Skype Betas SMS Support, Skypecasts

Internet telephony company Skype on Wednesday rolled out a new beta of its software, which adds support for sending SMS text messages to mobile phones. Version 2.5 also has a better display of rates when placing an outbound call, and video calling is no longer limited to Windows XP.

Text message fees vary based on country, but largely fall between 2 and 10 cents per message. Replying back to the Skype user is not supported, but users can get SMS replies to their mobile phones. Skype additionally previewed its new Skypecast service Wednesday, which enables customers to host and moderate 100-person conference calls.