Skype for Windows Phone now requires a Microsoft account.

Shortly after Microsoft acquired Skype, users were able to login to Skype with their Microsoft account. A Microsoft account is simply your Live/Hotmail or Outlook account. Skype for Windows Phone displayed a login field for both the traditional Skype account and a Microsoft account. I immediately made the switch when this feature became available. I did however keep my Skype account as it was still required to access Skype WiFi, an app available on Android and iOS that lets you access Skype enabled hotspots worldwide. Now that Skype WiFi also supports Microsoft account, I can get rid of my Skype account altogether.

In the latest Skype update published to the store, a Microsoft account is now a requirement to use Skype on Windows Phone. Users will not see the Skype account field anymore after they update the app and link their Skype account to their Microsoft account. The instructions to that can be found on Skype support site.

After you're done with the linking, Skype will take care of carrying your Skye credits and contacts over. It went well for me and did not encounter any issues at all.

The update which brings Skype to version 2.16.0.266, also lets you see when someone is typing. The usual bug fixes and performance improvement are also there.

Skype is available free in the Windows Phone Store.

SkyDrive renamed to OneDrive and gets new features.

Today Microsoft has released the re-branded SkyDrive app which is now known as OneDrive. The change in name was driven by the loss in court of a trademark claim by a British company. Microsoft did not appeal the verdict and decided instead to rename its cloud storage service. After the update is installed, the app will move from the "S" grouping to the "O" grouping in the app list. But that's not all.

Microsoft did not content itself with just a re-branding here. The app has also been updated with new features, including the ability to share multiple files at once. See the full change log below:

New in version 3.5:
• New thumbnail view
• Improved view of shared files 
• Share multiple items at once
• Pin folders to your Start screen
• Open your OneDrive files in other apps
• Bug fixes and performance improvements

Download the free update in the Windows Phone Store.

Tube Cast brings ChromeCast support to Windows Phone 8.

Google recently released the ChromeCast API and it did not take long to have an app show up in the Windows Phone store. Tube Cast is an app that lets you cast YouTube videos via ChromeCast to your TV. I tried it and it just works. However, it needs to be perfected and I am sure the developer will bring more features to it. As of now, the app is only capable of casting one video at a time. It is not possible to queue videos. In other words it is pretty basic. I'm happy to see a Windows Phone developer do Google's job and port their technologies to Windows Phone.

Tube Cast is a free download:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/tube-cast/7e5b8d51-28c9-43f9-9370-905b1949513c

6snap updated with group support.

Seems like Rudy Hyun never rests. 6snap, the unofficial SnapChat client for Windows Phone, has been updated with support for groups. In other words, it's a feature that lets you share pictures and videos with select groups instead of everyone in your address book. This feature has recently been added to official SnapChat client on other mobile platforms. It's pretty impressive how fast it got ported to an unofficial client on Windows Phone.

Check out the full change log:

- create group of friends !

Include these snapchat features :
- share pictures and videos with snapchat users
- post snaps on your story
- see stories, best friends and score of your friends
- draw and add text to your pictures
- search snapchat friends on your phone
- save your picture on your phone
- front and back camera
- manage your snapchat privacy
- notifications with custom ringtone


Source: Windows Phone Store