The Windows RT Review
by Vivek Gowri & Anand Lal Shimpi on October 25, 2012 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Windows RT
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Windows 8
- Tablets
Skype for Windows RT: The New Messenger?
I decided to give Skype its own page, because it’s kind of a hybrid first-party/third-party app and I think it’s going to be very important to Microsoft going forward. It’s not pre-installed so you need to install it from the Windows Store, but Microsoft’s ownership of Skype means that the service is very well integrated to the Windows 8/RT platform.
The new version of Skype runs within Modern UI and has been redesigned from the ground up, with some critical changes being made to the Skype platform. You can login now with any form of Microsoft account, including Skype, and your Skype ID will be linked to your Windows ID. Your Skype contacts can be found either from within Skype or from the People application, so you can just call people directly out of the People application where the rest of your contacts are.
Skype’s new UI is clean and relatable, for the first time in quite a few revisions. Metro has more than done its job here, taking what has become a clunky and archaic interface over the years and really turning it into a modern, streamlined application. There are four areas, showing recent calls and conversations, favorited contacts, and a list of all your contacts as distinct panes. The fourth area, actually the first one you see, is an advertising column for Skype Premium with the sell being “More Skype. No ads.” How tempting. If you’re a free Skype user, like almost everyone I know, it’s just something you ignore but it really does bug me, because it mars what is an otherwise great looking app.
The edge swipe context bar brings up options to add contacts and numbers at the bottom, as well as thumbnails of recent contact history at the top. Once you enter into a contact, you’re free to chat with them, call them over voice or video, or add participants for a group chat. Overall, it’s well organized and very straightforward to use.
The cool part is that you can snap video chats to the edge of the screen, giving you a slice of the chat window. This is actually a really awesome way of doing things, since as long as the other person is generally in the middle of their webcam field of view, the 320 pixel width is actually more than adequate to carry on a good Skype conversation. I’m a big fan of using snapped applications for multitasking, and I think Skype’s implementation of it is very sleek. For the first time in a while, I’m very pleased by the design and responsiveness of Skype.
Eventually I think MSN/Live Messenger will be folded into Skype, paving the way for Skype to become the default messaging client for the Windows platform. The first step in this was combining the Skype ID with the overall Windows ID, and in time we will see how important this was for Microsoft to get right.
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Taft12 - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
You seem to have missed the way the app store phenomenon has depressed software prices. You may take quantity over quality but hardly anyone else does.SlyNine - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
At least in your opinion. I'm with A5cent. Your point remains to be proven, right now its just your opinion.steven75 - Friday, November 2, 2012 - link
Apple's own AAA apps such as iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, iWork are almost all $5.And they are FAR more capable than anything you can get on Metro right now.
MadMan007 - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
"This stage of the Tablet market"...I'm not sure what you could possibly mean there. This is the very early stage of tablet development. The iPad was released about 2 and a half years ago, that's nothing and I don't understand why people try to declare a market won when it's that new and still growing very fast.Dekker - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
What I mean is that developers will first write for iPad because it has an installed base of 100 million devices. Only much later will they write for less popular platforms. Some apps may not make it to RT at all. Overcoming the disadvantage of being the less attractive platform is very hard because of the self-reenforcing effects (ask Apple about their experience in the 90s when software support for the Mac faded).Not all is lost for MS, but they do not have much room for error or delay in the tablet space. As for Apple, the technology industry only grants temporary near-monopolies and they will not be on top forever.
MadMan007 - Thursday, October 25, 2012 - link
I guess if Apple continues their douchery of limiting which development tools developers can use then yeah. (Maybe they stoped that? It was in relation to Adboe tools iirc, not Flash.)Otherwise cross-platform developing will become the norm, with some necessary differences due to UI or what have you, and other tweaks as devs see fit. MS may provide some great dev tools to make this happen, even if it's just to port over to WinRT, and there are already dev tools to create apps for both WinRT and Win x86.
That last bit is where a lot of WinRT apps will come from. Devs making apps for what will be the huge Win x86 install base and just porting them to WinRT.
khanikun - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
The difference so far is the iPad is a toy tablet. Windows RT is not. The benefit of a merger of toy tablet OS combined with a desktop OS.strangis - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
Developers can target ALL Windows 8 computers with RT apps, which means the market will potentially be 300+ million people within a year.That far surpasses the iPad in exposure.
steven75 - Friday, November 2, 2012 - link
Except Metro is being widely panned for keyboard/mouse use.dysonlu - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
I think the crucial points for a platform, and this may sound a bit controversial, are "hackability" and games. That's what jumpstarts a platform. Hackability: an underground scene for free apps and games or for other "illegal" use of the platform/device will lower the barrier of entry and thus increase adoption rate. The amount of people wanting free and illegal stuff can't be underestimated. Games, of course, more than any apps are what people download and buy compulsively. Games are compelling to everyone, from 7 years old to 77 years old users. Games are what people tell their friends about, they promote visibility and popularity of the platform.