Microsoft subsidiary company Skype will be integrating their VoIP software into Windows Phone. Skype VP of products, Rick Osterloh said that the Skype division is “working on a Windows Phone product that will be coming out soon,” during an interview at CES 2012. The actual acquisition of the company was completed this past October so it is not surprising that we did not see the integration take place in 2011. Maybe we’ll see the integration at Mobile World Congress in February. [The Verge]

The year 2011 has not been a great year for Windows Phone, but 2012 may be different. Now there is a decent selection of Windows Phone devices that are out there, including the Nokia Lumia 900. Morgan Stanley is expecting shipment of Nokia’s new Windows-based devices to hit about 37 million units in 2012 and 64 million in 2013.

Nokia Corporation has announced the Nokia Lumia 900, which they called their “biggest yet thinnest Windows Phone.” This is Nokia’s first phone to support high-speed LTE data transfers. This phone was designed exclusively for AT&T. It has a bigger, faster, and stronger smartphone experience which has a larger screen and faster processor. The Nokia Lumia 900 allows data download speeds of up to 50Mbps on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. This means that you can watch videos and download apps almost as fast as it takes to open them.

Former Windows Phone general manager Charlie Kindel started a debate in the blogosphere today about why Windows has not grown as fast as Google Android. The primary argument that Kindel makes is that Google makes too many concessions with carriers and device manufacturers at the expense of end-users while Microsoft has a draconian approach with their hardware partners. Since the device manufacturers control the cost and strategy of marketing the devices, they have more of an incentive to promote Android phones. In my opinion, Kindel is right in some ways and wrong in some ways. Below is what Kindel wrote on his blog and I wrote my opinion about it below that:

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced that SkyDrive is now available for Windows Phone and the iPhone. SkyDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is moving the current head of the Windows Phone division Andy Lees to another role within the company. Microsoft corporate VP Terry Myerson will fill in for Lees. Currently Myerson leads the engineering division of Microsoft Windows Phone and now he will be responsible for business development, marketing, etc.

The head of Nokia France Paul Amsellem spoke to the French LesEchos newspaper and revealed some of the company’s plans recently. He compared the Nokia Lumia 800 to the BMW 5 Series too.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has added Spotify to the Windows Phone Marketplace. Spotify was designed for Windows Phone Mango and they said that it took time to make it look perfectly Metro. The app is very responsive and easy to navigate. You can see the playlist info from the live tile and the app gives you the ability to pin your favorite playlists on the home screen. [Gizmodo]