New York — Popular VoIP service Skype has wooed its fair share of people with an itch to ditch the land-line and announced the availability of its latest desktop client, Skype 5.0. Skype went social Thursday by releasing a new version for Windows that integrates Facebook, so that users of the popular Internet communications service can chat with their friends on the booming social network, make Internet calls or send SMS messages directly to each other.
Rumors of Facebook integration has been swirling around for a while and today it is becoming a reality. The integration reveals a number of new capabilities which should come in handy for Facebook users, but are more about Skype than the social network.
Click to enlarge (Credit: Skype)
The new Skype 5.0 for Windows features a streamlined interface, includes a Facebook tab that displays the Facebook news feed, so that members can post status updates or comments and hit the “like” button just as they would through the main Facebook site, as well as video conferencing functionality and phonebook integration into Skype, the Luxembourg-based Skype said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to announce a brand new version of Skype for Windows, which will help bring you and your friends, family and co-workers together like never before,” Skype announced.
“We have incorporated the Facebook News Feed and Phonebook into Skype, making it easier to keep you connected with the people and communities you care about,” it added.
Skype users can now keep in touch with their Facebook friends on a mobile or land-line phones, as well as send SMS messages or make free Skype-to-Skype calls to Facebook friends who are also Skype users, it said. They can also post status updates to Facebook that can be synched with Skype “mood” messages and comment on Facebook friends’ updates and wall posts.
“We are working with companies such as Skype to make it easy to find your friends anytime you want to connect,” said Ethan Beard, director of the Facebook Developer Network.
There are also loads of streamlined features for the rest of Skype users, like a revamped design and a lot of work under the hood.
“We have revitalized the look and feel, making voice and video calling, instant messaging, screen sharing and file sharing intuitive and easy to navigate,” Skype said.
Skype on Thursday also added a new group video-calling feature and “automatic call recovery,” which helps reconnect calls interrupted due to Internet connection problems.
Click to enlarge. (Credit: Skype)
“Moreover, you can now bring even more of your family and friends together with the new group video calling feature available in open beta,” it announced.
The video conferencing aspect of Skype offers a few viewing options. One is the illustrative side-by-side screen with participants lined up in equal sizes. Then there is the more interesting dynamic view, which increases the size of the person doing most of the talking at any given moment. Skype said video-calling accounted for approximately 40 percent of all Skype-to-Skype minutes in the first half of the year.
This is the second major partnership for Palo Alto’s Facebook Inc. this week. On Wednesday, Microsoft Corp. announced it was integrating its Bing search engine with Facebook.
Skype 5.0 for Windows is available for download here.
Here is a Skype video that explains the new features, including the Facebook integration: