Windows Phone 7 devices finally started launching with front-facing cameras this year, opening them up to the wonderful world of video calling. The Windows Phone 7.5 Mango update also has a built-in video calling application called Tango, which allows users to communicate with their friends on a range of platforms, but an even bigger service is coming soon. Skype!

Microsoft has confirmed to Pocket-lint that Windows Phone Mango will finally catch up with rival devices running Android and iOS with an official Skype application. What the company would not confirm, however, is when.

It’s also unclear whether the application will be “baked in” to the OS — like the Tango app — or whether it will be a standalone app that users will need to download and install themselves. However, Pocket-lint details what we do know at this point:

“What is confirmed, is that Skype messages won’t flow into the new Chat feature in the same way as Facebook. Currently WP7 users can talk to the same contact over a number of different forms of communication whether it’s instant messaging, text or Facebook chat.”

With Skype being one of the largest video calling and instant messaging platforms currently available, its debut on Mango is surely good news to Windows Phone fans who have gotten themselves a new device with a front-facing camera. However, if its arrival on Mango takes anywhere near as long as it did for Android and iOS, Windows Phone users should prepare for a long wait.

Will you be looking forward to Skype on Windows Phone Mango?

[via Pocket-lint]

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Tags Android iOS, Facebook, Mango, Microsoft, Skype, Tango, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, Windows Phone Mango