Earlier this year it was announced by Microsoft that Skype calling support will soon be coming to Alexa devices. Now, just in time for holiday season Amazon and Microsoft have joined forces to bring a better video calling experience to Alexa devices. The Skype support for Alexa platform is currently only available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. 34 countries will soon be Alexa and Skype-enabled.
Microsoft Announced that the Amazon Echo first gen, Amazon Echo second gen, Amazon Echo second dot gen, Amazon Echo plus second gen and Amazon Echo spot are the only devices which are compatible with the Skype calling for now.
To set up Skype calling feature on your Alexa device, users just need to open the Alexa app and go to Menu, select settings and then communication. Once you have set up a Skype feature on your compatible Alexa device, you can connect hands free with your friends and family around the world by just saying, ‘Alexa, call mom on Skype.’ In addition to the video and audio calling, Microsoft will also allow Echo customers to call most mobile numbers and landlines using the Skype out service. Users just have to say ‘Alexa, call ** *** *** on Skype. The service will be offering 200 free minutes (100 min/month) of Skype to phone calling service for two months. Users can use that credit to make international calls or to reach people who are not on Skype.
The Skype calling to landlines and mobiles is eligible in 34 countries only, which are United states of America, China, Canada, India, UK, Germany, Indonesia, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Thailand, Italy, France, Brazil, Colombia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Portugal, Argentina, Spain, New Zealand, Slovakia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Switzerland, Denmark, South Korea, Austria, Ireland, Australia, Singapore and Greece.
With Alexa and Skype, you can connect with your family and friends around the world completely hands-free. It was already possible to make audio and video calls with the Amazon Alexa devices, but Skype is a huge platform so being able to make calls with it is a big thing for Amazon.
