Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype has been finalised, bringing the VoIP service under the software company’s wing in a deal worth $8.5bn.
Skype is therefore now a division of Microsoft, but the company has continued to maintain that platform will remain ubiquitous across different platforms.
Initially, then, Skype will continue to be available through the current clients: for Windows and Mac on the desktop, as well as iPad, iPhone, Android and other mobile platforms.
Beyond that, though, Microsoft says that the VoIP system “will also be integrated across an array of Microsoft products to broaden Skype’s reach and accelerate its growth as a fundamental way people communicate online.”
What does that mean? Well probably that Skype will be integrated into Windows (as well as Xbox and Media Center) as a communication method. This could have some pretty interesting implications moving forward for desktop video communications, and on the embedded Media Center front in terms of connected televisions and displays.