August 2007

We thought you’d like to know that we’ve released Skype 2.7 for Mac beta. You are very welcome to download and start playing with it.

Now you can organise your contacts into as many groups as you need. While there are some pre-defined groups (like Online, Recently Contacted, Address Book Contacts), you’re free to add new ones that suit your life. This is very useful to those who are very popular and have a contact list with hundreds of people. Explore this feature under the cogwheel icon on the main screen and selecting 'Show Contact Groups'. See the user guide.

Here's what else is new:

* See your Apple Address Book contacts in Skype - easily call or SMS anyone who has a phone number in their address-book profile. When sending a SMS, just make sure the number you're sending to can receive SMS.
* Create and manage public chats by clicking on Chats in the menu bar and choosing Start Public Chat. A public-chat assistant will walk you through the necessary steps.
* Auto Redial for busy or unconnected calls. When your call hits the busy signal, Skype will give you the option of automatic redial every two minutes until the call goes through. This setting can also be adjusted in Skype > Preferences > Calls.
* Easy sound controls – when you need to tweak the sound level during a call, use a simple slider in the call window, or change your device by clicking this icon.
* Overhauled file transfer – wearing a more fashionable jacket, file-transfer now looks elegant and acts even nicer, especially when receiving many files at once

Oh, and one last thing: if the default language on your Mac is Czech or Norwegian, Skype 2.7 Mac beta will automatically follow suit.