Microsoft has released the final version of Skype on Windows Phone. The app entered beta on February 26, ending a painfully long wait for the popular chat and video VOIP app. The beta has been fairly well received, but it was only available to Windows Phone users via a special URL. In other words, searching for Skype on Windows Phone yielded zero results… until today.

The official release of the free Skype app includes all of the features you’d expect, including text, voice, and video chat. Contact management, landline calls, and a few other improvements are also included in v1.0. The only downside is that the app currently doesn’t support push notifications, which means that you must have the app running in order to receive calls.

Skype works on every Windows Phone handset on the market, but–as you might expect–two-way video chat isn’t ideal on devices that don’t feature a front-facing camera. As a result, the Nokia Lumia 900, Samsung Focus S, Samsung Focus Flash, HTC Titan II, HTC TITAN, and HTC Radar will have the best experience.

Those looking for another long-awaited app, Audible, might not have to wait much longer either. An unverified source claims that it will be released on April 23, and Windows Phone expert Paul Thurrott believes it just might be true. The SkyDrive app also received an update as well, making file management much easier.

[Windows Phone Marketplace]

A new job posting on the Skype Careers website has revealed the popular VOIP client’s plan to optimize the Skype Video Engine solution for Windows Phone and the core Windows OS. The plan is to “deliver a new release of the Video Engine every two months.”

Microsoft, of course, announced its intentions to purchase Skype for $8.5 billion in early May. The acquisition is still pending regulatory approval, but executives from both companies expect it to go through by the end of the year. In fact, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has already approved the deal.

Microsoft plans to integrate Skype with its other VOIP solutions such as Windows Live Messenger and Lync, as well as add Skype audio and video chat to such products and services as Windows Phone, Kinect for Xbox 360, and Windows. Some of the devices in Microsoft’s fall lineup of Windows Phones are expected to include front-facing cameras, perfect for Skyping with friends and family. The Skype app will be released on Windows Phone this fall.

[Skype Careers via WPCentral]

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Skype, says Reuters. The US antitrust approval, which was announced this afternoon, will no doubt be the first of many, as other countries around the world are sure to voice their support as well.

Microsoft announced its plan to purchase Skype for $8.5 billion on May 10, roughly one month after promising to add Skype to Windows Phone this fall. The popular instant messaging (IM) client will be made into a special division of Microsoft, and will continue to support all sorts of platforms and devices. The software giant will, of course, integrate Skype with its other technologies like Windows Phone and Kinect for Xbox 360.

The deal, while surprising, may actually be good for the Redmond-based company. Bringing Skype into the fold will increase Microsoft’s already impressive IM user base by 663 million registered users, 170 million of which are active. When it is all said and done, the deal will bring Microsoft’s IM market share up to 68%. Windows Live Messenger, according to OPSWAT, ”accounts for just over 40% of the installed IM applications, followed by Skype, which accounts for more than a quarter of the installations.”

Microsoft is confident that the deal will be approved by the end of the year. The FTC’s go-ahead is the first step toward realizing this goal. Skype’s tighter integration will be good for Windows Phone users, but it will be interesting to see how the cellphone carriers react.

[Reuters via ZDNet | OPSWAT via WinRumors]