Skype & Skype Lite Not Available Anymore for Windows Mobile Phones; Upgrade in the Works

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In case you have just decided to install Skype on your handset following last week’s joint Verizon and Skype announcement and you happen to own a Windows Mobile handset then you’ll be unpleasantly surprised to find out that neither Skype nor Skype Lite are currently available for WinMo phones.

The same thing goes for any other Windows Mobile smartphone owner, not just for those of you that also happen to be Verizon Wireless customers.

It looks like Skype is not happy with the way its current clients look and feel on Windows Mobile devices. Therefore the company will work on upgrading the software in order to offer their customers “an improved mobile experience – much like the version that has proved so popular on the iPhone and which is now available on Symbian phones.” Well it certainly took them a while to figure everything out!

What’s weird about the whole thing is that current Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Mobile users will still be able to use the app whereas new users won’t be able to install their favorite VoIP software. I am all for upgrades, but why pull current Skype clients while still letting users that have it installed take advantage of it? Wouldn’t it have been a lot easier to simply let Windows Mobile phone owners use the current clients and then issue an upgrade when the work was done?

Or should we understand that Skype is actually working on its future Windows Phone 7 client? In which case, again, why would the company pull Skype and Skype Lite for current Windows Mobile phones?

The good news, folks, is that Skype is not the only fish in the VoIP sea. Sure Skype might be your favorite VoIP client but there are plenty of apps out there that will let you talk to your friends the almost free way.