Skype has justannouncedthat it has today released Skype 5.3, bringing support for OS X Lion and HD video calling. The update is available now by opening Skype for Mac and choosing Check for Updates. It is also now available fordirect download on Skype’s site. The addition of high-res HD calling is a welcome one and official support for Lion should fix some bugs that people have been experiencing. Skype reccomends a minimum upload speed of 1....

Today at CES in Las Vegas,Skypeofficially announced that it’s buying upQik, a video streaming service for a rumored $100-150 million,as first reportedby Business Insider. With the acquisition, Skype kills a competitor, picks up another 5 million users, a ton of mobile power and Qik’s 60 employees. Qik’s socially grounded mobile video service offers two-way live video calls and the ability to record and share videos via e-mail, text, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other similar platforms....

Skype’s brand will remain intact despite the Microsoft acquisition, Skype CEO Tony Bates today promisedin an interview with Fortune’s Adam Lashinsky. Bates only references the brand and not the interface, but we’re left wondering if this means Skype won’t be adopting theMetro aestheticthat Microsoft is applying across all of its product lines, fromWindows Phoneto theXboxtoBing. “Microsoft is buying great product technology, but also, frankly, one of the greatest brands in the consumer Internet space....

Yes, itseemsthat Skype is down yet again. Users are reporting apps crashing, and those who can get connected don’t seem able to be able to send messages successfully to the few people they see as online. The cause of this latest outage for the VoIP service is as-yet unknown but we’re investigating. It’s just two weeks since a major outage forced users toapply a fixto their apps in order to get up and running again....

The front-facing camera on your Android handset just got really useful. Skype has justannouncedthe release of an update to its Android app, allowing video calling. The move brings the Android version in line with its iOS counterpart, offering free video calling between Skype users. However, the feature is currently supported by just four handsets: the Google Nexus S; the HTC Desire S; the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro....