone and now available on its iPad 2 tablet and Mac computers.
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