Skype targets 100 million PCs with SkypeKit SDK

Skype is releasing an SDK to enable makers of mobile and desktop devices to embed its internet-telephony tech into globally distributed systems at low cost.

According to CEO Josh Silverman, the goal is to have Skype preloaded onto 100 million PCs in 2011. Silverman also said that competition from Google Voice, which went into mass US release this Tuesday, doesn't phase him.

"We [have] faced competition since the day Skype was launched," the Taipei Times quoted him as telling a gaggle of reporters in the Taiwanese capital, "but we have grown bigger than we were in the past."

The SDK — dubbed SkypeKit — is now available only for Linux, and only as an invitation-only beta. Versions for Mac OS X and that obscure operating system from Redmond, Washington, will be released in a few weeks, and will be available for under $20.

"We received overwhelming demand from consumer electronics companies around the world to offer Skype experience in their devices," Silverman told reporters, and the SDK is the Luxembourg-based company's response.

And apparently the demand is high from consumers, as well: Silverman noted that 12 million iPhone users worldwide have installed Skype on their Cupertinian handhelds. ®