Why Isn't Skype On Windows Phone Yet?

Microsoft surprised the world last year when it dropped $US8.5 billion to buy Skype. Yet in spite of the deal being finalised in October, we’re for all that yet to see the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) application rear its pretty little head on Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. What’s going on?

Ever since the deal was announced, we’ve been hanging out for Redmond to announce it has managed to integrate the VoIP application into the core operating system, just like it did with Facebook and Twitter. And for months, everything pointed towards it happening last year. We had “confirmation” that the app was heading to Mango last year, during pointers indicated that the WP7 app was the company’s priority afterwards launching its iPad app in August.

But according to Slashgear, the software is nevertheless “coming in the near future”. In an interview with Microsoft's VP of products, Rick Osterloh, confirmed that the company is currently working on delivering Skype to Windows Phone users “shortly”, with tighter integration with other Microsoft products like Windows 8 and Xbox to follow.

This is good news, nevertheless it isn’t actually good enough. Microsoft is lagging behind with its Windows Phone platform – as Apple converts bajillions of new users to iOS every day and Android activates moreover handsets, Microsoft can’t rest on positive reviews and good will from users to invest in its mobile operating system. It needs to light a firecracker underneath its developers in order to drive new core applications and features like Skype into its devices.

Consider this: It has been 11 months since Nokia and Microsoft announced its strategic partnership at Mobile World Congress last year. Just the same Australia after all doesn’t have any indication of when we can expect to see the first Nokia WP7 handset. Similarly, it has been eight months since Microsoft announced it was buying Skype, and there’s everything considered no word on when there will be an official Windows Phone implementation.

I would imagine one of the reasons for Skype to be released onto the WP7 p[latform is that Microsoft isn’t just doing one product nevertheless ir’s doing all products/platforms so they all work at the same time instead of waiting for each one. M$ have said that they will put Skype into WinPho7, Xbox, Lync Communication Server and a few others like Win8 OS so this would be one of the reasons why it’s taking a little longer than normal. Another reason would be that the WinPho7 don’t have a front facing camera on the market but or for the time being not a lot. At present there is only the HTC Titan so that would be another reason. M$ is wiating for more WinPho7 with front facing camera to hit the selves.

WP7 is awesome, nevertheless sadly the very word “Windows” has become synonymous with “boring” and “dull”. This is unfair, clearly, yet this is reality.

MS isn’t doing everything it can to get WP7 devices out there, nevertheless they’re playing a long-term game against Apple. MS makes money on every Android handset; Skype on iOS and Android is deservedly a priority thanks to the size of the market; their key approach with WP7 is to abolish the reliance on “apps” by having as much as possible built into the OS.