Skype announced the immediate availability of a public beta version of Skype 2.7 on Wednesday. The update-in-progress for the Internet-based voice chat application added the ability to call or SMS message Address Book contacts, and organize contacts into multiple groups.
The beta also improved public chat support, sound level controls, added an auto redial for busy phone numbers, and redesigned the file transfer system. Skype 2.7 beta is available as a free download at the Skype Web site.