Unofficial Skype client coming to Windows Phone 7 [Homebrew]

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

Due to having no sockets support, multitasking or the ability to run native code, companies like Skype and Viber are sitting on the sidelines, preventing any true VOIP application on Windows Phone 7. So leave it up to someone at XDA to try and do it themselves instead!

Developer Jefis posted this today about the project:

Hello there fellow developers. I recently made quite a progress in developing skype for WP7.I want to share my current progress with you, so maybe someone will want to join this little project, which, in future will be released for free, and probably with source code .I'm not designer, as you will see from the screenshots, but, if you are, and want to join this effort in making skype, contact me asap.Current status of project: Working contacts + ability to chat. Nothing more.

Sounds like along way to go, but even offering direct Skype chat via a client would be a welcomed addition to the homebrew community. The project is still in early stages, but we know people have been hacking away at sockets support in the community, so anything is possible.

Source: XDA; via Ali Waqas; Thanks Ali!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

4 Comments
  • I understand that hacking smartphones is the thing to do, but what about those who don't want to take the chance of hacking their phones. I hope the have an official Skype app, cause if there's too many app's that come out that require you to hack your phone, this is really going to suck.
  • Yup, totally understand where you're coming from. Couple of things:Microsoft is evidently going to support the homebrew community in some fashion (see earlier story), meaning all of this isn't for naught but may be made available to others after the updateThe other is this: even if the majority of people can't use this, it shows that there is a hunger for these applications and the WP7 platform in general--it's actually a good sign that developers/hackers, etc. want to work on the OS--they see potential. Basically, the more we show what WP7 can do, the more people will expect from it and the more Microsoft will respond in allowing these things e.g. like copy/paste.
  • yes yes, please im dying for skype on wp7, every other day i just think about ditching it for android due to this.please get skype for the sake of... windows mobile having it like 7 years ago. i had this on my dell axim x51vsurely i can on wp7 in 2011
  • Is there a reason why the current choices of chat clients have to be so... bland? I mean I love the simple concept of Metro, but this is just too simple. FIM is the same way.