Skype Takes On Snapchat

Microsoft has released a messaging apps like Snapchat through Skype. The company has launched a new cross platform app for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone called Skype Qik. You can record a quick video, and then share it to either one person in your address book or multiple groups of people. The App is video focused, and Skype is positioning it as a communication tool for in between full scale Skype video chats. The whole service is connected to your phone number and existing contacts list, so it doesn’t require signing up with a standard Skype account. If you send a message via Qik to a user without the Qik app, the other person will be sent an SMS text message with instructions for downloading the Qik app to view the video message. By default videos will expire after two weeks, and you can also unsend messages at any time. A cool feature of Skype Qik is the ability to pre record various 5 second GIFs that you can send as instant replies. So, if you don’t have the ability to send a live video reply, you can just choose one of your pre record defaults. The app is free and you can download it today. Microsoft says that updates, such as one for blocking iPhone contacts will come often to enhance the feature set.