Microsoft's Skype Releases Video Messaging App To Compete With Snapchat

It's Instagram, Vine and Snapchat all rolled into one.

Microsoft's Skype Qik, launched Tuesday, enters the crowded mobile messaging market as a mixed bag of the top social media platforms.

The app, available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone, doesn't require a Skype account and is a free app for users to send friends video messages.

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Users can format a video the same way they would on Vine or Instagram, and then send that video to a friend the same way they would on Snapchat. Sending or receiving a video requires a phone number.

Videos on the app can last for up to 42 seconds, much longer than on Snapchat, Instagram or Vine. Like Snapchat, the videos will go away after viewing them, but on Skype Qik, the video is automatically deleted after two weeks, rather than just the first watch. Users have the option of deleting videos prior to them being automatically erased in two weeks.

If a Skype Qik user sends a video message to a friend who doesn't have the app, the recipient will receive a text message with a link to download it.

"There is a lot of people coming up with these video messaging apps because this sector is really hot," said Stephen Monteros, vice president of business development and strategic initiatives at SIGMAnet, an Ontario, Calif.-based solution provider and Microsoft partner specializing in app development. "Once a company makes a successful product, this stuff goes viral and the valuation is just amazing."

Given awareness of the Skype brand and platform, the new app is likely to gain more traction than the many messaging apps created by startups, Monteros said.

"For a company like Skype there is a market because they already have a platform they can launch from," he said. "If one of these things get adopted, these companies are worth a fortune. If the product doesn't take off, Skype can afford the small hit. But if it does work out, their app could be worth billions."

The app comes from the video streaming website Qik, which was acquired by Skype for $150 million in 2011.

Skype said the idea behind the new app is to keep you connected with friends the same way you would on a Skype call, but with more instant results.

"Skype Qik is a new video messaging app that gives you a totally effortless way to capture the moment, share laughs and chat with groups of friends," Skype said in a statement. "We know you love your weekly Skype calls with family or friends; Qik keeps you connected between."

PUBLISHED OCT. 14, 2014