Skip to main content

Microsoft testing Skype Windows Phone client, expected at MWC

Microsoft testing Skype Windows Phone client, expected at MWC

/

Skype for Windows Phone is under the final stages of internal testing at Microsoft, expected to be released soon.

Share this story

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Skype on Windows Phone
Skype on Windows Phone

Microsoft's Skype division is currently testing an initial Windows Phone client, expected to debut very soon. That's the word from several sources who have confirmed that Microsoft employees are able to download a test version of Skype from the Windows Phone Marketplace. The application will adopt Microsoft's Metro style guidelines, including a two column grid to display contacts, and will look very similar to the picture above. Microsoft's initial release of Skype will be a standalone application, with People Hub integration expected in Windows Phone 8.

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore originally promised that Skype would arrive on Windows Phone in late 2011, a date that has since passed without any sign of the application — although Microsoft has hinted that the app will arrive "soon," at least one source indicated that it could launch at Mobile World Congress later this month. This all depends on Microsoft's internal testing, but the application is said to be near complete. When asked, a Skype spokesperson told us that "people are eager to see Skype on Windows Phone – so are we," and asked us to "stay tuned."

Update: The image above is merely a picture of Microsoft's MIX 2011 demonstration of Skype that we displayed on our phone's screen.