Skype coming to Windows Phone

The instant messaging and video calling application was to have been built in to windows Phone by the end of the year, Windows Phone boss Joe Belfiore had said. Now, however, vice-president of the Skype division at Microsoft Rick Osterloh says it will be available “soon”. The move is controversial partly because Windows Phone, despite being owned by Microsoft, is the only mobile operating system to lack a fully-fledged Skype client. Apple has already introduced video calling with its Facetime service.

Osterloh also said that integrations with Microsoft’s Xbox and Windows 8 technology would be made available in due course, and that the company was working on integrating Facebook contacts into the main Skype interface. Microsoft's next push to make Windows Phone differentiated and relevant will revolve around deep integration with Skype. Skype, which Microsoft acquired in October, has a mediocre presence in the mobile space right now. It is not very welcome by the major carriers, which feel threatened by Skype's ability to place phone calls through data channels instead of the traditional mobile phone spectrum. Microsoft is nevertheless pushing forward and hoping that by making Skype an integral part of its mobile experience, people will realize there's something unique and special about Windows Phone.

Skype has again promised to slip its eponymous telephony application into Windows Phone handsets real soon - while integrating with Facebook and working out what people might actually pay for. Facebook integration means staying within the Skype client to open up calls and chats to Facebook contacts. Integrating Skype into mobile telephony will almost annoy Microsoft's carrier partners as Skype minutes aren't contributing to their profits, but there's only so long that Windows Phone can be the only smartphone without integrated Skype if Redmond is going to justify the $8.5bn price tag