Lots of new features and Address Book integration...

Aug 16, 2007 13:00 GMT  ·  By

Skype has just released a new beta of the latest version of its VoIP software. This update comes after the company has just introduced IM+ for Skype on iPhone, letting users use the Safari browser to talk with their Skype contacts or call any landlines and mobiles in a cost-efficient way.

The latest version of Skype, 2.7 adds new features such as the ability to sort contacts into an unlimited number of groups, including both user-defined ones and pre-made categories such as Online and Waiting Authorization. Furthermore users can not create public chats, auto-redial busy or unconnected numbers and transfer multiple files with fewer performance problems. All these new features improve the experience of using the Skype software for all users regardless of how often they make use of the service.

Interestingly enough, the latest version of Skype for OS X also adds some specific OS X functionality that isn?t available to users of other platforms. Now users have the ability to view Address Book contacts within Skype, to whom users can make calls or send text messages. This integration will help cut down on the redundancy of having to add contacts across multiple programs and will also make placing the odd call to someone you don?t often talk to a much smoother experience.

It is very refreshing to see developers not only porting their software to the Mac platform, but also taking the time to add specific functionality that greatly improves the experience. While these improvements are in no way related directly to the iPhone, it is clear that the device?s glow is spilling over to Apple?s other products and bringing more developers and programs to the table.

While Skype 2.7 is still in the beta stages, initial reports are good. After the update became available, many users complained that this latest version was bugged, not letting them log in, but it turned out this was a general Skype problem, which affected both Mac and PC owners and had nothing to do with the update.