Skype Gives Its iOS And Android Apps A Makeover

Microsoft announced this morning it’s rolling out a new version of Skype (ver. 6.0) for users on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Across all platforms, the popular communications app has gotten a redesign, though in Android’s case, it references Google’s “Material Design” aesthetic while the iOS version’s redesign is more focused on improvements to the user experience, including the use of swipe gestures and ways to more easily share photos, emoticons, links and your location while on a call.
On Android, Skype 6.0 introduced a new “floating action” button that makes it quicker to kick off a chat, video or voice call, or video message. This button is overlaid on top of the screen and, when pressed, these “actions” fly out for easy access.
The updated app also better displays how many unread messages you have. Now, there will be an orange-colored unread count at the top of screen by the “clock” icon while each conversation that has unread messages associated with it will also feature an orange, unread messages flag of their own.
Android users will also have an enhanced search feature that helps you find your most important contacts and conversations more quickly, says Microsoft.
skype-for-ios

Meanwhile, the iOS release is fairly extensive, too.
Both the iPhone and iPad version introduce new navigation that relies more on swipe gestures for doing things like making calls or managing your messages. This makes sense, as users are already accustomed to using swipe gestures in other communication apps, like Apple’s Mail client, third-party apps like Mailbox or Microsoft’s Outlook, and other messaging apps, like Facebook Messenger, for example.

The iPad app has also been updated to be more feature complete with the iOS version, and now includes support for sharing your location, sending large emoticons, seeing web link previews, and easily sending and receiving photos. And, like on Android, iOS users have an enhanced search feature, too.
In addition, you can now start group chats or group voice calls on your iPad.
Microsoft notes that it will soon offer a new Windows Phone 10 update as well, but didn’t provide an ETA.
While none of the new features introduced today could be called significant upgrades on their own, what is notable about the user interface refreshes is that Microsoft is now better catering to each platform’s own unique design style when revamping Skype’s interface. On Android, that means a nod to common Android app features like the floating action button, while on iOS, it’s more about swipe gestures, for instance. This is arguably a better path than trying to give all Skype apps across platforms an identical look.
Microsoft’s consistent attention to maintaining Skype over the years following its acquisition has paid off. Earlier this week, for example, App Annie’s report on the most popular apps of all time found Skype at #5 on the most downloaded list, and #7 in the top apps by revenue list.
The updated apps are available today. Skype for Android is on the Google Play Store, and Skype for iPhone and iPad can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store.

Comments

Five budget-friendly open source storage servers

Storage is essential for the enterprise: Data must be stored. Data must be retrieved. Data must be shared. Data must be secured. At the same time, storage must not consume the entirety of your IT budget. Fortunately, you can find effective solutions in the world of open source. Outside of cost effectiveness, one of the biggest benefits of these solutions is the ability to modify them to perfectly fit your needs. You can make minor changes or even roll your own storage solution based on one of these tools. If you want enterprise support and a "solution in a can" that will meet just about any enterprise storage need, you should turn to Red Hat or SUSE. Both Linux-based companies offer some of the most powerful enterprise-ready tools on the market. But if you'd rather get your hands dirty and craft something of your own—something that won't demolish your budget—these five open source tools are a great place to start. 1: ownCloud ownCloud ( Figure ...

Facebook Now Supports PGP To Send You Encrypted Emails

You can now instruct Facebook to encrypt every email it sends to you so nobody — not even the NSA — is likely to be able to read your messages anytime soon. All you have to do is import your public PGP key into your Facebook settings and you’re good to go. The problem here, of course, is that most people have no idea how public/private key email encryption works and how to even get started with it. In the wake of Edward Snowden’s leaks, a number of organizations, including Google, promised to completely hide the complexities of end-to-end email encryption from regular users. Very few of these products have materialized so far, however — not for lack of trying, but because this is actually a very complex problem, both from a technical and user experience perspective. Facebook uses the well-established PGP scheme (the GNU Privacy Guard implementation of OpenPGP, to be precise) to encrypt messages and tools lik...

Visa confirms Coinbase wasn’t at fault for overcharging users

Yesterday, we wrote that Coinbase customers were being charged multiple times for past transactions. While some speculated that the erroneous withdraws were down to a Coinbase engineering issue, Coinbase issued a statement saying it wasn’t liable for the duplicate charges. The blame, instead, rested with Visa for the way it handled a migration of merchant categories for cryptocurrencies, Coinbase said. While you can read my post yesterday for an in-depth description of what happened, the basic gist is that Visa refunded and recharged (under a different merchant category) a month of old transactions. Many users saw the recharge come through before the refund processed, making it look like they were double charged. Honestly, the issue was likely exacerbated by existing payment rails — it’s normal for refunds to take multiple days to show up on credit and debit statements. But here’s where it gets weird — this morning Visa issued a statement to some publications shifting the blam...

Detail

hi this is ajijulla sahib from sri ganesh college of engineering and technology

Microsoft allays privacy concerns of Windows 10 users

Microsoft attempts to put all rumours related to Windows 10 privacy concern to rest GettyImages Allaying concerns of Windows 10 users over privacy, Microsoft has said information is collected only to offer a better OS experience. Besides, it provides users the ability to have control over the information collected. Microsoft asserts that Windows 10 is based on these two major principles. Besides, the data collected from every system is encrypted to the company's servers and remains in secure facilities. The company says information such as device ID, device type and application crash data is collected in order to help the user obtain an even more secure OS experience. Microsoft clarifies that the data does not include the user's personal files or content. Another reason that Microsoft collects data is to offer a better personalised windows experience. This includes updates on game scores, app recommendations and the common words one types in messaging. If users are ...

Exciting Technology

Search This Blog