Skype Limited updates its Mac OS X application.
The New Mac OS X Lion operating system of Apple inc scores an HD VoIP courtesy of Microsoft’s soon-to-be property.
Skype has updated its application for the Mac OS X operating system version. According to the press release of the company via their official blog, the new Skype for Mac version 5.3 is now available for download, and it will support the latest version of the Mac OS X, the Lion 10.7 which was released last month.
New features of the Skype for the Mac computers include new user interface that is obviously better than the previous version because it includes bug fixes. The new Skype for Mac OS X native application is also introducing the HD videos feature that will obviously improve the quality of video calls especially if your Mac has a third-party HD video camera, and if your internet connection is fast enough to display the less-pixelated Skype video call. The blog post of Skype includes the “before and after” comparison between the old Skype for Mac app, and the recently launched version 5.3. See the photo below:
Here are some of the new user interface improvements of the Skype for Mac. The login screen of the new Skype app is larger, and now being presented in landscape mode, instead of the old portrait slim mode. And because the Skype login page is larger, the contacts list was also redesigned, and now features avatar-style presentation. If your contact is still not uploading a profile pic, he/she will be displayed with a blue Skype icon.
Apparently, Skype is changing. This quarter alone, Skype had updated its core services including the Android and the iPad. Last week, Skype rolled out the dedicated application for the iPad and the iPad 2 that features iPad-centric user interface harnessing the larger screen size of the popular Apple tablet. Plus, Skype’s recent Android update has added 17 new Android handsets and tablet, and few Android 2.2-powered phones (depending on the device). Mac users can update directly by downloading the file here.
And what’s with all these updates? Well, aside from maintaining its popularity, Skype is obviously preparing for the upcoming public launch of the Google+ (Google Plus) social networking site that will allow easy video calling just by using the browser. Google is expected to launch the new social networking site soon. According to multiple reports, Google Plus is quickly becoming popular based on the increase of registered users while the Google service is still on its testing/field trial stage.
It’s worth mentioning though that Google+’s rival, Facebook, is also supporting video calls using modern browsers, which is the fruit of the company’s partnership with Skype. The Facebook video chat support was launched after Google announces the “Plus” subdomain so it’s highly possible that Skype (Microsoft and Facebook) are trying their very best to avoid getting a market share decline in the social networking and voice over IP services.
Can Skype maintain its popularity and it’s business?
My question above is based on Google Plus of course, because aside from posting status messages, HD photos and videos and voice and video calling 1 to 1, the new social networking site also includes free video conferencing feature, the so-called “Hangouts” feature that can support up to 10 Google Plus users video chatting, and YouTube video sharing inside a room. Skype also includes video conferencing, but its prerequisite is at least one group video chatting member with the “premium” account that sports a tag price of €5,99 a month.
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