Posted Wed May 11, 2011 at 05:00 AM PDT by Dick Ward
Skype support for the Xbox, Windows phones, and other Windows devices is on the way.
In what came as a bit of a surprise, the folks at Microsoft announced that they've agreed to purchase Skype for a whopping $8.5 billion. The result is a big step forward for Microsoft in the world of real-time communication and a significant payout for Skype.
"Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world," says Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world."
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox, Windows phone and other devices will be seeing Skype integration in the near future and you can bet they'll be showing it off at E3 in June.
The folks at Microsoft have not revealed what, if anything, this means for existing Skype partners, but it makes sense that the company would want to keep the service on as many devices as possible.
Source: Microsoft
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.