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SkypeSync is a Skype for Windows plug-in that pumps contact phone numbers from your mobile phone to your Skype account. This makes it easy to call your contacts via SkypeOut ("call phones"). This is an example of contact data portability.

A few questions with Andrey Goltsov, SkypeSync creator.

Skype Journal: Why did you make SkypeSync?

Andrey Goltsov:: Because I need it I have 200+ contacts on my mobile phone and want them in Skype.

SJ: What do you like or would like to change about SyncML?

Andrey: SyncML - it is long story. I started work with SyncML a few years ago when at the beginning of SyncML standard. The main problem of SyncML (IMHO) that is is a weak standard and all SyncML provider (phone and sever) interpret this "standard" as they want. But a huge number of devices on the market support it. I think like 90% of phones with SyncML support and 10% of others (iPhone, WinPhone, Android etc).

SJ: Does SkypeSync work with the 3 Skypephone?

Andrey: 3 Skypephone: as far as I know, 3 converts Skype contacts to 3 Skypephone contacts. And users cannot call SkypeOut contacts from 3 Skypephone, so this feature is more or less useless for them. But SkypeSync can be interesting for users of Skype To Go.

SJ: What advice would you give to other developers about working with Skype?

Andrey: Read the developer forum at the beginning. Remember that users have different versions of Skype running on different OSs.

About SyncML.

• SkypeSync uses SyncML (short for Synchronization Markup Language). SyncML is a protocol built in to nearly all smartphones, and most phones made in the last four years.
• Mobile phone companies In the United States have turned off SyncML for nearly all phones, with the exception of a handful from AT&T. 
• SyncML was adopted by the Open Mobile Alliance’s Data Synchronization Working Group in 2002.