Microsoft releases Skype Lite for India

Satya Nadella held a press conference in Mumbai today, where he announced a new version of Skype specifically for India. Called Skype Lite, this version of the app is designed to be light on resources as well as have other features such as SMS integration, local language support and local bots.

The main feature of the app is the reduces resource consumption. At 14MB, it is half the size of the standard Skype app for Android, although there is room for further improvement. Skype Lite has built-in options for reduced data usage during voice and video calls, and it can also compress images before sending, however, these features can be disabled. Skype Lite also has meters to show you how much data the app has consumed.

Skype Lite also has SMS integration; you can send and receive SMS within the app and it lists all the SMS you have received so far, similar to Hangouts. The inbox also has clever filters to include or disclude Skype messages, SMS, and promotional SMS from view. The app also shows your call history, including non-Skype calls. The contact list can also be filtered to show just Skype numbers or all numbers.

Lastly, there is bot integration as well. For starters, there is the AP Transport Authority bot available, that let's you find out more about the RTA services or driving license and registration services in Andhra Pradesh. There are also a few fun but less practical bots such as Meme Cat and Horoscope. More bots will be added later.

Skype Lite is available in seven Indian languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. It is currently only on Android.

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