 "Skype to take on WhatsApp, Hike")
The company is working on India-specific features to be incorporated into Skype.
"We want to make sure our features are available on lots of mobile devices. We are going big in mobile messenger apps. Skype is being optimised for mobile devices," said Gurdeep Pall Singh, Skype corporate vice-president.
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Globally, Skype has 300 million users and India is one of the top five markets for the decade-old video-calling major. Singh added Skype had been downloaded more than 500 million times in the Google Play Store.
"The number of smartphone users and the rate at which it is growing is a tremendous opportunity to connect people with Skype," Singh said.
WhatsApp and Hike, market leaders in the segment, have a global user base of 900 million and 70 million, respectively.
Skype is working on a new product called Dialer App through which Microsoft plans to gain access to markets that have internet connectivity problems.
According to sources, it will be a video sharing app that works on 2G phones as well.
"We are doing a bunch of experiments and pilots right now. As soon as we find the formula and feel that it is the right kind of product for India we will launch it. We are doing a lot of work to make Skype fast on networks here," Singh said.