We are hearing today that Skype will not be creating a version of it’s VoIP software for Windows Phone 7 devices that will launch later this year. Instead, the company will focus their efforts on iPhone OS, Android OS and Symbian based devices.
Right now the reasons are unknown for this decision, but perhaps it’s due to restrictions that Microsoft [MSFT] have put in place for developers where Skype might feel they cannot do enough. Alternatively they might have just lost a bit of faith in the platform.
Although they have said no to creating a WP7 VoIP app at an event in Sydney Australia, this could change closer to the time and we’ll never know for sure until Skype make an official announcement – or, when Skype never appears for WP7 devices.
If true it’s quite a shame as Skype is an excellent service and makes keep in contact a lot better due to being free or dirt cheap due to the way it works.
We’ll update with more details as we get them.
Via: WMPowerUser
This is a major bombshell dropped on Windows Phone 7. Skype access is something that many cheap feature phones can do, but Windows Phone 7 will not be able to do.
I agree. It would be a shame as early reviews of WP7 indicate it’s a big shift in the right direction for Microsoft. It would be a shame if they were too restrictive to destroy that momentum they could be getting.
Don’t be so sure..
We most certainly will. However, regardless of available time and resources there is a technical obstacle that prevents any one from being able to make a VoIP application on Windows Phone 7. The only type of communication the device can establish with the outside world is through web service calls. For a VoIP application one needs to be able to open network sockets and stream the audio data over it. Third party applications will not be able to do this at the initial release of Windows Phone 7.
VoIP applications are not the only type of applications that cannot yet be developed. However, unlike Windows Mobile when Windows Phone 7 is released the devices won’t be feature locked. Microsoft will be releasing updates with additional functionality over time and all users will be able to get them. So we may see third party socket support in a future release.