Yesterday Microsoft announced that it had purchased Skype for $8.5 billion. The company announced plans to integrate the popular VoIP call provider into Xbox Live (including adding Kinect support), Office, and Windows Phone, but emphasized that it does not plan to make it a Windows only application. In other words, it will be available on all the platforms it is available on now.
"Products and services that Skype users know today will grow and be enhanced," Ballmer said at a San Francisco press conference to announce the deal. "We will continue to invest in Skype for non-Microsoft devices."
It's smart for Microsoft to emphasize that point, because Skype has a massive user base on platforms that Microsoft competes against such as iPhone, Android, PSP, and more.
Skype has 170 million active users, and is registering 600,000 new users each day, according to Ballmer.
"The number of users is accelerating, which is really exciting to me," he said.
"We'll move beyond emails and text to rich communications experiences in the future," Ballmer said. "Talking to friends and colleagues around the world will be as seamless as talking to them across kitchen table or the conference room."
"This is a big day for Microsoft and a big day for Skype," Ballmer added. "By bringing together the best of Microsoft and the best of Skype, we will empower people around the world with new technologies that should bring them closer together."
Source: ARN
Comments
Re: Ballmer: Microsoft Won't Make Skype Windows Exclusive
It is big news for a Skype user like me since I use it very often. but whether Microsoft will keep delivering great values for users, it is still a question, at least for me. Of course, I hope Microsoft will serve us better!
Re: Ballmer: Microsoft Won't Make Skype Windows Exclusive
It'd be a fool move of Microsoft to make it exclusive.
Re: Ballmer: Microsoft Won't Make Skype Windows Exclusive
Seriously. They would have forked over a bunch of money for a name, and then destroyed all value in it by driving people to switch to something that's not exclusive.
Re: Ballmer: Microsoft Won't Make Skype Windows Exclusive
Glad to hear someone at the top saying this. I'd like to think this along with keeping Skype-to-Skype free (computer-to-computer, if nothing else) is the actual plan, but even if it's not, I think the regulatory boards will require Microsoft to keep Skype going cross-platform and without trying to gouge competitors in their future dealings if they let the buy proceed.