Skype, one of the most popular audio/video calling applications on the desktop and now
property of Microsoft, has been long criticized for lacking any video support on Android and being generally unstable and prone to crashing. In an effort to rectify the situation and raise that 3.6-star Market average, the company released a major version update minutes ago from 1.0.0.983 to 2.0.0.45.
The update finally brings video calling, albeit to only a small subset of devices:
Update 7/1/11: The
Nexus S 4G and the European
Nexus S were added to the list of supported devices after a small 2.0.0.47 update today.
The number of devices is very limited, and Skype's choice is nothing but strange, with popular front-facing-camera-bearing phones, such as the
EVO 4G,
EVO 3D, Thunderbolt, and others, completely unsupported (though
the Thunderbolt got
its own video-enabled leak in April). Why Xperia neo and pro are supported in their place is not clear to me - Skype, perhaps you could invest in a few more test phones people actually use? How about it?
Video calling is not the only feature present in the Skype app v2 - in fact, there are 2 other notable additions:
- a major UI overhaul
- SMS support
I welcome any major updates to popular apps, but seriously, guys, with over 200 different Android phone models out there, it's time to start releasing software compatible with more than just 2%.
Grab the update in the Market by using the widget below.
