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Skype is coming to Microsoft Outlook, adding voice and video calls to email.
In other news, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son reportedly will not raise his company’s bid for Sprint Nextel.
Today’s Mobile Minute:
- Microsoft is adding Skype voice and video calls to its popular Outlook email client. The service will come first to the UK; the U.S. and Germany will be next.
- Microsoft bought Skype two years ago and the service has been growing. A report from TeleGeography found that Skype’s total volume of international voice and video call minutes was equal to one-third of international phone minutes last year. The report found that Skype’s international traffic grew 44% last year, while international telephone traffic grew just 5%.
- In other news, the Wall Street Journal reports that Softbank’s CEO is not willing to raise the Japanese company’s offer for Sprint Nextel. Dish Network has offered a higher price for the carrier, but Softbank believes its offer actually delivers more value because of the synergies between the two carriers. Sprint has set June 12 as a tentative date for a vote on the Softbank proposal.
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