Windows Phone Mango devices will sport front-facing cameras

Microsoft has confirmed reports that Windows Phone Mango devices will sport front-facing cameras and will support Skype video calling. The company revealed the news at its TechEd event in New Zealand.

A few months ago developers who got early access to the Mango update revealed code that pointed to front-facing camera support, however Microsoft did not announce anything about it, nor did it list it as a new feature in Mango while its press event to launch the update in May. Now, the computer company has come out and admitted that front camera support is coming with new phones that launch with the Mango update pre-installed this fall. Additionally, and this as a matter of fact comes as no big surprise, Microsoft said that Windows Phone will support video calling with Skype, yet it was not revealed whether or not this would be through an app or deeper, system-wide integration.

Skype support seems like a no-brainer, as Microsoft announced its intent to buy the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) company previously this year for $8 billion. This is just one more feature that Windows Phone has received to catch up to the competition. [via Engadget]