Apple to challenge Skype with "iChat"

Will this become a new marketing theme for Skype, or for Apple? Young child points to the computer monitor and says "Grandpa"... associating the computer's monitor with seeing grandpa in a video call, and making the machine come alive.

Rumor has it that iPhone, which is due for upgrade release today, will be accompanied by an upgrade release of "iChat", including a version for Windows. If true, then let's not be surprised to see a marketing campaign along the lines of the above from Apple. Such an ad campaign could have been launched by Skype a year ago, because the software certainly has the capability, but iChat which now will have comparable cross-platform features may well reap the greater reward. Look for iChat to challenge Skype in the days ahead.

See my earlier blog on the same subject (April 30).