What’s better than a Panasonic Viera TV? How about a Smart Viera. Today, the company unveiled its new line of Smart Viera TVs, complete with IPTV, Facebook, apps, games and Skype calls. At launch Panasonic will offer ABC’s iView and Plus 7 for catch-up services, but more are expected to follow. Could a Panasonic Smart Viera be your next TV?
The Microsoft conference to announce the acquisition of internet calling giant Skype wasn’t exactly packed with surprises. Both Steve Ballmer and Skype boss Tony Bates towed the line, declaring themselves to be “excited” really quite a lot, and promising not to do away with the Skype iPhone and Android apps.
But Microsoft CEO Ballmer did drop one interesting thought: mentioning a recent incident in which he drove an hour to his son’s school for a meeting with his teacher, he asked why parent-teacher meetings couldn’t be conducted over video conferencing.
UPDATE: The pair have announced that “Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.” Sounds win-win – let’s see you execute it, Ballmer.
And the rumours were true: Microsoft has bought internet calling service Skype for a cool $8.5bn (£5.1m), the largest acquisition the software giant has ever made. #skype is trending on Twitter right now, and the company is getting a lot of flak from industry observers and users, but we’re staying positive: it’s not like Skype works flawlessly as it is, and we welcome the possibility of Skype integration into Windows Phone handsets.
A press conference is schedule for 4pm UK time with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer expected to make a statement – rest assured we’ll be tuning in to scope out the details.
If the rumours are true we’ll hear that Microsoft has gobbled up Skype later today and not Facebook as was rumoured last week. Of course the news has sent Twitter into paroxysms of mirth with plenty gags about the satanic Microsoft Word helper popping up as your new Skype call assistant.
But, in actual fact, bringing Skype into the bosom of Microsoft could be rather a good thing, especially as Skype has been struggling recently with basic things like making a user interface that isn’t migraine-inducing. Best of all, Skype in the hands of Microsoft could mean something really big – Kinect moving from its Xbox 360 enclave and out to invade the rest of the known tech universe…
It’s hard to believe, but we’re already more than halfway through yet another four day week. With that in mind, let’s take a breather and catch up with all the gadget news condensed into this time with our lunchtime lowdown roundup. All the morning’s headlines, right here!
Facebook is eyeing Skype with the intention of either buying the company outright or developing a joint venture, according to sources quoted by Reuters.
There are two conflicting stories: one suggesting that Facebook will stage a buyout of the VoIP firm for as much as $4bn (that figure seems high given that recent estimates put Skype’s worth at aroune $1bn) while the other claims that Facebook simply plans to partner with Skype…
Last week we overcame a major hurdle in widespread Skype adoption for Android with an application update which addressed security vulnerabilities and enabled worldwide 3G voice calling. The stronghold, currently imposed by Verizon Wireless in the US, looked to be fading — that is, until today. A new version of Skype for Android, complete with video calling capabilities, looks to be a Verizon exclusive and it’s ready for release.
