Skype overhaul promises improvedcalling, chat sync across devices

Skype has announced a new architectural update with an intent to improve the popular messaging and video call platform in a world with more connected mobile devices. Sharing some details about the changes in a blog post, Skype's Mark Gillet mentions that Skype is now using the cloud to assist clients in delivering chat messages and connecting calls, marking a shift from the p2p nature of the service where a major amount of processing was done on the user's device.

Gillet calls the move to Skype cloud the service's biggest architectural change in 10 years and says that new technologies are helping the company to promote improved battery life and improved connections. "Skype clients continue to evaluate bandwidth, connectivity and firewall settings to select the most appropriate path for the call and continue to connect devices for P2P calls across the Internet so that users get audio and video connections that 'just work'," he states. 

Skype also credits the cloud for enhancing the performance and quality of its core messaging experience. It talks about the ability to receive messages offline and pushing notifications to the Windows Phone 8 mobile client even when the Skype app is not running, and says that the feature will soon be extended to other Skype mobile clients soon. 

However, the major feature that Skype is about to introduce is chat sync, something which has been demanded by a large number of users since the time Skype started focusing on clients for multiple devices. Skype says that it is working to synchronise chat message status across all of the user's devices so the user knows the current status of all of chats on every device that is used to interact with Skype. 

It says the capability will be rolled out across clients over the next few months. Right now if you log-in to Skype's mobile client after being logged in on the desktop one, you receive all messages that you've already read on your desktop on your mobile, which hampers the chat experience in a world where users keep on shuttling between different devices.

Skype also states that it will use its cloud to help preserve the battery of the users' device by enabling the mobile Skype app to stay in "sleep" mode until it's needed by using push notifications. When a user calls another user, the calling app sends the Skype ID and IP address of the parties, as well as the time and date, to the Skype cloud. 

Once a push notification is sent, Skype collects and stores information about the call. It will even sync missed calls information across all the users' devices, The Skype client on Windows 8.1, will offer the ability to answer calls directly from the lock screen with the user's choice of audio, video or a message. Skype also clarified that it uses strong physical, technical and administrative security protections, apart from storing only partial IP addresses, and cryptographically hashing the Skype IDs it stores, to help protect the users' privacy.

Microsoft Office comes to Android smartphones for Office 365 subscribers

Microsoft is bringing a pared-down
version of its Office software to
Android phones, but it won't work on
Android tablets just as it doesn't on
iPads.
The software will be available starting
Wednesday. It requires a $100-a-year
subscription to Office and won't be
sold separately.
The new offering follows the release
of an iPhone version in June and brings
an Office app to phones running the
most widely used operating system on
new smartphones.
Microsoft Corp. is trying to make its
Office 365 subscription more compelling,
without removing an advantage that
tablet computers running Microsoft's
Windows system now have - the ability
to run popular Office programs such as
Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
"The release of this app shows that
we're committed to keep providing
additional value for Office 365
subscribers," the company wrote in a
blog post. "Office 365 subscribers will
now be able to access, view, and edit
Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents
with Windows Phone, iPhone and
Android phones."
Microsoft is pushing subscriptions as a
way to get customers to keep paying
for a product that was historically
sold in a single purchase. The company
touts such benefits as the ability to
run the package on multiple computers
and get updates for free on a regular
basis. However, a subscription can be
more expensive than buying the
package outright for just one or two
computers.
Microsoft said it designed Office Mobile
for Android phones specifically for
small-screen devices, even though many
people will prefer editing documents on
a tablet's larger screen. The company
has a version for iPads and Android
tablets, called Office Web Apps, but
that runs on a Web browser and
requires a constant online connection.
The new Android software is an app
that gets installed on the phone and
can work offline.
With a subscription, customers typically
get to use Office on up to 10 devices.
Five of them can be Windows or Mac
computers or Windows tablets. The
other five can be iPhones or Android
phones. Windows phones come with
Office installed and do not count
toward the limit.
In keeping the software off the iPad,
the top-selling tablet computer,
Forrester Research analyst J.P.
Gownder has estimated that Microsoft
is potentially ceding $1.4 billion a year
in revenue, based on 10 percent of the
140 million iPad owners paying for a $
100 subscription. Gownder said failure
to provide it on the iPad or Android
tablets gives incentives for users to
explore competing offerings such as
QuickOffice from Google and iWork
from Apple.
Like the other mobile versions, the new
Android software is designed for
lightweight use. For example, you can
use it to view and edit an attachment
sent by email. But it's not meant to
create a complex spreadsheet from
scratch.
The new software requires Android 4.0
or later - the Ice Cream Sandwich or
Jelly Bean flavors of Google's
operating system. It's available
through Google's online Play store. At
first, it's available only in the U.S.,
though Microsoft plans to expand to
117 markets with versions in more than
30 languages.
Microsoft did not announce any plans
for BlackBerry phones.