Skype launches new directory for third-party apps

Online voice and video communication service Skype recently opened a new directory site for third-party applications.

The directory will help raise awarenesss of apps using Skype’s API. However, it also represents a shift in the company’s relationship with its developer community, which it hasn’t always been on the best of terms with in the past.

The directory contains a mix of consumer and business apps. You can sort between app categories, pricing and developer. Right now there are only about 23 apps listed, the majority of which are Windows-only. Also, there are quite a few video and voice recording options, but little else at this point.

Skype has also created landing pages for each application, with all the basic information you’d expect to find, like release dates, system requirements, a comment section and ratings. Downloading the application sends you to the developer’s page.

It’s nice to see Skype stepping up its efforts to foster a developer community. I would imagine this strategy will only improve now that the company has been acquired by Microsoft.

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Tags: app directory, Skype, third-party apps

Companies: Skype

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Skype purchasing GroupMe to ramp up group communications

Skype on Sunday said it will acquire group messaging startup GroupMe, a move that will help the company expand its offerings in group-based communications. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“[GroupMe] complements our existing leadership in voice and video communications by providing best in class mobile text-based communications and innovative features around group messaging that enable users to connect, share locations and photos and make plans with their closest ties,” said Skype CEO Tony Bates in a blog post.

Both Facebook and Google recently released their own offerings targeted at group messaging with Facebook Messenger and Google+’s Huddle. Skype’s decision to buy GroupMe shows it wants to make sure it also has its group communication bases covered. It should pair well with the services it already offers, including video calling, global calling, instant messaging, and text messaging services.

Skype is still in the process of being acquired by Microsoft. The big M said in May that it would buy Skype for $8.5 billion and as soon as the deal is completed, we will likely see Skype integrated into Xbox 360, Kinect, Windows Phone and Office 365. GroupMe’s application and technology would also help Microsoft flesh out its mobile offerings as it continues to expand Windows Phone 7′s presence and capabilities.

It’s a remarkable way for GroupMe’s startup story to close, as the company is barely more than a year old. The first version of GroupMe was built during a weekend in May 2010 during a hackathon programming contest hosted by TechCrunch. Investors quickly took notice and the company raised $850,000 in its first seed round of fundraising from places like Ron Conway’s SV Angel and Lerner Ventures. And back in January, GroupMe raised $10.6 million, with funding led by Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst Partners and First Round Capital.

GroupMe’s offices and its 20 employees will stay in New York. “As part of the deal, GroupMe will remain in New York, team intact, working on our standalone application,” GroupMe announced on its company blog. “The major difference will be that we will now have access to Skype’s 175 million monthly connected users.”

Are you a fan of GroupMe? What do you think of the acquisition?

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Tags: deals, Facebook Messenger, Google Plus, group messaging, Huddle, messaging, video callng, video calls

Companies: Facebook, Google, GroupMe, Microsoft, Skype

View the original article here

Skype purchasing GroupMe to ramp up group communications

Skype on Sunday said it will acquire group messaging startup GroupMe, a move that will help the company expand its offerings in group-based communications. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“[GroupMe] complements our existing leadership in voice and video communications by providing best in class mobile text-based communications and innovative features around group messaging that enable users to connect, share locations and photos and make plans with their closest ties,” said Skype CEO Tony Bates in a blog post.

Both Facebook and Google recently released their own offerings targeted at group messaging with Facebook Messenger and Google+’s Huddle. Skype’s decision to buy GroupMe shows it wants to make sure it also has its group communication bases covered. It should pair well with the services it already offers, including video calling, global calling, instant messaging, and text messaging services.

Skype is still in the process of being acquired by Microsoft. The big M said in May that it would buy Skype for $8.5 billion and as soon as the deal is completed, we will likely see Skype integrated into Xbox 360, Kinect, Windows Phone and Office 365. GroupMe’s application and technology would also help Microsoft flesh out its mobile offerings as it continues to expand Windows Phone 7′s presence and capabilities.

It’s a remarkable way for GroupMe’s startup story to close, as the company is barely more than a year old. The first version of GroupMe was built during a weekend in May 2010 during a hackathon programming contest hosted by TechCrunch. Investors quickly took notice and the company raised $850,000 in its first seed round of fundraising from places like Ron Conway’s SV Angel and Lerner Ventures. And back in January, GroupMe raised $10.6 million, with funding led by Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst Partners and First Round Capital.

GroupMe’s offices and its 20 employees will stay in New York. “As part of the deal, GroupMe will remain in New York, team intact, working on our standalone application,” GroupMe announced on its company blog. “The major difference will be that we will now have access to Skype’s 175 million monthly connected users.”

Are you a fan of GroupMe? What do you think of the acquisition?

Next Story: AMD stays the course with new desktop and laptop?chips
Previous Story: Zynga confirms it hired EA’s Jeff Karp as marketing and sales?chief

Tags: deals, Facebook Messenger, Google Plus, group messaging, Huddle, messaging, video callng, video calls

Companies: Facebook, Google, GroupMe, Microsoft, Skype

View the original article here