Do you ever find yourself checking email and asking yourself, “Boy, I sure wish I could see my Skype contacts while I’m knee deep in email?” If so, you’re in luck. Skype has thought of the exact same scenario and is delivering that very functionality in its latest product update on Windows.
The Skype team announced today that Skype 6.1 for Windows now features Outlook integration. What does this mean? All of your Skype contacts’ information, including online status and mood message, will be displayed on the Outlook contact card. You can also call any landline or mobile phone via Skype in Outlook regardless of the contact being friends on Skype. For Skype messaging and calls, however, they will have to be your friend on Skype.
Skype integration is available on Outlook 2010 or higher. The team says that Outlook will automatically connect you with others over Skype when email details match between the two.
Beyond the Outlook integration, Skype 6.1 features a number of other additions. For one, it’s now easier to add new contacts in Skype. Instead of choosing the option to add new contact and searching from there; you can search within your contacts list and a list of approximate results will pop up. The profile page has also been updated to make it easier to find your account data.
You can grab the newest version of Skype for Windows here. If you extensively use Outlook, you might want to anyway as Microsoft is also integrating WIndows Live Messenger into the communications client. Besides, it’s only a matter of time before Microsoft starts integrating more of its services into Skype.