After accidentally being released a day early (and subsequently pulled), Skype’s iPad app is now available in the App Store for real. The release ends a long wait for those looking to Skype on their tablets: Skype with video on the iPhone has been available since the beginning of the year, and the iOS app itself for much longer than that.

Skype is playing up the benefits of video chatting on the big screen of the iPad, and I have to agree. While it’s nice to video chat from your phone, I’ve always thought video conferencing does better on bigger screened devices.

The iPad presents some new opportunities for Skype to extend the mobile app experience. Users will be able to instant message during video calls, and the contact and conversation logs have been optimized to be more easily accessible.

The app will work on the first-generation, cameraless iPad, Skype says, but obviously wouldn’t be able to send video.

The video above will give you a quick rundown of the major features. As you can see, it’s a pretty solid app, and welcome news for tablet-enabled frequent Skypers.

How about an Android app? We haven’t heard anything yet.

 
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Read more: Apple iPad, Skype, Tablets, VoIP