Qik, the video messaging service, is shutting down. The long-standing service is ushering users over to Skype in their stead. Neither is a surprising move, really — Skype bought Qik in 2011, and it makes little sense to have both technologies available for mobile.
Qik’s features are already present in Skype, making it less necessary to have both. Skype also has the recognized name here, while Qik is most notable as being first for mobile (you may remember it being a big feature on the HTC Evo 4G). Skype also has a stronger desktop presence, making it a touch more useful for video chatting.
Those still using Qik will be able to do so until April 30th, at which time the service will be unaccessible. Videos saved to Qik’s dashboard will also be deleted at that time, so if you have anything saved — you should start migrating it now (there is a YouTube upload in Qik to make it easier). Videos sent by VideoMail via Qik will also be useless, so be sure you migrate and re-send if necessary. The same goes for embedded videos from Qik; gotta upload to YouTube and re-embed.
The reason for the closure? Skype poached what they needed from Qik, and is simply shutting it down to focus their efforts there. We pondered this happening when Skype made such a big deal about focussing on mobile, which is where Qik was strongest. Qik does note that those customers being billed for the service via a carrier will need to contact the carrier directly to end the charges, so again — more work for Qik users to do as the system shuts down.
