Skype is taking over the well-known startup named GroupMe, in an attempt to bring their group messaging services to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Using the services provided by GroupMe, users can make group phone calls and text to circles of contacts, colleagues or friends. The company based in New York was acquired by Skype for almost $80 million according to an inside source who said that the deal will be closed today.
This move is even more interesting because Skype is itself in the middle of a takeover by Microsoft, which is expected to help the communication service combine its functionality and applications deep inside the framework of Windows. This deal has come at a time when competition in group messaging services for mobile platforms is beginning to get intense, with the likes of Facebook, Apple and Google starting to offer new messaging services for smartphones which includes a myriad of features mostly similar to each other.
Apple is all geared up to launch iMessage which provides instant messaging style communication for its users. The social network features from Google, on the other hand, include video chatting for groups and lastly, Facebook recently came out with a standalone app of its own which lets users text their contacts on their cell phones without incurring carrier charges. Some other companies which are going deeper into mobile messaging are providing tough competition for the likes of carrier based text messages and also services like the popular BlackBerry Messenger services from Research In Motion.
Mobile communication services are steadily gaining importance for technology companies as computing power is starting to shift from PCs to tablets and smartphones. With its acquisition of GroupMe, Skype is clearly trying to keep itself in the game, especially as most mobile phone and OS makers are themselves getting into the mobile communication software market.
Tony Bates, the chief executive of Skype, said that the company believes that group messaging services for mobile phones are quite important and that it will lead to more barriers on global communications being broken.
Through adding the group messaging capabilities of GroupMe, Skype is very likely attempting to sustain its large user base, especially with other rivals entering the market. This is more significant due to the fact that despite having mobile apps for its services, Skype’s presence on the mobile devices is still negligible and most people still look at it as an app for desktops.
