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What Does the Sale of Skype To Microsoft Mean For Your Windows Devices

Most of you have probably heard about Skype planning to have an app for your beautiful Windows Phone 7 devices when the Mango update comes around, but now that Microsoft owns Skype are we going to have to wait for Mango? I don't know about you but I certainly hope not. With Microsoft buying Skype I want my Samsung Focus to get an update in the next couple of months with Skype fully integrated. Granted we can't always get what we want. And even when we do get what we want we often can't get it when we want it.... Which is usually now.

Obvious Advantages For Microsoft Buying Skype

For me personally the biggest advantage I see is the integration with WP7. My Samsung Focus is always with me no matter what and having Skype integrated natively is way more exciting than even Skype coming out with an app for it. Imagine having your messaging hub on your WP7 with text messages, Skype messages, and hopefully your email accounts eventually.

Another obvious plus for Microsoft buying Skype is the integration with Windows 7 (and beyond) Desktop. Skype is one of the first things that I install and one of the few things that I have on startup. If Skype was completely integrated and built in with the operating system that could insure more rich features and compatibility. Perhaps they will even tie it in with some Active Directory or other server side services. If they did active directory then maybe there could automatically be a department chat for each department. And if you have Skype as a department chat then anything collaborated in the chat is automatically logged and easy to ctrl+f to go back and reference conversations.

Some Possible Downsides To Microsoft Buying Skype

Hopefully this is not the case but Microsoft could raise prices associated with Skype. One of the best parts of Skype is that it is free. Obviously, I have no clue whether or not it might change but you never know. Also, and other that I hope/doubt will happen, decrease in Skype's cross platform support. I use Skype on Windows and Linux alike so I hope that Microsoft owning Skype will not hinder it's development on any other platforms. I think that Microsoft is smart enough to make sure that this does not happen and I assume that Microsoft has even more resources at it's disposal than Skype alone did so maybe this sale will actually boost development. Only time will tell.

Conclusion to Microsoft Buying Skype

In short, I personally think that Microsoft's recent purchase of Skype will be a great thing. I hope to see full integration of Skype into WP7 and Windows 7 Desktop alike. As well as better development of Skype across all platforms. Microsoft obviously has plenty of resources to make this a great plus for Windows and Skype users alike (and especially for those that use both).