Skype for Windows Phone will feel like "part of the phone", has deeper access to OS

We've been eagerly waiting to hear more about Skype's bright future as a product of Microsoft after being acquired for $8.5 billion earlier this year, but news has been few and far between. However with the Skype buyout to be completed by October, we were bound to start hearing more and that we have. Skype's vice president and general manager of products and marketing, Neil Stevens, had a discussion with Forbes and revealed quite a bit about their plans for Windows Phone.

Stevens confirmed that the forthcoming Skype app for Windows Phone will be a bit more special than other platforms, teasing that they plan "to create an app that doesn’t feel like app but, rather, part of the phone". He also went on to reveal that the app will have "greater access to deeper levels of the OS". It sounds like the Skype app will remain just that and may not even ship as part of the final build of Mango. Some may be disappointed to hear that, but the Skype buyout hasn't been completed yet and Stevens does go on to say "People don’t want to start an app when they’re making a call," so we think he understands the frustration.

How do you feel about Skype most likely remaining separate in Mango? Does it even matter since Skype will have "greater access" to the OS, or do you think a native experience would still be better?

Via: LiveSide.net
Source: Forbes