Controversy has blown up overnight after a senior Skype executive admitted in Sydney yesterday that the company was not developing software for the Windows Mobile platform. The story, which was first revealed by SmartHouse, has resulted in internal controversy inside the European VOIP company.
Speaking at a Skype press conference, Dan Neary, Asia Pacific Vice President for Skype, was hesitant to explain in detail why no development was taking place for the new Windows Mobile offering; however he did say that the VOIP communication Company was developing new offerings for the iPhone, iPad and Android based phones.
Neary, who was in Sydney to launch new Skype Management Software, told SmartHouse that Skype had decided not to support Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series operating system. He indicated that Windows Mobile was a second rate operating system when compared to what was on offer from Apple and Google.
Neary justified the decision by saying that the operating system had a “lack of user optimisation and partner support.” A senior executive in the Company Neary was challenged by journalists including myself, but was adamant that priority was being given to iPhone, Blackberry, Symbian and Android development.
“We try and focus not only where the need is but where the best experience is, and we feel that the best areas for us to develop are on the operating systems that we currently support and right now that is the iPhone, Symbian, BlackBerry and Android”.
Since his appearance in Sydney Skype in Europe, has tried to distance itself from his comments claiming that the official stance is not to “discuss future platform developments” and that any other statement being reported was “unofficial”.
I was there and there was nothing “Unofficial”. Neary is a senior executive in Skype responsible for running a major region of the world for the VOIP Company.
In Europe the firm told the INQUIRER that its official position is that it “rigorously explores opportunities presented by new mobile platforms” and that Windows Phone 7 was included in that.
The publication said that Skype recently announced that it will be dropping support for previous versions of the Windows Mobile OS. Therefore, wasting engineers’ time on developing for an operating system that is looking like it’ll be dead in the water doesn’t seem a prudent move.
