Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently confirmed their plans to shut down Windows Live Messenger and replace it with Skype. The official transition will take place on March 15th.
Skype was originally acquired by Microsoft for $8.5 billion back in October 2011.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently sent a letter to all their messenger users via email. The letter said they were retiring the message service globally and merging the features of Messenger and Skype together. They also mentioned that Windows Live Messenger will still be available to users in mainland China.
This report comes as no surprise. Last November, Skype’s president Tony Bates admitted that Microsoft would shutter their own messenger service in early 2013.
The company has been encouraging Windows Live Messenger users to switch over to Skype and sign in using their Windows Live credentials. People who have yet to switch over to Skype will see a reminder in the form of a banner notification that says “upgrade”. Once that banner is clicked, the user can automatically download Skype and remove Windows Live Messenger.
Users can still access and use WLM until March 15th.
Messenger users who have yet to discover the benefits of Skype will be able to call landlines and mobile phones as well as make video calls through mobile phones and with Facebook friends.
Skype is currently available for computers, iPads, iPhones, Android devices, and Windows phones. Unfortunately, it’s still not available for Windows 8 or Xbox users but that may change. The Skype team reported that there will be a preview version of the Skype app for Windows phone. There’s also rumors that they will develop a Skype application for Xbox in the near future.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) recently sent a letter to all their messenger users via email. The letter said they were retiring the message service globally and merging the features of Messenger and Skype together. They also mentioned that Windows Live Messenger will still be available to users in mainland China.’s integration of Skype will give them a leg up in the competition against their top competitors Apple and Google. It will provide tech consumers more reason to utilize Microsoft products and services.
