Skype dropping support for Windows Mobile Phones

With Windows Phone 7 Series, Microsoft is attempting to make the hardware more consistent, requiring devices to conform to minimum specifications within three categories of chassis. Internet phone company Skype's reasons for dropping its Windows Mobile app provide further evidence that Microsoft is planning the right changes in its upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series. "Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Phones are no longer available for download. Skype Lite only works in a small number of countries. Where it does work, making a call requires you to use up your allocation of minutes from your mobile network, making the Skype-to-Skype calls sort-of-free-per-minute rather than actually-free-per-minute. And with the latest version of the Windows Mobile OS, it’s been increasingly challenging for us to maintain an app which behaves as you’d expect on a wide range of handsets without working with a mobile operator partner. [W]ith the latest version of the Windows Mobile OS [6.5] it’s been increasingly challenging for us to maintain an app which behaves as you’d expect on a wide range of handsets without working with a mobile operator partner," writes Skype's Peter Parkes in a blog post.