“The one Microsoft platform that both needs native Skype integration the most and provides the best fit for native Skype integration doesn’t bake in the service by default: namely, Windows Phone,” Brad Chacos writes for TechHive.

“Yes, a Skype app is available for Microsoft’s phone platform, but it’s not installed on phones by default, as it is with PCs, tablets, and the Xbox,” Chacos writes “And it’s all because of greed, grudges, and fear… Like iMessage, a native Skype app could hook into your phone’s text messaging and be configured to automatically use the service rather than SMS whenever possible. But why stop there? If Skype were baked into Windows Phone, it could do the same for voice calls.”

Chacos writes, “Microsoft should jump at anything that could make Windows Phone more appealing to everyday users, and integrating Skype definitely falls into that category—but doing so would royally piss off the carriers. Apple and Google have the market share to force their cross-platform messaging services on the likes of AT&T, but with just 3.7 percent of the smartphone market, Microsoft simply can’t afford to battle the The Man.”

Read more in the full article here.