FollowTwitter has recently launched Vine, an app that allows users to create, use, and send small 6 second videos of them doing whatever they want. Skype has followed the short video format by updating its Android and iOS apps so that users can record videos up to 3-minutes in length, and these video can be used as messages or for any other purpose.
Named the Video Messages feature, the tool will be made available through updates on Skype for iOS and Android. It is not in the App Store of Google Play just yet, but it is due soon. It gives users the ability to record video messages and leave them for offline contacts to see upon their return, and while the purpose is for messaging an offline friend, we suspect the video messages will take on a new life of creativity.
The videos can be viewed on the mobile device being used, while they can also be transferred to desktops and downloaded in MP4 format, although this feature is limited to Mac users. It seems strange that Skype, a division of Microsoft is not launching the app on Microsoft’s Windows Phones. While we have no doubt it will appear on Windows soon, it could have been a nice exclusive for Windows Phone, at least for a short while.
Not that Microsoft will be concerned. Since is bought Skype in a multi-billion dollar deal, the instant messaging and call service has made huge money for the company. Microsoft announced this week that Skype phone calls grew twice as fast as all other worldwide carriers combined, while video traffic on the service rose by 44%.
For the time being, users based in the United States will be getting the new video messaging service, and while no official dates have been given for other regions, a roll-out is expected soon.
