Skype announced on Sunday that it is purchasing the mobile group messaging service GroupMe. Skype already offers voice, text and video chat services, and plans to roll GroupMe’s group text messaging for mobile devices into its offerings.
Skype buys GroupMe group messaging service
GroupMe lets users share messages an photos, supports conference calls with other GroupMe users, supports SMS, and the company offers native apps for the iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7 and BlackBerry.
The deal is good news for Microsoft since the company is already in the process of buying Skype. Assuming both deals are completed, Microsoft will be able to roll features from both Skype and GroupMe into its products more easily and will probably use that as a selling point for its desktop and mobile Windows platforms.
Skype didn’t reveal the terms of its GroupMe purchase deal, and didn’t say when it expects to complete the deal. The GroupMe app for the iPhone and iPod touch is available as a free download at Apple’s iTunes-based App Store.