Microsoft announced Monday, the integration of two of its largest communication services, Outlook.com and Skype, for users in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Canada, and Brazil.
Microsoft, world's largest software developing company, has begun rolling out its much-awaited integration of Outlook.com and Skype, after it was originally announced in April. The one-year-old personal email service will be integrated with the most popular audio and video calling service, Skype, for all Outlook customers in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Canada, and Brazil.
Earlier, the software giant said that the service will be launched for customers in the U.S. and Germany after a preview version was released in April for users in the U.K. The new roll-out has included three more countries that will see the integration and enjoy Skype service from within the email.
"E-mail is an important and personal tool for most people, but there are moments when you want to be able to speak live or chat face-to-face," Outlook group product manager Dawn Martynuik wrote in a blog post, Monday. "In a recent Ipsos Public Affairs poll 76 percent of people say that their e-mail conversations frequently or occasionally result in a follow-up phone or video call, or other means of communication. Those moments are perfect for Skype and now, face-to-face connection right from your inbox is just a click away."
Outlook.com suffered several stability issues in recent months with a major outage in March. Outlook has already integrated Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter. Last November, Microsoft announced that it would soon end support for its instant messaging client and replace it with Skype service. Similarly Outlook.com was launched in July last year, which eventually replaced the popular, yet aging Hotmail.
Microsoft also announced last week that its voiceover-IP service will be joining the Start Screen with the Windows 8.1 update, which will be released October 18.
