You’ll see quite a rabble of people jumping for joy when Vic Gundotra makes simple note of the Full Screen option this week, with Gerwin Sturm getting credit as an avid coder and contributor to the Google+ project from the odd angles. It’s the community that surrounds a platform that makes it strong, of course, and though Skype does have one massive following and brand recognition to spare, there’s something to be said about Google’s simple integration and quickness with the updates to their systems. If you’re signed up for any one of Google’s different services, it’s just one more click to get into any of the rest of them – and thus the web does close in.

When I’ve got to teach a new employee or a colleague about something that requires me to show them on-screen what I’m doing, I use Google+. When I want to chat face-to-face with my wife across the country or the world, I use Google+. It’s becoming natural to me and the people I associate with very quickly, and with value added options such as the ability to collectively watch a YouTube video from the chat, Hangouts wont be cutting back any time soon.

Then there’s integration with smartphones – already live now. Plug your smartphone in to your HDTV with its HDMI or MHL port and you’ve got a camera and a giant screen to do large-scale video conferencing on the fly. The ability for Google to grow here is immense, and with video quality and the popularity of the program jumping each time someone like Barack Obama jumps on to have a chat, Google is in a great place with Hangouts.

That integration isn’t expected to arrive until Windows Phone 8, according to leaks earlier this week. The updated smartphone OS will apparently offer deep hooks for Skype integration, though the VoIP service won’t be specifically baked into the platform, allowing internet-base calls to be handled just as easily as traditional voice calls.

This first iteration, therefore, will be a standalone app, though that’s likely enough to keep Windows Phone users satisfied for the time being. It’s been a point of frustration for adopters of the platform that, while Microsoft now owns Skype, so far most rival mobile platforms have access to a version whereas Windows Phone does not.

The practicalities of a Mobile World Congress launch depend on how well internal testing goes, it’s claimed, though the Skype app itself is said to be “near complete.” We’ve already suggested that Skype – and some clever investment by Microsoft – could be the wildcard Windows Phone needs, and it seems that time may well be close at hand.

The group sharing feature allows you to share photos with a group of friends or share your screen to give a presentation to as many as 10 people. That group screen sharing feature is available Skype Premium, and the premium service includes group video calling along with live chat with customer support. The update also allows users of the Windows platform to check Facebook news feeds from within Skype and to send messages to or video call Facebook friends.

Those last features are in Skype for Windows Beta. The new 5.8 version also supports full HD video calling, push to talk, Skype updater service, Bing toolbar integration, and the ability to hide offline Facebook contacts. The 1080p video calling requires the Logitech C920 Web Cam. The new 5.8 version of the software is available for download right now.

The Microsoft-owned VoIP service is “a separate but better app and not integrated into OS” Thurrott claims, and will remain “optional.” There appears to be some confusion around this; from what’s been said, it looks like Windows Phone 8 will offer deep-level hooks for Skype, allowing the app to integrate seamlessly alongside traditional voice calls as far as the user sees, though it won’t be bundled as part of the OS itself.

There’ll also be better use of sandboxing, with a way for Windows Phone 8 apps to communicate with each other but not cause each other to crash or leak data, and the DataSmart system is also confirmed. That, as Microsoft wrote about the same system on Windows 8 machines recently, will prevent mobile data causing “bill shock” headaches, with current real-time use shown on a homescreen live tile.

Windows Phone 8 will also be a more serious platform, as Microsoft sets its sights on enterprise customers. That means “full-device, hardware accelerated encryption with BitLocker and always-on Secure Boot capabilities” Thurrott claims, along with “Exchange ActiveSync policies and System Center configuration settings and inventory capabilities.”

Backward compatibility with Windows Phone 7.5 apps is a given, but developers will be able to make better use of a single code base for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 apps, as well as increase collaboration between apps on each platform.

Microsoft hasn’t commented on the leak, though ZDNet claims the company will be talking – albeit in private, closed-door meetings – about Apollo at MWC 2012 later this month. That’s likely a safety play to avoid overshadowing existing high-profile Windows Phones, as well as the Tango update which is expected to arrive prior to WP8.

However, a spyware leak from within MegaUpload’s own computers looks more likely to be the cause. “Electronic evidence was obtained though search warrants,” a spokesman for the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia said, “which are reviewed and approved by a US court.”

The suggestion is that the FBI deployed a tool called CIPAV, or “Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier”, which has been previously used to monitor web use in other investigations. Akin to more traditional spyware, CIPAV loiters silently on the victim’s computers keeping a record of software, IP address, which sites are being visited, traffic over the network and other details. Meanwhile, Skype text conversations are stored in a local folder, which CIPAV could easily have had access to.

Dotcom was denied bail in New Zealand last month, over concerns that the outspoken exec could attempt to flee extradition to the US. Meanwhile, legitimate users are still unable to access their own data stored on MegaUpload’s servers, though the Electronic Frontier Foundation and one of the file-sharing site’s hosts have joined forces to start MegaRetrieval, exploring the potential of extracting non-copyrighted uploads.

Plans to integrate WebRTC into Chrome were revealed last summer, with the tech being an open-source way to call upon standardized voice/video communication without stepping outside of the browser. Eventually, it could mean apps like Google Talk – which is being migrated over to use WebRTC – could challenge rivals like Skype from any standards-compliant browser, rather than demanding a separate app be installed.

That would have a significant impact on mobile devices and web-appliances like Chromebooks, which could get onboard with audio and video communication without waiting on developers releasing native apps. As we suggested last year, a Google-led iMessage rival could end up blowing Apple out of the water in IM and comms.

Meanwhile, WebRTC also has potential for cloud-based streaming services such as OnLive gaming, another element tipped for inclusion in a future Chrome build. What remains to be seen is when WebRTC support gets baked into Gmail and Google+, which each have A/V services that could make significant use of it.

Logitech is offering new tech to help alleviate some of the issues with video conferencing that made for low quality and prevented slower legacy computers from participating. The new tech has easier installation, and the webcams have a lower processor overhead so the machines using the cameras will run smoother. Logitech is also leaning on the UVC standard it developed with the USB-IF to allow for plug and play driverless installation for its webcams.

The webcams have H.264 hardware inside that allow the cameras to handle the encoding and compression of the video rather than relying on the attached computer. This means that many businesses will be able to roll out video conferencing with less cost since legacy computers won’t need to be replaced. The webcams also capture the video natively in H.264, so there is no need for extra compression. Logitech webcams also work with Skype to offer true 1080p conferencing at 30fps for lifelike video and high-quality audio.

Details on just how embedded Skype will eventually be are in short supply, bar the fact that it’s in the works. Skype CEO Tony Bates confirmed the consolidation this past week, suggesting that it would follow on from a more typical standalone app as is available on other platforms. It’s no great surprise, though; back when Microsoft finalized its acquisition of Skype, it was keen to stress its vision of the “ubiquity of the Skype experience” with “communication across every device and every platform.”

Not all platforms are created equal, and when you have the keys to the toolbox you can do far more than tinker. Microsoft’s ambitions for Skype undoubtedly extend to differentiating Windows Phone with a service that has already accrued no small amount of traction. Adding VoIP as another option for voice calls is an obvious one, as is presence indication in a harmonized contacts list. Skype IM support could easily be built into Messenger, and Windows Phones bearing front-facing cameras – and crying out for a cross-platform video call app – are slowly growing in number.

There’s finessing your platform, however, and there’s ratcheting up the challenge until it’s not just an iPhone-threat but a real game-changer. VoIP has always been the service carriers have feared, a way of bypassing their cost structures around local, national and international calls, and instead shifting to a world where distance is all but irrelevant and an hour’s talk is or a matter of cents or even free.

For it to work, though, it needs a tipping point in users. Try to figure which of your friends are on Qik, which on Fring, which on any of the other would-be VoIP challengers, and it soon seems a whole lot less trouble to just make a regular phone call. Skype, though, already has the userbase; now it just needs a concerted effort to build it into a platform that makes saving money with VoIP transparent.

As a user, I don’t want to have to figure the relative costs of traditional cell calls versus VoIP; I just want to hit dial. If I tell my Windows Phone that I want to make the cheapest voice calls possible, I need it to automatically figure out which times to use Skype – and whether over WiFi or packet-data – and which time to dip into whatever bundle of voice minutes I might have left. All or nothing doesn’t help me – is a free VoIP call that over a paid data connection better value than a cellular voice call, or worse? – what I need is a handset that can figure that out for me.

If Microsoft could fathom that, instill Windows Phone with the sense to not only suckle at the dumb pipe but to do so with an eye on moderation not gluttony, it would offer a genuinely different option in the smartphone market. More than that, it would open the door to a true alternative to the carriers of today. Ex-Googler and current Mozilla Labs design chief Kevin Fox suggested just that last year, pointing to Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype and – at the time fledgling – work with Nokia, and pondering whether the big software company had a big soft carrier plan in the pipeline:

“If over half of a soft carrier’s airtime minutes were carried over Wi-Fi rather than a leased cellular network, that carrier could beat a traditional mobile carrier on price even if the traditional carrier doubled their costs when they leased access to the soft carrier, and for every customer who only has 3G access there’s another who has almost exclusively Wi-Fi access, and over time the scales continue to tip toward the latter, steadily lowering soft-carrier costs. Rates could either be flat regardless of transport, averaging out the benefit to all customers, or discounts could be given to those who use Wi-Fi more often.”

Microsoft would do well to examine the mistakes and pitfalls of those which have gone before it, though; it isn’t the first big name in tech to consider challenging the carriers. Google’s original Nexus concept was a smartphone – Android-based, naturally – free of operator subsidy and the implicit ties a subsidy creates. Instead, the networks would be relegated to pipes, simple conduits for VoIP and the like, with users picking the phone of their dreams and then throwing service into the cart almost as an afterthought.

In actual fact, the Nexus project was – when viewed as a challenge to the domineering carriers – an abject failure. Soon Google’s “phone comes first” scheme was nothing more than a SIM-free Nexus One on sale with a hefty $500+ price tag online, while most went either to AT&T or T-Mobile USA to pay a more palatable $200. Google redressed the Nexus idea as a hardware showcase, focusing on herding its Android OEM partners in whichever direction Andy Rubin & Co. decided was best.

Could Microsoft, and Skype, and Nokia, do things differently? Skype certainly has the brand recognition Google Voice lacks, and both Nokia and Microsoft are certainly desperate enough to consider as wholesale a shake-up of the mobile market as possible to give them each room to flourish. Google arguably never really needed to do away with carriers, its interest was always getting Android – and mobile advertising – into the hands of as many customers as possible. If that means a dozen slightly different phones from a half-dozen vendors on each of the main carriers, then so be it.

Microsoft and Nokia lack that flexibility. The pair have already been struggling to gain mindshare in the all-important retail environment, reportedly digging deep into a $200m purse or thereabouts to fund the AT&T Lumia 900 release. A fair chunk of that cash will grease the palms of retail staff, encouraging them to push the new Windows Phone rather than its Android or iOS counterparts. At some point, though, launching each new handset on a bed of hundred dollar bills becomes counterproductive.

What Microsoft needs is a big WiFi backbone and an eager, perhaps mildly desperate carrier to deliver fall-back. T-Mobile USA would seem an obvious choice, left floundering in the aftermath of the AT&T deal collapse. Instead of coaxing carrier showfloor time for each and every launch, Microsoft could push Windows Phones and its companion soft carrier network in its own retail locations, as well as on Xbox LIVE and through Windows computers. That direct marketing would be talking to arguably the most likely users, too: those for whom Windows Phone’s PC and Xbox integration might strike a chord.

It’d take guts, and investment, and a fair amount of madness to do, but the alternative is watching Apple and Google eat up every last scrap in the mobile ecosystem. Skype alone can’t save Windows Phone, but it could certainly prove the key that unlocks Microsoft’s mobile future.

Microsoft acquired Skype back in October, at the time promising a “ubiquity of the Skype experience” and reassuring users that “communication across every device and every platform will remain a primary focus.” At the time, that was seen as a commitment to maintaining versions of Skype for Mac, Android, iOS and other platforms.

However, Skype could also be a significant draw for future iterations of Windows Phone. The VoIP company already owns a cross-platform IM app, GroupMe, bought back in August last year, while a deal with Facebook provides video calls between users of the social network, albeit currently only on the desktop. Meanwhile, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has already suggested that the company could use the VoIP tech to undermine reliance on traditional carriers.

If Microsoft can position its smartphone platform as one which not only clears the divide between cell calls and VoIP, but saves users money in the process, that could be a significant marketing point for Windows Phone. We’ll settle for a native Skype app in the meantime, however.

It’s in an interview conducted this past week, Osterloh revealed that Microsoft is “working on a Windows Phone product that will be coming out soon” in regards to Skype. The original promise for this combination of Windows Phone and video chat via SKype came back last year with Joe Belfiore, Director of Windows Phone, said the service would be coming in late 2011 to the platform. From what we’re hearing now, the real deal Skype application may well be made for Windows Phone Apollo, whenever that comes out.

We’ve got a big event coming up next month in Barcelona with Mobile World Congress and Nokia has just dropped their full line of USA product for Windows Phone Mango here in the United States. Let’s call this a possible early spring release? Or at least a late winter announcement. Get ready to chat, Windows Phone lovers! — Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

That little creature is finding his way into everything this season, Android here and Android there, Android everywhere. This Samsung device isn’t the first and isn’t the last to use a heavily skinned version of the Google mobile OS, with other examples existing inside the same show we got to see this device in! How about that?

You just connect this device to your television with a single HDMI cable and wham, you’re well on your way to creating a chatting station for you, your son or daughter, and your grandmother. This device will go on sale in March and will be priced at the low low spot of $199.99. Sounds like a fabulous deal of a grab to us, especially since it comes with such a radical remote control as well!

Samsung throws in a QWERTY remote control for operating the inTouch, navigating its menu and your Skype contacts list, and searching for URLs and YouTube videos. Still image recording is supported, and there’s weather information and Google News too.

A USB port allows you to hook up a digital camera or memory card, and view photos stored on that too; alternatively you can upload them, through the inTouch, to YouTube, Flickr and other sites. Connectivity with a TV is via a single HDMI cable.

The Samsung inTouch SNH-5010N will go on sale in March, priced at $199.99. Considering how much Cisco was asking for its Umi system, that seems like something of a bargain to us.

And what’s better than all this is that under the hood you’ve got both Android and NVIDIA to back you up for the most fully reliable system you’ve ever used! with the NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor running this Android-based machine, you’ll be well on your way to a fully integrated experience with no hassle whatsoever – click your controls, select your settings, all of it simple as it can be so anyone can use it. The whole system will be available starting on January 5th (that’s today!) 2012 through Tely.com, Skype.com, and more, all for just $249.

All you’ll need on your end is the ability to sign up for Skype (easy as pie) and a Wi-fi internet connection to get your device up on to the web. You’ll not only be able to be video chat, you’ll be able to send and receive photos whilst chatting as well. Video mail will also be up and running right out of the box. Sound like enough to get you pumped up about video chatting in the living room?

We’ll certainly be seeing more on this device at CES 2012!

[via Tely]

If you’re using Windows Live Messenger you only get 720p video support, though standalone 1080p video clips and interpolated 15-megapixel stills are possible. Logitech’s accompanying software suite supports H.264 video compression and one-click YouTube and Facebook upload, for sharing so straightforward you can have clips online before your hangover has even lifted.

A particularly flexible mounting clip supports tripod screws, or mounts on top of laptop screens, low-profile desk monitors or traditional CRTs, if you’re rocking that old-school setup still. Hook-up is via USB 2.0.

The Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 is up for pre-order now, priced at $99.99. It’s at times like these you can see why Cisco’s Umi really didn’t stand a chance.

“While we are ending the sale of Umi, the Umi service remains unchanged” the spokesperson clarified. “Existing customers will continue to be able to use the service to make calls to other Umi subscribers or to Google video chat accounts.”

Outlandish pricing of both the hardware and ongoing subscription fees, as well as an apparent blindness to the rest of the video conferencing market seemed destined to scupper Umi’s chances. Cisco launched it at $599, then slashed the price by $100 in March last year as well as trimming service charges dramatically: down from $24.99 per month to just $9.99. Meanwhile a lower-resolution Umi 720 was launched, priced at $399.

With Skype offering subscription-free video calls, however, and a growing number of laptops, tablets, desktops and smartphones offering HD-capable webcams, even “cheaper” didn’t prove as tempting as “free.”

Skype will be partnering with Towerstream, which operates a network that covers Time Square, West Village, East Village, South Village, Greenwich Village, NoHo, SoHo, Lowe East Side, Clinton, Chelsea, Union Square, Midtown, Midtown South, Murray Hill, Stuyvesant Park, and Turtle Bay.

To connect, make sure you have the latest Skype version installed on your Windows or Mac device. You can also use the Skype WiFi app on your iOS device. Follow the prompts and once you’re connected, you can make Skype video or voice calls, send emails, and surf the web. You can thank Skype by tweeting with the hashtag #freeskypewifi.

[via Skype Blog]

[Image credit: Julian B]

I’m away from my family this holiday, and it seemed an excellent time to take advantage of Skype for a video call or two on Christmas day. The tech world may have raced ahead, but carriers and roaming phone calls still lag behind, and using my cellphone to ring could easily rack up a bill greater than I was spending on gifts. Trying to install Skype onto a regular Windows laptop, though, proved to be an irritant greater than forgetting to defrost the turkey.

My parents aren’t stupid, or even particularly tech-naive. They’ve managed to install routers and printers – something, along with scanners, almost guaranteed to get my blood boiling – by themselves before now, and they know how to run regular anti-virus and malware scans and keep their PCs in shapely condition.

Installing Skype, then, ought to have been an easy matter: we should’ve been video chatting within minutes. In actual fact, though, the convoluted online registration process – page after page of setting up a new account, uncertainty over what personal information was mandatory and what wasn’t (and being thrown back to the beginning when something was inadvertently left out, with no obvious indicator of why), then installing the app and being forced to put in that account information again, peppered with Skype’s attempts to encourage them to buy SkypeOut credit – stretched out what should’ve been a quick “make a connection” moment into a homework-like chore for my family and a remote frustration for me on the other end of the phone.

We take for granted that some elements of the technology world come more easily to us than others. We overlook elements of bad UI or confusing installer decisions, perhaps don’t even “see” them, because we generally understand what the designers “meant” to say. Those who aren’t immersed within this world suffer for that blasé attitude, are made to feel stupid or inept.

Technology can be wonderful: when all the pieces had finally slotted together, I quietly marveled at how my Galaxy Nexus could give me a clear view into my family’s living room several thousand miles away. I used Skype over WiFi on my phone to make several voice calls, too, at rates a fraction of what O2 would’ve charged me to roam onto T-Mobile USA’s network. But to have that video call with my family on Christmas Day, I had to create a new Skype account for them on my phone and read the login details out: the new account Skype had made for them simply wouldn’t let them log in.

Skype could have won some devoted customers over the holidays. Imagine an undemanding webpage – holiday themed, perhaps – promoting the simplicity and convenience of video calling, created in HTML5 maybe or using the same quick plugin as Skype made for Facebook’s video chat integration. A couple of clicks, a temporary username, and you’re talking with and waving to loved ones many miles away. At the end of the call, you’d have the option to convert that temporary account into a permanent one, perhaps receive a little tester SkypeOut credit with the prompt to “call a landline this Christmas.” Nothing overwhelming when people are stuffed full of festive food and simply want to connect. Show them how it works, demonstrate why they should want it, rather than making them jump through dozens of hoops first.

(In actual fact, the company ran a “free airport WiFi” promotion across the US. I used it myself in Detroit; there was no promotional material in the airport or when you connected to the network pointing out you could have an hour of free access, you had to guess to log in via Skype WiFi in the app itself rather than putting your Skype username into the Boingo roaming page, and, even when you’d done all that, it was still unclear whether you were going to be charged. Every ten minutes a warning dialog popped up asking if I wanted to extend my session, cautioning it would probably cost me each time (it didn’t). Even as a frequent hotspot user I was confused, and it would hardly have made a good impression with a novice.)

The barrier to geek nirvana is still too high. Previously it was a matter of price: a computer, or a smartphone, was expensive. Those who could afford them inevitably spent the time understanding their intricacies, to “make the most” of the functionality on offer. As prices have diminished, though, the headaches and confusions have persisted. The barrier is a more pervasive now, too, and the wonderful promises phones, tablets, computers and other tech make are all too often locked behind poor communication, unnecessary gimmicks and an over-emphasis on something looking good rather than being straightforward to use. I find myself wondering how many people will end their holidays satisfied and enthused about the gadgets they received, and how many will be disillusioned.

Companies and analysts haven’t tired of telling us how 2011 has been a difficult year for those trying to sell hardware, software and services to an increasingly cost-conscious public. Turning every user into an evangelist is worth a hundred expensive advertising campaigns; 2012 could be the year when simplicity and usability catch up with feature promises and geek hyperbole.

Skype is, unsurprisingly, hoping that users will take advantage of that WiFi access to make a voice or video call. However, if you’d rather just check Facebook, send a few tweets or even check the latest tech headlines on SlashGear, you’ll be able to do that too.

The full list of participating airports is below, and you’ll need the latest version of Skype for Windows, Mac or iOS in order to get online free. Those outside of the US are out of luck, however.

Participating Airports:

ALB – Albany International Airport
ASE – Aspen-Pitkin County Airport
ATL – Atlanta International Airport
AUS – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
AZO – Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport
BIL – Billings Logan International Airport
BHM – Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport
BNA – Nashville International Airport
BOS – Boston International Airport
BUF – Buffalo Niagara International Airport
BUR – Bob Hope Airport Burbank
BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Airport
CWA – Central Wisconsin Airport
DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
DEN – Denver Int’l Airport – Concourse B Mezzanine
DRO – Durango La Plata County Airport
DSM – Des Moines International Airport
DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
ELP – El Paso International Airport
EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport
GEG – Spokane Airport
GRR – Gerald R. Ford International Airport
GSO – Piedmont Triad International Airport
HOU – Houston William P Hobby Airport
IAD – Dulles International Airport
IAH – George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport
IND – Indianapolis International Airport
JAC – Jackson Hole Airport
JFK – John F. Kennedy International Airport
JNU – Juneau International Airport
LGA – LaGuardia International Airport – Central Terminal
MBS – MBS International Airport Terminal 1
MDW – Chicago Midway Airport
MEM – Memphis International Airport
MIA – Miami International Airport
MKE – General Mitchell International Airport (Milwaukee)
MRY – Monterey Peninsula Airport
MSP – Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – Lindbergh Terminal
OKC – Oklahoma City Will Rogers World Airport
OMA – Eppley Airfield Omaha Int’l Airport
ORD – Chicago O’Hare International Airport
ORF – Norfolk International Airport
PHF – Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport
PVD – T F Green International Airport
PWM – Portland International Airport
SBN – South Bend Regional Airport
SCF – Scottsdale Airport
SDF – Louisville International Airport
SFO – San Francisco International Airport
SMF – Sacramento International Airport
STL – Lambert St. Louis International Airport
SWF – Stewart International Airport
TOL – Toledo Express Airport
TVC – Traverse City/Cherry Capital Airport

Video calling via Skype on Android has been limited but the company continues to test and support new devices. Skype is expanding the whitelisted devices, ensuring that more handsets will support its video calling and provide an optimized video experience.

Some of the latest whitelisted devices include the HTC Amaze 4G and the Motorola DROID RAZR. Overall, almost any device running Android 2.2 Froyo or above can try out Skype’s video calling feature. When you first start up Skype on a new non-whitelisted device, the app will let you know whether video calling can be turned on.

The app is free, but the service may require a 3G cellular plan when you are not connected to WiFi. The app can be downloaded at the Android Market.

Previous betas added the ability to read Facebook messages and IM using Facebook Chat, all within Skype. The app also shows recent Facebook updates, and allows you to update your own status, without loading up the browser.

The new betas also apparently boost video quality for Mac users, with a new rendering engine for smoother results, along with group screen sharing for both Windows and Mac users (though the former will need a premium account). Desktop sharing is also supported. It’s also worth noting that Skype has been adding adverts into its recent updates, so if you’re adverse to those then perhaps stick with the version you already have.

You can still make normal calls on your phone and you can call Skype and mobile numbers using the adapter. The adapter can store up to 100 speed dials and 200 Skype contacts and only needs access to a computer for the initial set up. A broadband connection is required to use the device. All of the cables needed are included in the box.

The adapter comes with up to 300 minutes of international talk out of the box and is a good backup for emergency situations. In addition to the adapter, the same company is offering a GE digital cordless expandable phone that has Skype integrated.

“India can submit the name of a suspect its investigators want to wiretap, and RIM will return decoded messages for that individual, as long as it is satisfied the request has legal authorization, according to the people familiar with the matter” WSJ

However, while RIM says it “continues to work very well” with the government in India, according to the insiders the security services there still aren’t content with the degree of access they’re allowed. Their preference, it’s said, would be independent access to the decoding systems RIM uses, so as to avoid revealing the identities of those it suspects of potential terrorism links or other crimes. BlackBerry Messenger conversations are among the data RIM will disclose on request, though enterprise email is supposedly still secure.

According to the sources, the Indian government isn’t stopping at BlackBerry, however. Skype, Facebook and Twitter are apparently all on its list of communication technologies it would like to have better monitoring access to.

Initially, then, Skype will continue to be available through the current clients: for Windows and Mac on the desktop, as well as iPad, iPhone, Android and other mobile platforms. Ironically Microsoft’s own Windows Phone isn’t included in that latter category, at least not yet, and we’re guessing one of the key priorities at the new division is to remedy that situation.

Beyond that, though, Microsoft says that the VoIP system “will also be integrated across an array of Microsoft products to broaden Skype’s reach and accelerate its growth as a fundamental way people communicate online.” We wouldn’t be surprised to see it baked into Windows as a native communication method, as well as show up on Xbox and in Media Center products. Right now there are several TVs that can – with expensive webcams – be turned into video conferencing systems, but Microsoft integrating Skype could do the same thing with the addition of cheap hardware.

As you may already know, Microsoft is certainly ramping up efforts to integrate their desktop and mobile platforms, and with Skype, they’ll have one dedicated place for video chat, text chat, and phone communications. The EU noted on competition for the future:

“However, the Commission considers that there are no competition concerns in this growing market where numerous players, including Google, are present.” – EU

It’s expected that Skype functionality will be built into a number of Microsoft products through the future. Amongst these is Microsoft’s Windows and Office software, in addition to their mobile platform Windows Phone 7 (currently Windows Phone 7.5 Mango). The U.S. Federal Trade Commission cleared this purchase deal all the way back in June, so Microsoft should basically be good to go from here!

Also newly added in this version of the app is the ability to zoom in during a video call, by double-tapping on the display. Skype has made various bug-fixes and speed tweaks, as you’d expect, and there’s improved Bluetooth headset support if you’re not keen on having your entire conversation overheard by everyone around you.

Unfortunately, the updated Skype also brings the advertising recently added to the PC and Mac versions, though you can escape it by having a Skype subscription or adding some credit. As always, it’s a free download from the Android Market.

Newly-supported devices:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
• HTC Nexus One
• HTC Shooter (aka EVO 3D)
• Sony Ericsson Xperia Live with Walkman
• Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
• LG Optimus Black
• LG Optimus 3D
• LG Optimus 2x
• Motorola Photon
• Motorola Droid 3
• Motorola Bionic
• Motorola Xoom
• Motorola Atrix
• Acer Iconia

[via Android Community]

The new anti-shake correction for Skype is a software-based trick that helps to reduce the jitter effect from holding your iPhone or iPad in your hand or while you’re walking. If you’re on the go a lot and need to video chat, this new feature will certainly save your friends from motion sickness. The addition of Bluetooth support makes it even easier now to chat on the go as the updated app allows for hands-free video calling.

Although Skype did not specify which security vulnerability this update fixed, it may have something to do with the address book theft vulnerability revealed last week. That security loop hole allowed address book content to be swiped through the use of Javascript in Skype’s chat messages.

The service remains free to use, but has now added advertisements, similar to what happened with the Skype 5.4 update for Mac. To get rid of the ads, you will have to sign up for Skype Credit, a premium subscription, or a calling subscription. The update is available now at Apple iTunes and requires iOS 4.0 or later.

[via TUAW]

Then when the chat message hits the user on the other end, when that user is on the latest version of Skype, it loads a program onto a web server and the address book contacts are swiped. Apparently, two things at work allow the attack to be executed in the new version of Skype for iOS.

Skype hasn’t taken any steps to prevent Javascript from being executed when sent in the form of chat messages. The other issue is that the iOS operating system leaves the contact book accessible to any program. It seems that the answer to this issue may require fixes from both ends. Check out the video below to see the hack in action, and beware chat messages on Skype.

[via Apple Headlines]

We’ve already seen an example of the latter in webOS, with HP allowing TouchPad tablet owners to make and receive calls, as well as send and receive SMS messages, on their Pre3 handset via a Bluetooth link and a dialog on the slate itself. Microsoft could well have a similar strategy in mind, trying to encourage platform loyalty among users by boosting the integration between its mobile and desktop OSes.

Of course, with Microsoft buying Skype, the calling functionality could well be VoIP baked into the platform. Still, digging through the Samsung tablet hardware distributed at BUILD last week has turned up a voice-capable 3G modem, which could imply that native calls are on the cards too. Whether users would actually want to turn their tablet or notebook into a cellphone remains to be seen.

The updated app also supports Facebook Chat conversations within the Skype software, together with comment and “Like” support. It uses Facebook Connect, as you’d expect, and is a free upgrade from the existing version.

If you can’t handle the adverts, meanwhile, then Skype says that paying customers – i.e. those with paid accounts or who have credit on their account – won’t see them. Those unwilling to pay will see the occasional promotion on the home tab, Skype says, with “non-personally identifiable” demographic data like gender, location and age used to tweak what you see.

Also unlike Google+ Hangouts where groups as large as ten could be on a single group video chat, Fring’s Playgrounds are still limited to its traditional format of four participants at a time. Playgrounds are created around shared interests. They can be created by anyone and anyone can join them.

If this sounds all too open for you and you’d rather avoid the chance meeting with a stranger keen on exposing themselves, Fring still offers its usual private group chat features that lets you chat with up to three other friends. The app is available on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

[via Electronista]

This is not the first group in existence to create its own app directory filled with apps related to their core values and- better yet – literal bits of their code. Just earlier this week we took a look at NVIDIA’s new web-based version of their “Tegra Zone” app directory, it containing applications and news bits directly tied to their newest dual-core mobile processor. Skype’s directory is a bit different in that it’s based on a video chat ecosystem instead of a System on Chip group, but at least a couple of elements remain the same:

The Skype App Directory at the moment has only a handful of apps, the same as NVIDIA’s Tegra Zone. Both directories have a lot of room for growth.

Skype’s directory, like NVIDIA’s, does not allow you to download apps directly, instead directing you to developer’s individual sites.

The big difference between the two and, as another example here, Dropbox’s Apps Site, is that Skype works with a bunch of these apps with their Skype Credits system. Connected directly with PayPal, Skype’s ability to accept payments and distribute credits will almost certainly be a system Skype is able to work with developers to use in their own apps.

Futuristic in its scope, sort of? If you had an idea for an app that would work directly with Skype to make calls only to one pizza place and with their credits system you could simply have a single button to press, pizza’s here! And done! Would you do it? That’s a completely goofy app for example, but you get the idea.

[via Skype]

Now Skype has acquired GroupMe, an odd move for a group that already has similar capabilities in several of their application iterations. On the other hand, GroupMe’s most recent update has brought in-browser chat capabilities (within a week of Facebook adding messenger to mobile, mind you,) GroupMe and Facebook Messenger thusly having very similar services working much in the same way.

As Jared Hecht, GroupMe’s Co-Founder notes that “There is a natural affinity between Skype and GroupMe” and that they’d be “integrating GroupMe into the Skype experience” would be their next move. How both groups will manage integrating their collective users into one pot, we do not yet know – why on earth GroupMe decided to do a major update of their user interface and ecosystem capabilities we are also baffled about – perhaps they’ll just add a Skype button next? We’ll see!

[via Skype]

With Skype WiFi, you can access the internet at over 1 million WiFi hotspots worldwide, including at airports, hotels, convention centers, train stations, bars, and restaurants. The service is charged per minute using Skype Credits so that you don’t need to buy an hour or a day’s worth of usage.

The app also does not limit how much data you use for uploading or downloading files. Instead, it simply charges by usage time, starting at $0.06 per minute. It is available to download for free from Apple’s App Store and works on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.1 or above.

[via Skype]

The new app includes unified Chat, Facebook messages, mobile push notifications and email support, along with group messaging that can be extended to cover those contacts who are not Facebook friends. However, Facebook is yet to confirm that it’s working on video call support.

It’s not the first time Facebook’s app plans have been prematurely previewed thanks to some extra code. The social network’s dedicated iPad app was spotted in amongst the code for its recently-updated iPhone app, and tweakers discovered that it could be enabled on jailbroken iPads with only minor effort. Facebook then closed that loophole down, but by that point the cat was out of the bag.

What seems likely is that Facebook will leverage its deal with Skype to use the video call technology in a future version of the Messenger app, taking on Apple’s iMessage and Google Talk in the process.

Now that the 2011 iMac and MacBook Pro’s come with a FaceTime HD camera, it makes sense that Skype should take advantage of this and offer the option for HD video calling. The new feature also works with a variety of add-on high-resolution webcams. But to receive clear HD video calls its recommended to have a connection speed of at least 1.5Mbps.

The update also adds full support for Mac OS X Lion while promising backwards compatibility with Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Other improvements include new contact sorting, searching, and viewing options.

[via Skype]

When the Skype app launched for Android in June it supported the Samsung Google Nexus S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia pro, and HTC Desire S to start. The official supported handset list is much larger now and even includes a tablet. New official devices include all the original devices and the Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Droid Charge – Verizon, Samsung Galaxy Tab, HTC Desire (2.2), HTC Thunderbolt – Verizon, HTC Sensation, HTC Evo 4G, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire HD, HTC Flyer, LG Revolution – Verizon (2.2), Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY, Sony Ericsson Xperia ray, Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro, and the Acer A5.

That is a bunch of newly supported handset and covers just about all the really popular devices out there. Skype notes if you are using an Android 2.2 or higher device not on the list you may be able to activate the video calling feature on your device in settings. However, the video quality might not be as good as an officially supported device according to Skype.

[via Android Community]

The ad also notes that the new worker will be responsible for working with a small team of testing pros that deliver a new release of the Skype Video Engine every two months. It sounds like a busy job to me. I think we all know that WP7 isn’t the only place we will see Skype integrated.

We can expect the video calling service to eventually get integrated into the Xbox and just about anything else that Microsoft can come up with. The photo up above is the actual Skype Careers job posting that is online.

[via WPCentral]

The VoIP company is yet to confirm why, exactly, it yanked the software originally. Still, most users will be more curious about what it brings to the iPad, which includes the usual Skype-to-Skype calls (free of charge) as well as Skype Out calls to landlines and mobiles (assuming you have credit on your account). WiFi and 3G calls are supported – assuming your operator is happy with that – and if you have an iPad 2 then you can use the front and rear cameras for video chat.

Original iPad owners, meanwhile, will have to make do with voice calls or incoming video only, since they don’t have a camera to play with. Still, you can still get a Skype In number so that people can directly call your iPad. You’ll need to be running iOS 4.0 or above, and Skype for iPad is a free download.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

The talk today started with Mark Zuckerberg making a case for the idea that Social Networking has taken off, and that, though he did not say it implicitly, Facebook has been at the center of this revolution. His first relatively big announcement was that Facebook now has 750 million users, finishing this thought with a note that they’d held off sharing this statistic because he and the Facebook team don’t feel that the amount of users on the network is the most important number anymore. This, at once, throws a rather important number in Google’s face AND allows Zuckerberg to say that it’s no big deal – so what, who cares? He goes on to say the amount that people share is the real big number.

Zuckerberg goes on to mention a new design for chat, that being a sort of AOL Instant Messanger-esque buddylist along the right of your screen, group chat, and of course Video Calling with Skype. After noting these three points, Zuckerberg says that they’re releasing apps and programs like these one item at a time in small doses on purpose. Zuckerberg notes in what your humble narrator believes wholeheartedly is another jab at Google with their giant undertaking in Google+ form:

“Companies that focus will always do better than ones that try to do a million things” – Mark Zuckerberg

Philip Su is called onto stage and does a short demo of what Video Chat will look like on Facebook. Using this function will require a single-time download (per browser, we imagine) leading you to a one-button connection to whoever you want to video chat with via their profile. He makes a really rather pointed quote happen here that, you guessed it, again has at G+ for the umpteenth time:

“No separate accounts, no separate connections, on a network that already has all your friends on it.” Philip Su, Facebook Software Engineer

Tony Bates, CEO of Skype is called out of the crowd and delivers a set of words not unlike the pre-recorded message you see here:

You’ll notice much excitement over lots of work done leading up to this precise moment in history. Did Skype and Facebook intend on announcing this collaboration before it was ready to launch in earnest?

Then came the whopper, inside the Q and A session, as asked by the lucky first questioner, a writer from Mashable, coming in the form of some sort of filler words in front of the bomb: “and what do you think about Google+”

Zuckerberg plays it cool and answers in a way that promotes moving forward rather than reacting to the Google+ mess we’re all in:

“As far as the Google stuff goes, I’m not going to say a lot. The next 5 years are about building apps. A lot of companies that haven’t been social in the past, not just Google, will be building social apps. In some cases they’ll build on existing infrastructure, in some they’ll build their own. Facebook’s job is to stay focused.” -Mark Zuckerberg

Growth, accessing the userbase that Facebook already has, working with the friends you’ve already got, all of this for the greater good of the one TRUE social network, right? They’ve got their own movie for goodness sakes! The saga will continue to unfold, and RIGHT NOW via our Tabletpalooza contest where you’ll have to connect to BOTH social networks to grab yourself a free Android dual-core monster.

Get to it!

The 5.2 Skype update adds some neat features that allow for more collaboration between Mac users. One new feature is group screen sharing. On one-to-one call Skype calls, screen sharing is already available for free, but now it works with groups calls as well. But in order to use the group calling and screen sharing feature, at least one of the call participants must have a Skype Premium account.

Another new features is a call control bar that allows for multitasking. If you’re on a video call but want to open another program, you can do so and still see the person you’re on call with and control whether to hang up or mute.

The Skype 5.2 update for Mac is available now for free download. To take advantage of the group calling and screen sharing features, check out the 7-day trial for the Skype Premium subscription.

There may be another major announcement from Skype this Wednesday alongside Facebook, if insider predictions are correct about the “awesome” news scheduled to be revealed this week by the social network.

[via Skype]