Skype Becomes More Social With Facebook Integration

Adopted from WebPro News

Skype has introduced an updated version of 5.0 beta for Windows along with the integration of the Facebook News Feed.

The Facebook integration makes Skype more social. Skype users can interact with their Facebook News Feed, including posting status updates, commenting, and liking, directly from Skype. The Facebook Phonebook in Skype allows users to call and SMS their Facebook friends directly on their mobile phones and landlines. If a Facebook friend is also a Skype contact, users can make a free Skype-to-Skype call.

Video calling accounted for approximately 40% of all Skype-to-Skype minutes in the first half of 2010. People who download the new Skype will receive a free trial of group video calling in beta for a chance to try out video calling with more than two people. The view makes it easier to follow along on group video calls by automatically focusing on the person talking on the call.

The new Skype also makes it faster to find existing contacts with pictures and avatars displayed next to contact names along with mood messages, and finding new contacts with realtime search. In addition, the new Skype has automatic call recovery, which helps users reconnect calls that are dropped because of Internet connection problems.