The Amazing world of Skype on Windows Phone 8.1

Thanks to the feature-rich Cyan update, we now receive our Skype notifications and updates in the Action center of our Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones.

If you love Skype as much as we do, you would have noticed by now that all your Skype contacts sit in your People Hub. However, what you may have missed are some amazing features that Skype now offers.

For example, did you know that Skype for Windows Phone now offers support in 51 languages so that you can chat with your multilingual friends?

Here are the seven things you didn’t know about Skype before. 

Easily switch between calls 

Don’t freak out if you start hearing beeps in your Skype conversation. It’s the smart “call waiting” feature alerting you that you have another call on your mobile. Now, switching between a Skype call and a regular mobile call seems like child’s play.

Never miss a message

Get chats and notifications for voice and video calls even if you’ve navigated away to another app or have your mobile phone on lock mode. The best part: This feature doesn’t drain your battery.

Share your location easily

The next time you invite your friends over to the coolest place in town, send a Bing map of your location that pinpoints exactly where you are. Just tap the plus sign and choose “share location” and they will see your exact coordinates. This is a neat way to respond to the usual “where are you?” questions. 

Send photos 

Sharing moments is seamless with the “send photos” feature, which lets you send photos to one or more contacts as well as receive photos from them. When you need to save a photo, just tap the image to enlarge it, then tap for more menu options and select “save photo.”

Cortana support

Now that you’re used to Cortana managing your life (for those of you living in the U.S), she will even initiate Skype calls from your Windows Phone 8.1’s home screen. Just say, “Skype call Dad on video” and watch the magic happen.

Edit Messages

Even though typing on the Word Flow keypad is a pleasure, there are those occasional slip-ups when “coup” becomes “coupe” and you’ve already sent the message before discovering the error.

Don’t sweat it: Now, there’s an option to edit your last-sent message. Long-press the message and see it copied in the messaging panel. Feel free to make other changes and additions as well.

Notification Controls for Individual Conversations

Since your family, friends and colleagues are on Skype, it may be handy to get alerts from just a select few at certain hours (during work or vacation). No, we are not asking you to ignore anyone! This is just a way to manage your Skype experience in a better way.

Head over to selected person’s chat, tap for more options and select “notifications.” Here, you can choose to turn notifications on or off, so you’re only notified of incoming messages if you want to be.

Do you Skype often? Have you discovered any other amazing Skype features? Share them in the comments below.