Skype has finally gone out of the beta it entered during Mobile World Congress, and is now available in its final glory for Windows Phone. Skype 1.0 is available as a free Windows Phone download on the Marketplace.
Skype adds some new features like adding new contacts through the application, calling landlines and searching through your existing contacts.
You need a Mango (7.5) Windows Phone with 512MB of RAM, which means the VoIP app works only with high-end devices on the platform. Less expensive Tango (7.0) Windows Phones with 256MB of RAM, such as the Nokia Lumia 610, can’t run it. Skype for Windows Phone requires use of a Nokia Lumia 710, 800, or 900; an HTC Titan or Radar; or a Samsung Focus S or Focus Flash.
Skype for Windows Phone’s biggest drawback is that it lacks the ability to receive calls in the background.
Why is this so? Right now, a Skype spokesperson explains that the reason is rooted in “a combination of how Skype works and how the Windows Phone OS works.”
Skype calling works via both Wi-Fi networks and 3G/4G connections.
