WhatsApp calling spotted in the wild?

Screenshots from iPhoneItalia suggest that this is the new iPhone interface for the future version of WhatsApp with voice calls.

(Credit:iPhoneItalia)

Answer the phone -- WhatsApp is calling.

Friday, screenshots purportedly depicting the widely popular messaging app's coming-soon voice-calling features made their way to the Web courtesy of the blog iPhoneItalia. The shots, seen above, reportedly depict a beta version of WhatsApp for iPhone with a new interface for making calls.

The images suggest that WhatsApp with VoIP is on its way sooner rather later. Just weeks ago, WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum promised to give the messaging app's iPhone and Android users voice communication options. He said voice calling would be added in the second of quarter of this year.

Related postsWhatsApp pooh-poohs report of security flawPrivacy groups ask FTC to block Facebook-WhatsApp dealGoogle denies bidding on WhatsApp

"We think we have the best voice product out there," Koum said at the time. "We use the least amount of bandwidth and optimize the hell out of it."

WhatsApp, which is being acquired by Facebook for $19 billion, currently supports a variety of messaging options and lets people leave recorded voice messages for one another. The application has 465 million active users.

Voice calls will pit WhatsApp more directly against VoIP apps such as Skype and Viber. Though Facebook already offers voice calling via Messenger, WhatsApp is operated independently and used by international audiences who would benefit from the addition of free calls.

Topics: Facebook Tags: facebook, VoIP, whatsapp

View the Original article

Skype For Outlook Now Available Worldwide, Adds HD Video Calling Support

Skype for Outlook.com, the integration of Skype’s messaging features into Microsoft’s webmail platform, is now available worldwide, the company is announcing this morning. To get started with the feature, users must first download a web browser plugin, which is available for IE, Chrome, Firefox and now, Safari, browsers.

Afterwards, those who already have Skype accounts can link them to Outlook. If you haven’t yet signed up for Skype, you can instead use your Microsoft account to sign in.

Once installed, Skype users can place video and audio calls right from their email inbox. And today, Microsoft notes that’s it’s also adding support for HD video calling for PC users, while also fixing earlier bugs some users had experienced with calls continuing to ring after pick-up when they were running the Outlook.com plugin and Skype on their desktop at the same time.

The HD calling feature only works when users have compatible HD displays, web cams, messaging clients, and broadband internet, Microsoft notes.

The company had previously introduced Skype for Outlook.com in a preview mode for select markets last year, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Brazil and Canada. Now Microsoft is making the service available worldwide, though presumably, this could still be a staged rollout.

The integration offers a Microsoft-flavored competitor to Google’s Gmail

View the Original article