When it comes to the Blackberry Playbook and new Z10 BB10 phone, communication apps are sorely lacking. Most of the apps that can get you voice or video chatting are relegated to Android ports, such as Google Voice, Whatsapp, and others. We have good news today; Skype has confirmed that it is working on an Android port of the seminal voice, video, and text chatting app to have an official release within the next few weeks.
“We are excited about our plans to bring Skype to smartphones running the brand new BlackBerry 10 platform,” said Bob Rosin, VP & GM of Business Development for Microsoft’s Skype division. “We are working closely with BlackBerry to ensure Skype runs great on BlackBerry 10 devices. This will give BlackBerry 10 users a great Skype experience, including free voice and video calling, sending instant messages and text messages, sharing photos, videos and files, and calling to landlines and mobiles at Skype’s low rates.”
Right now, one of the early versions of Skype does run on the Playbook and BB10 phones, but it only does SMS text based chat. The company has verified it is NOT working on a native app, but it will be an Android port. There is no word yet if it will have an official Blackberry World listing, or if you can download it from the website. We know a couple thousand users that will raise their hands in celebration when it is finally available.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
