Group conversations have been made even easier now that Skype group video calling is available to everyone, free of charge. Group video calling enables so many important shared experiences, from keeping in touch with remote family members or calling home when traveling to chatting daily with your close circles of friends.
Previously, at least one caller needed an $8.99 per month Skype Premium subscription to organize a group video chat. However, late last month, Skype made the big announcement that they were making group video calling free – on Windows, Mac, and Xbox One platforms.
In the future, Skype plans on enabling group video calling for all users across more platforms – at no cost. Skype’s group video calling supports anywhere from three to ten participants, but the company says five or fewer video callers works best.
PCWorld writer, Brad Chacos notes that “Google Hangouts has offered group video calling for free for several years now; with Google+ chief Vic Gundotra recently leaving Google for greener pastures, the Microsoft-owned Skype appears to be striking while the iron is hot.” Of course, Google Hangouts also works on mobile devices, which Skype is still working on. Skype also made screen sharing free for all group video calls, which is a key for businesses that collaborate remotely.
So even as it looks to compete against popular consumer-oriented tools like Google Hangouts, Skype’s focus on winning over the enterprise shows that Microsoft still knows where its target market is.
