Thanks to a Skype software update, sharing photos via of the popular voice over Internet Protocol service is now possible on Apple’s iPhone and iPad.
The photo-sharing feature allows users to directly share photos taken with the iPhone or iPad camera and send them to contacts through the Skype application. The service could also help keep data overage bills low, as there is no limit to the file size users can send and the feature allows users to skip a pricey multimedia messaging service (MMS).
The latest Skype for iPad update supports all versions of the popular tablet, while the Skype for iPhone update supports the iPhone 3G and 3GS and iPhone 4 and 4S, as well as the second and the third generation of Apple’s iPod Touch, according to a blog post on Skype’s Website.
In addition to the photo-sharing capability, Skype made the application more battery-efficient when running in the background. The company noted iOS 4.3 or later is required on all devices.
“As you’ll be able to keep Skype open, you can respond to or send IMs [instant messages] to friends and colleagues all day long,” Skype product marketing manager Jonathan Watson wrote in the post. “In addition, we’ve tried to make the app start and contact list load even faster, so you can do all the things you love to do with Skype more quickly.”
Skype, which Microsoft acquired for $8.5 billion in May 2011, isn’t just making upgrades on the iOS platform. In March, Skype began offering the ability for Google Android users to send photos and videos to contacts, and recently leaked photos online show how Microsoft is planning to integrate the service into its Modern user interface for Windows 8.
In a blog post on the tech news site Neowin, screen caps of the application show an airy, modern design that garnered high praise for its ease-of-use, fluidity and stability. Based on the polished nature of the app, a release date could be soon at hand, the article said.
“Skype for the Modern UI handles all tasks quite well, with the chat interface being clean and simple to navigate, which is a nice departure from the previous UI that was not universally loved,” the review noted. “During our time with the application, it did not crash a single time. In fact, when chatting via voice and text, the parties on the other end could not tell that we were using the preview app.”