Skype opens its web beta to all users in US and UK

The telecommunications company, Skype, has provided millions of users with one of the most used chatting services in the world. Video chatting, specifically, has been one of their best aspects. Having spread their application to mobile and tablets, they decided it was time to try out something else. Last year the company tried out a purely web-based version of their services that could be accessed through their website. This beta test was an invite only situation. Today, however, the web-based version of Skype is now open to all users in the United States and the United Kingdom.

In the announcement for the release today, Jonathan Watson of the company stated, “Skype for Web is an important step for Skype as we move towards implementing the technology to make Real-Time Communications (RTC) on the web a reality.” He also went on to explain some of the outside inspirations for making a web-based version of their service. “But just as importantly, we’re doing it because the hundreds of millions of people that visit Skype.com every month told us they want to call and IM when they visit our website. We know how critical it is for you to get to your conversations – and Skype for Web helps you get connected anytime.”

Improvements have been made to the service since its original beta test last year. A new timeline will make searching for old conversations easier. All of your contacts will sync instantly from your devices. Notifications are also added to pop up on whatever machine you are using for the web. In the next few weeks, Skype hopes to spread the service as much of the world as possible.